Hi everyone,
It has been too long since my last post and I apologise for that. It has been a hectic three months, with some ups and downs. My life has basically been birds and study, birds and study, then rinse and repeat! I'm now on a short break from study so an finally breathe. I'd like. to inform everyone that our original birds are all doing well, and I will hopefully post an update this week on everyone. But at the moment I am wanting to ask for advice regarding a budgie.
A pet shop here gave my partner a budgie for free a week ago. The worker found the budgie outside of the shop and treated it with mite spray. and the next day when my partner went to buy some things she offered him the budgie so he said ok, and she treated him again with the mite spray. The budgie has been staying in the garage, to ensure he is not carrying anything contagious, as well as, it is more quieter there and warmer when the doors are all shut too.
The budgie has a bit of crust on one of his eyes. He is yellow, and he is VERY small. I think possibly too small for his species? A lot smaller than our lovebirds even. I would actually consider him the size of a sparrow. He eats a lot. But we don't think he is gaining much weight. We did take him to a vet for examination, the one 25 minutes away from us. Who said the crust on the eyes is a possible sign of mites. But she also said they dont appear to be currently present, so it was a possible past issue. She said overall the feathers look fine and the feet etc. However my partner is the one who thinks he is underweight and this wasn't addressed at the vet visit. So we are a bit so-so on the advice. The budgie also sleeps a lot. Well rests his eyes, I dont think actually sleeping during the day but mostly sits in a spot and rests. He perches higher in the cage so doesn't stay at the bottom unless he decides to go eat from the bowl at the bottom. My partner has tried to feed him formula as well and has tried to give him bits of water too.
Do you have any advice on what else we could do? I think if things haven't improved in a week or so we may go to the vet again, one of the ones closer to us. The pet shop put a mite spray called aristopet scaly face and leg treatment: ingredients benzyl benzoate and liquid paraffin. The vet did say that she had vetafarm avimec to put on him if things dont improve as well. She mentioned that what the budgie could have had was cnemidocoples plae (which I think is perhaps a mite?). The pet shop also said they had to trim his beak because it was too long, so it was overgrown previously.
Here is a link to each of the mite products
used by pet shop: https://www.mypetwarehouse.com.au/ar...t-25ml-p-22698
offered at the vet, but not used, also sold in shops: https://www.budgetpetproducts.com.au...rds-50ml/3010/
I am really cautious about bringing him in the house at the moment, and even if there are no more mites present, its more peaceful in the garage so he can rest and recover (hopefully). It has been a week and one day, and he's still alive so I'm hoping that is something. he makes noise when a light is taken away from him or when my partner gets him to feed him. My partner also sprays the garage regularly with mite spray for preventive purposes, and has been doing so for a long time now as he uses the space to rehabilitate birds as well when needed. Overall, I do feel that while the budgie does eat a lot, he still appears to be weak. I do wonder if it takes time to recover. We also dont know anything about him, how long he was outside for, or whether he is only a baby and escaped from an aviary. The first day he was here he kept trying to regurgitate a lot. He hasn't done that since the first day though, so we figured he just didn't like the taste of the mite spray or was only a baby and imitating parents regurgitation.
I've attached photos of the budgie, I forgot to mention, we dont know the gender so have just been saying "he", but we did name him tweety. So the name is useful whether its a boy or girl. We have purchased reptile lamps to provide uv light for him and provide more warmth in addition to a safe heater. In the photos you can't actually see the eye with the crust on it.
I would appreciate any information or advice! Thanks in advance everyone, and apologies again for the long absence!
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