Liver Disease in Budgies

[Kassidy]

Hey there everyone, I'm here to ask about Liver Disease in Budgies. (Hopefully this is the right area to post this thread!)

I've recently noticed that Kasper's nice smooth cere has starting turning a bit brown, or sort of like an odd orange I would say. The brownish parts are only in little blotches, and don't completely cover his cere yet. I'm worried that Kasper might have something wrong going on inside of him. Hopefully this is not the case. We'll need to figure out if this is normal first before we make any assumptions, so I hope that we can find out what's up soon.

I'm being paranoid here because in the past I've read about a budgie's (Or maybe another bird's) cere turning brown, and the owner figured out that it was caused by liver disease. I'm pretty sure that it was liver disease that caused it, but it could have been something else. I'll try to find the link to that thread, but I might not have the best of luck finding it.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out if this is normal or not. Has anyone experienced this before? Thanks in advance, I'm hoping that at least someone might have an idea of what is going on.

P.S. I'll try to get pictures up soon, but I'm not sure of the whereabouts of my camera, so you may have to wait a while.

EDIT: Added the pictures!

Sorry if it is hard to see, but those were the best pictures that I could take.

 

[Kassidy]

I think I have made a mistake about the thread I read, but I'm not sure. The thread I found is about discoloration in the beak, not the cere, so I may be mistaken there. But I'm still worried that there may be something wrong with his cere. I'll try to find the camera now, hopefully I'll have some luck.

 

[Skyler]

I thought that when a budgie's cere is tan, brown and rough-----It's s a female whose hormones are raging.

 

[ncGreyBirdLady]

How old is She?

Femle budgies, as adults, will have a crusty brown cere when in breeding
condition, and a white cere with blue tints when out of breeding ...

 

[Birdasaurus]

A male cere turning brown can be a sign of testicular cancer, not liver disease as far as I know. A constantly overgrowing beak is usually the liver disease sign.

Those pictures look a lot like one of my male's cere when he just gets a little "gunk" (for the lack of a better word) collected on his cere. I suggest you pick him up and see if you very gently scratch his cere with your nail if it comes off. I have to do this for my little guy periodically because with one leg he can't always scratch it off himself. Just make sure you wash your hands before so they are nice and clean around that sensitive area.

 

[Kassidy]

@Pat and Bonnie: Kasper is a male, and I am already aware of the cere changes in females. Thanks anyway.

@Andrea: Testicular cancer sounds worse, hopefully it is the "gunk" that you are talking about. I'll go try that now and get back to you as soon as I'm finished. Thanks for the help.

 

[Kassidy]

Well, I just toweled Kasper to see if I could scratch it off, and it didn't come off. One part was sort of flaking off, but the rest seemed to be growing as part of the cere. I don't know how to describe it or what it is, so this really puzzles me. Do you think I should wait to see what happens? Or maybe look out for anything else? Like how he is eating, his weight, anything?

Thanks for the help so far you guys, I appreciate it.

 

[Birdasaurus]

If it's growing as part of it, I personally would see a vet. The other possibilities I've heard could be from a parasite, and that would need vet intervention to treat. Or maybe male ceres do possibly just flake every once and awhile like a females does.

At the very least, I would telephone your vet and get their opinion on what to do next.

 

[Kassidy]

@Andrea: I would, but I really don't have my own vet. The closest thing we have to an avian vet is an exotic animal vet that is at least three hours away. I might be able to get a hold of the one we went to in the past, over the Internet, but if not I'll try to find a number to that vet. Thanks for the help, I'll try my best to find a vet that can help now.

If anyone else has any opinions, advice or any input that they'd like to share please go right ahead.

 

[Kassidy]

A few more pictures I took when I toweled him:

These might be better for you to see the stuff on his cere.

 

[ncGreyBirdLady]

This is a really good link about birds and what ails them
Your bird's health care

This one sentence I got from this article
Also, watch for changes in the "cere" (located at the base of the upper beak). A disorder called "Brown Hypertrophy" affects this area. It is not critical unless it begins to block the nasal passage. It is displayed as a thickening to this area; brown in color.

Now to look up "Brown Hypertrophy"

 

[ncGreyBirdLady]

This has a good explanation-----

Feather & Skin Disorders: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Options as well as Prevention

 

[Birdasaurus]

Interesting, Bonnie! It sounds like what I was calling gunk on Pi...I'll need to keep an eye on that and do more research.

 

[Kassidy]

@Bonnie: Thanks for the links, they are really helpful!

I found the site for the animal hospital that I went to with the budgies before, and I think I'll be able to get a hold of them now. They closed at 8:00 PM today though, so it is too late to call now. Tomorrow they are going to be closed too because it is Canada Day (Go Canada!!) so I might be able to get a hold of them on Sunday, or Monday. I'll keep a very close eye on Kasper's cere, and I'll post on here often if there are any changes.

Thanks again!

 

[Kassidy]

Kasper's cere looks like it changed a bit, but still not sure. You can read more about it on my blog here if you like. I'm still trying to get a hold of a vet.

 

[Kassidy]

Kasper's cere hasn't changed much since my last post. Nothing dramatic anyway. I'm thinking of trying to make some changes to his diet, and maybe add a bit more fresh foods to it. Hopefully he isn't going to get worse.