MITES???

[lesliekiki]

Hi. I found a several bugs the size of a pin dot. One in a drawer on paper and several on a paper plate under my dogs bowel. I've never seen these before here! Could they be mites from my tiel? I found my tiel a few months ago in my yard. He spent about 2 weeks coming to my feeder and eating among other wild birds and ground doves . I took him to a avian vet shorty after he moved in with us and the vet said he didn't have mites. Please advise. Should I treat my tiel for mites to be safe. He does itch and preen a lot. What and how do you treat for mites? Please advise. THANKS!!!

 

[LunaLovebird]

There are specific sprays that you can use to treat for mites in birds. Vetafarm has an insect liquidator for this purpose. They are quite easy to use and relatively inexpensive, but if you are unsure, an avian vet is always a safe option. What colour are the bugs? The size seems about right. One way to check to see if they are in your bird's cage is to put some white paper down overnight. They are very tiny and come out after dark, so if they are there, you should see tiny red dots on the paper by morning.

 

[Brandon's-Fids]

@LunaLovebird I was just gonna say that about the white sheet lol

 

[ConureTiel]

I don't know, but it seems like if the vet saw no mites on your 'tiel, I wouldn't jump to the assumption that it is some type of avian mite you are seeing. Maybe some other type of mite, or maybe bedbugs?

I would probably try to get a positive id on what it is you are seeing before doing any type of treatment -- if you treat your 'tiel for mites, but then that isn't even the problem, you won't have helped your situation at all and you will have given your bird unnecessary exposure to toxins.

We used to keep a few chickens for eggs, and the mites they would get were greyish-white/skin colored, and seen directly on the birds.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out!

 

[sunnysmom]

I wouldn't use any over the counter sprays. A woman on a forum I used to belong to used a spray and her birds died. If you think mites, I would go back to the vets. As was already suggested, putting white paper on the bottom of the cage at night is a good way to see if there are mites.

 

[scoobdoo63]

A picture is worth a thousand words.. in the crab forum if they say they have mites we ask for pictures.. there are several types of them.. some that are harmless to crabs and others that can kill them.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Good advice so far. I hope your baby doesn't have mites. I would talk to your avian vet and try to determine what kind of bugs these are.

 

[lesliekiki]

Hi, Thank you for all the great advice. Sorry to respond so late but had a crazy week here! I tried the white paper and will continue checking with that. I have not seen any bugs on Kiki. I called the vet and he said not to worry about it. Meantime 2 days ago I noticed a wing feather on the floor of his cage. This morning there was a tail feather, a wing feather, and a couple little ones. Could he be molting?? Ive had Kiki approximately 5 months. For a while I thought He was molting because he was consistently loosing little feathers. Then it slowed down. I've never seen a large feather. I don't see any blood. The tubes on the feathers are clear.
Thanks for your help!!!!! L
PS- I had 3 little boys (10-12) staying here for a few days. They didn't bug Kiki but they were LOUD! Do you think they stressed him out! (they sure stressed me out!

 

[LunaLovebird]

Sounds like moulting. If you begin to see patches of skin, it could be plucking. I'd wager on the former, however. Would certainly explain the itching. Can you see any pin feathers coming through?

 

[sunnysmom]

How old is Kiki? He could be molting. My tiel molts in stages. He'll loose little feathers. Then stop. Then loose big feathers and stop, etc.

 

[lesliekiki]

Hi. Glad to hear that it happens in stages. I don't know how old he is. We found him so I don't know his history. The avian vet said he's not a youngster but other than that couldn't tell me much. On top of his head (where his tall feathers are) looks like a couple are coming out and kinda opening up. He's also got a lot of messy fly away soft feathers under his wings. Luckily no bald spots anywhere. Thank you both for getting back to me so quickly. My first bird and wasn't sure what was going on. Got a little scared. Thank you

 

[lesliekiki]

PS_ I'm going to hold off on any mite spray and just keep an eye out. Your right -sounds toxic.

 

[sunnysmom]

That's right- I forgot you said you found him outside. It sounds like molting to me. Will he take baths or let you mist him? Bathing can help tiels feel better when molting.

 

[lesliekiki]

I spray him with a mister every other day or so but he never opens his wings. Once a week I wheel his cage outside and hose it gently with him it. (water doesn't touch him till the end when I mist him from above. He seems ok and sits on his perch and will whistle and talk and take a treat. But he never opens his wings!!! I also put a bath in his cage but he uses it as a second drinking cup. So basically he doesn't bathe

 

[sunnysmom]

I spray him with a mister every other day or so but he never opens his wings. Once a week I wheel his cage outside and hose it gently with him it. (water doesn't touch him till the end when I mist him from above. He seems ok and sits on his perch and will whistle and talk and take a treat. But he never opens his wings!!! I also put a bath in his cage but he uses it as a second drinking cup. So basically he doesn't bathe

It sounds like you're making progress though. I think a lot of tiels don't bathe in cups, bowls, etc. but prefer misting. I tried multiple times with mine and just gave up and stick to misting, which he enjoys. The last time I tried I had a pie dish with shallow water. He was on my hand and I put my hand with him on it in the dish. He looked at me like I was crazy, took a drink of water, and walked out of the dish and out of the room. That was my last try. Now, he just gets misted once a week - and it has to be late morning/early afternoon. He wants to part of an early misting.

 

[lesliekiki]

Too Cute!!! How many sprays do you give him when you do it once a week?

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I try to mist my tiels at least once a week for as long as they seem to enjoy it. Most of the time they get soaking wet, especially my female. My male might skip a good soaking once in a while, especially if it's not sunny out. I make sure the room is nice and warm while they dry.

 

[sunnysmom]

I do the same as Tiel Feathers- I mist him for as long as he likes, which is usually almost an entire small spray bottle. He lets me know when he's done. Most days he likes to get really wet but sometimes he just likes a bit of a spritz and is done. He loves baths and gets all excited when he sees me get the spray bottle out.

 

[lesliekiki]

Thanks!!! Hopefully my dirty birdy will work up to that!!!