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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 25, 2015 20:57:53 GMT
I'm concerned that there may be a mite infestation coming from my birds over the last two weeks I've had horrid itchy skin with a rash all over and the sensation of crawling. Watching the birds tonight they are very very itchy so sprayed them with water mist and noticed some reddened areas with missing feathers on their wings.... Could be me being paranoid... BUT if they have mites how will this affect my degus and how do I prevent this spreading to the degus birds are off to vet tomorrow if I can get In... Help and more to it where would they have got the mites as this has happened over last couple of weeks my husband has also started to feel the itch...
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 25, 2015 22:20:23 GMT
Just found a whole coloney of mites in a bit of cical rope on the birds cage helpppp ** found more in hidden crevasses in their cage!
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Post by bouncy on Sept 26, 2015 0:51:11 GMT
My immediate reaction would be to ditch the rope, disinfect the cages, and find some sort of spray to use on both the birds and nooks. Not sure how degus would fare with the spray, though, even as a precaution. Most tend to be water based.
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 0:56:30 GMT
Hi I've binned everything in the budgie cage! Like everything cleaned it with industrial cleaner and boilling water!! Put them.in an empty cage then hoovered my whole house and cleaned every surface and floor then bleached my self in the shower!! I don't know if the degus r infected yet.. I haven't cleaned them out yet it's a 2 hour job and I've just finished my house calling vet tomorrow for advice on sprays fir degus and birds.... My land lord will go ape if she finds out as we're not allowed pets and they've been very leanant with our caged pets... I so hope.the degus arnt infected too I feel awful the budgies r now alone in the kitchen looking very sad I have ti keep.them away from the goos plus there is no fabric in the kitchen even my curtains have been binned!!!!
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Post by Astra88 on Sept 26, 2015 7:14:46 GMT
Oh god that sounds awful, you've done the right thing going through and cleaning everything, rthat would definitely be the first and biggest step to dealing with mites. The vet should be able to come up with a spray to help the animals with getting rid of the mites but also to help with the soreness and itching, poor things. Have you noticed any scratching or aggravation in the goo's?
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Post by bouncy on Sept 26, 2015 7:41:40 GMT
How close to the birds were the goos? If it's possible there could have been cross contamination, I would bin their cage contents too. They might protest at the lack of smell, but tough. Have you checked them for signs? I'd also get down to a good pet shop (as it's Saturday) and get some treatments (think I've seen one suitable for goos), and treat your carpets etc, in case there's any eggs. Do you know where the infestation came from? Are you sure it wasn't from something like goo hay? What a crap start to your weekend xx
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 8:56:23 GMT
I have noo idea where it came from the budgie cage is at the oposite end of the room buy when the birds have free run they sit on the degus cage have have been itching but there moulting at the moment so it's hard to tell if the itching is mite related or not
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Post by bouncy on Sept 26, 2015 9:13:06 GMT
Will they let you (*permit you - degus, after all) inspect them?
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 9:41:30 GMT
Will they let you (*permit you - degus, after all) inspect them? Yes they will I'll have a look later, just off to vets with birds atm. You can see all the mites back in the cage crevices even tho I throughly cleaned it yesterday!! Grimmm I must be having some reaction to the mites as my skin as been awful red and itchy last few days!! really didn't want to be cleaning last night untill 2 am ;( supposed to be going camping today and I still got to clean the degus and the budgie cage again!
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Post by bouncy on Sept 26, 2015 10:19:07 GMT
Oh hun! At least you spotted it!
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 14:37:04 GMT
94 quid lighter got something for all the animals house been cleaned again too and the degus there cage is very bare at the monent nobody's happy today camping also cancelled
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 14:38:59 GMT
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Post by yasmin on Sept 26, 2015 17:25:24 GMT
What kind of mites are they? (Not all mites affect all species.) What did the vet do to treat the budgies?
Rope perches are notorious for providing a great hiding place for mites. When I got two of my birds, Snowy and Cherie, I quarantined them for 6 weeks but months later Snowy came down with scaly mites on his feet. I had to have a vet treat all six of my birds with several rounds of Ivermectin shots. Do not try and treat your birds and degus yourself with over-the-counter medications. I have read on other forums about how these are either ineffective or can easily kill your birds.
Also, from that point on I make it a rule that any rope or wooden perches get thrown out and replaced every month (for the first year after the incident), every 2 months the second year, and then every 3 months from then on.
You also should see a doctor — or did the vet advise you on what you should do?
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 17:37:32 GMT
I saw my doctor on Friday before I knew about the mites and she said she couldn't really see anything wrong. The vet didn't actually say what type of mites they were but he prescribed a spot on treatment for the birds and the degus, and to repeat it every two weeks. And I have to thoughly clean every thing with disinfect that kills mites but I havent found anything. I too have read about over the counter products and have only used what my vet has prescribed.
I have xeno spot on minis.
Please if you have any tips on how to help treat this and keep them off me!!!! Where do the mites come from its just happened like BOOM were here!
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Post by yasmin on Sept 26, 2015 17:52:48 GMT
These are not scaly mites but I learned that scaly mites can go undetected and be kept in check by a healthy bird with an uncompromised immune system but, when a bird undergoes stress, the mites take over. It would be helpful if you could find out what kind of mites they are – that way you'd have a better idea on where they may have come from. What is in the treatment he prescribed/what is it called? (Not sure what xenos spot on minis is.)
I think most mites etc. are killed with a mild bleach/water mixture. This will need to be thoroughly rinsed off because bleach can be dangerous to birds. I think I used a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water, as well as a mixture of vinegar and water. Vinegar and water is the safest but again it depends on what kind of mites they are.
You said you could see the mites – what do they look like?
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 17:58:51 GMT
They are a black/grey colour and they were hiding in craveces in the cage. The spot on treatment is ivermectin. Just found it on the tube.
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Post by yasmin on Sept 26, 2015 18:02:09 GMT
That is what my birds were treated with – but they got injections – two or three times, a week apart.
I will take a look at some of my references to see if I can find out more about what type of mites they are, their life cycle, etc.
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 18:18:04 GMT
Thank you so so much if I see any more I'll get a photo! We're all very unhappy today me oh and the animals. We had to cancel our camping trip too incase we infect others. He said if these drops didn't work they'd do Injections he said he couldn't see any signs of scaly beak or feet so we've caught it in time
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Post by animalmadchloe on Sept 26, 2015 18:27:47 GMT
The black dots inside the plastic went there this afternoon so I'm presuming they are the culprits
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Post by yasmin on Sept 26, 2015 18:47:17 GMT
Scaly mites you can't see with the naked eye. Feather mites are red. These might be bird lice though it is very rare in budgies and other indoor birds. Do you know if the birds ever housed in an outdoor aviary or near pigeons – perhaps at the breeder?
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