My husband found a small parakeet last March and we have had it since then. We also have a cockatiel. They are in separate cages, The parakeet appears to be healthy and is eating well and. I believe it is a female even though she is quite noisy. Her cere is light tan in color. While the cockatiel is tame and often comes out , the parakeet prefers to remain in the cage. Every once in a while I try to take her out. It was during one of those times today I noticed her cere area seemed to be bumpy not smooth. What causes this and will it affect her breathing? As I said she appears in god health every other way and I believe she was pretty young when my husband found her. She could not have been out in the cold weather very long, and she was quite small.
Hello:
Congratulations on your new family member!
Your Budgie's cere may be infested by knemidocoptes (scaley face and leg mite), pox virus, or she may have a bacterial infection. At some point these problems could interfere with her breathing. Her cere may also be normal if she is hormonal.
What would be best is if you could take her in to an avian vet (www.aav.org/vet-lookup) for an exam so that she could receive the proper treatment after a diagnosis.
Her attitude may change about coming out if she feels a little better!
I hope this helps and answers your question. If you have more questions about this problem, please press 'reply'. If you are satisfied, press the green ACCEPT icon. Bonuses and feedback are always appreciated. Thank-you.
Good-Luck,
Dr. Lisa
Dear XXXXX, Thankyou for the information. I looked her over today and it is not scales or a different color. It just seems to be the same but like a ridge.If she does have any of those conditions can it be passed onto our cockateil? He is 18 yrs old.The only other way I can describe it is that it almost looks like a second beak growingabove the nostrils of the same composition as thr cere.
(Sorry I could not respond sooner, but my computer has a virus and so I am on my work computer!)
If your budgie has pox (http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/rouge_river/tumors.html) then transmission to your 'tiel is possible but unlikely. Knemidocoptes is spread through bird-to-bird contact and through environmental contact. With Knemidocoptes, it is a good idea to perform a full medical work-up looking for underlying conditions because this infestation is often secondary to immunosuppressive disease.
It sounds like you are describing a normal cere on a hormonal female. However, to be certain, your bird needs to be examined (hands-on!) by an avian practitioner.
I cannot stress enough how informative your veterinary visit should be, and well-worth the money...
Thank-you.