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Dear Vet, I have a male budgie, approx. 3 years old, who constantly scratches his ears and seems to yawn while scratching. Could he have an ear infection? He is not himself, quiet, sleeps alot and fluffed up. He is eating and drinking well. Any suggestions? THank you so much. Kind regards, XXXXX

Submitted: 589 days and 2 hours ago.

Category: Pet

Value: $9

Status: CLOSED

Posted by Dr. Debbie 589 days and 2 hours ago.

Answer

He could possibly have mites or a skin infection. If you see alot of flaking around the ears or beak it may be mites or parasites. You can take him into your vet for some medication to remove these. That would give them a chace to see if it looks like mites or if it could be a skin problem.
Let me know if you have more quesitons,
Dr. Debbie

589 days and 1 hours ago.

Reply

Reply to Dr. Debbie's Post: Thank you for your reply. Yes, I thought of mites, and I regularly rub mite powder into the feathers, which I obtained from the vet. There is no flaking around the beak or ears - he looks a very healthy bird. It is definately only around the ears he scratches, and he yawns as though he is trying to clear his ears. I know it sounds strange.......but it really seems to worry him. Our local vets, who are very good with farm animals etc (being in New Zealand), do not seem to know much about small birds. Any other suggestions? Thank you.... Amber

Accepted Answer

Since we can rule out mites there can be something in the inner er or the sinuses causing the problem. Perhaps they could xray to make sure nothing is going on - or another suggestion would be to try dosing him with prednisone - they would have to formulate that for his weight. If it is somthing inflammatory that will help.
Dr. Debbie

Accepts:
Expert:	Dr. Debbie
Pos. Feedback:	99.3 %
Answered:	4/13/2008

Veterinarian

Full time practicing companion and exotic animal veterinarian

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