Bird Lice!!!

[Makena]

Ahhhh hmy: ... so we are freaking out because it looks like Makena has lice!! We started noticing these little brown bugs and called the vet right away. He said it sounded like lice and to go to the pet store, buy the lice spray and start treatment right away.

Have any of your birds ever had lice?!? I have been trying to do research on it but am having a hard time finding anything. Is the type of louse a bird gets the same as a human louse? Can they live in your house like mites or bedbugs?!?! Are we going to have a huge infestation on our hands or is this something that will go away when the bird is treated?!?!?

We have an appt. with the vet of Friday and will hopefully get more info then... but for right now we are going crazy trying to find more information! Thanks so much!!

[dblhelix]

Hold off treatment. More research needed. I am not familiar at all with parrots getting lice. I also would want to do some thorough research on proper treatment for birds of such pests if, in fact, that is what they are.

Where do you see the bugs? Little brown bugs can be in the food and perhaps you are just seeing them crawl on Makena. Lets see what we can find out. I am sure you want to act, but I do not think its an emergency...<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/23 00:35

[dblhelix]

This is a pretty good article. It seems that lice are very rare in parrots...In any case, the vet needs to physically evaluate before you jump into potentially harmful treatment.

http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/gesparasiten/federlinge_en.htm<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/08/23 00:34

[Tari]

hmmm Not so sure I would use that spray. I was told that stuff is pretty useless.
Was this advice from an avain certified vet? or just a vet that agrees to see birds?

[Makena]

We noticed while holding him and one would crawl up our arm :sick:

I caught one and put it in a ziploc... I wish I had a way to take a picture of it to show you but it is just too small!

I examined his food very carefully and don't see anything there.

Thank you dblhelix for the article... that looks exactly like what they are. We are calling around right now and my fiance is at the pet store talking to the owner and trying to figure out the best solution. :unsure:

[Makena]

The vet is not an Avian Vet... but he claims his interest is in avian care...

This is his website..

http://www.kiheiveterinaryclinic.com/kvcstaff/

Being that we are on an island we don't have many options!

[briansmum]

oh dear makena. he needs to have been in contact with another bird to have gotten these, if they are indeed lice you need to contact the breeder or store you bought him from becuase chances are the other birds have them too.

i would wait till you have seen a vet before treating them, even if you can't visit a queslified avian vet maybe you could find a number of one and give them a call, or request that your vet consult with an avian specialist. if his interest is in avian care, then he must be getting his knowlage from somewhere, in other words, he must know someone who knows more about birds than him.

[lovemyGreys]

Sorry to hear Makena has lice,I dont know to much about lice/mites but it is uncommon in greys.Try not to panic to much & let the the vet do a check up on Friday.

[judygram]

Follow Dblhelix's advice, don't jump into using some chemical until you find out if it is safe. I have not had any experience with this but I would try to find a vet who is a certified avian vet, he would have more knowledge.

[Makena]

Ok so we called or emailed everyone we could... The pet store owner said lice are pretty common amongst birds in Hawaii due to all the wild pigeons, doves, mynas, roosters and sparrows. They said the find a lot of the breeders in Hawaii have lice problems . We purchased this lice spray;

http://www.petco.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=113719&cm_ven=SortPrice&cm_cat=72 &cm_pla=113719&cm_ite=113719

We are going to take it with us on Friday to the vet and make sure it is ok before we use it. Plus we figure it will help if he shows us how to use it correctly.

We also emailed the breeder and let him know. Makena has not been in contact with any other animals since we got him so we are pretty sure that is where they came from. I am sure the breeder is going to get defensive but we assured him we were only letting him know for the sake of his other birds.

Luckily it looks like this type of lice doesn't affect humans... I can't stop itching though.. But I think it is 90% psychological and 10% mosquitos! inch:<br><br>Post edited by: Makena, at: 2007/08/23 03:53