HELP please. Is this an early sign of Scaly Mites on my Budgie's feet?

[Fatima I]

This is Kiwi. I got him a little over a month ago. I think he is less than 4 months or maybe 6. I assume he is young from the full black eyes and bars on his head to his cere.
His behavior is ordinary : chirps and sings. flaps his wings in excitement and play/exercise and preens regularly.
Eating habits: haven't change. still has a good appetite.
Tame status: Not yet tamed completely; working on it. He will eat a treat from my finger. Occasionally go on my finger to reach a treat from my hand. He comes out of his cage sometimes to chill and returns on his own as well. He doesn't trust me much but he has shown great progress.
Sleep: he isn't restless at night and rests well (to my knowledge and checking on him).

Concerns i have (but also might be normal):
1. He does rub his beak on branches. After he eats, drinks or while in preening mode but sometimes when he is loud and just chirping.
2. He sneezes or blows air from his nose. Not A LOT but enough for me to notice his little squeaky cute sneezes.
3. His feet from the RIGHT SIDE of Kiwi (you see in photos) seem to have white spots on his feet. And some white stuff around the base of some of his nails.
4. If he does need medication applied or given, he doesn't trust me enough to handle him. He is still scared or weary of me quite a bit. So how will I be able to help him without traumatizing him or breaking the trust we have created thus far?

Notes:
His beak seems clear and fine. No white lines or crusty bits. No discoloration or scaliness. (that i see or notice)
The close up of his face is just stuck seeds on his chin area from him feeding on wet fruit and seeds. (it's also an old pic like 2 weeks ago)
The pic of him from the bottom view is more recent; yesterday.

Let me know if you need clearer or more photos.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

This is Kiwi. I got him a little over a month ago. I think he is less than 4 months or maybe 6. I assume he is young from the full black eyes and bars on his head to his cere.
His behavior is ordinary : chirps and sings. flaps his wings in excitement and play/exercise and preens regularly.
Eating habits: haven't change. still has a good appetite.
Tame status: Not yet tamed completely; working on it. He will eat a treat from my finger. Occasionally go on my finger to reach a treat from my hand. He comes out of his cage sometimes to chill and returns on his own as well. He doesn't trust me much but he has shown great progress.
Sleep: he isn't restless at night and rests well (to my knowledge and checking on him).

Concerns i have (but also might be normal):
1. He does rub his beak on branches. After he eats, drinks or while in preening mode but sometimes when he is loud and just chirping.
2. He sneezes or blows air from his nose. Not A LOT but enough for me to notice his little squeaky cute sneezes.
3. His feet from the RIGHT SIDE of Kiwi (you see in photos) seem to have white spots on his feet. And some white stuff around the base of some of his nails.
4. If he does need medication applied or given, he doesn't trust me enough to handle him. He is still scared or weary of me quite a bit. So how will I be able to help him without traumatizing him or breaking the trust we have created thus far?

Notes:
His beak seems clear and fine. No white lines or crusty bits. No discoloration or scaliness. (that i see or notice)
The close up of his face is just stuck seeds on his chin area from him feeding on wet fruit and seeds. (it's also an old pic like 2 weeks ago)
The pic of him from the bottom view is more recent; yesterday.

Let me know if you need clearer or more photos.

He's adorable and looks perfectly normal and healthy to me. All of your listed concerns don't appear to be anything to worry about. All budgies wipe their beaks on objects to clean them off. All budgies sneeze occasionally. Unless he sneezes a lot and/or has mucus coming out of his nostrils it's nothing to be concerned about. His little feet look normal to me but you should make an appointment with a veterinarian that specializes in birds- a Certified Avian Veterinarian (CAV)- for a routine checkup to establish a "patient-doctor" relationship with. It makes it much easier to get appointments in an emergency if they have seen your bird before. If you don't have access to a CAV where you live, find a veterinarian that treats "exotic pets" in addition to your typical dogs and cats. Don't try to treat any suspected disease or infection yourself. Sick birds hide their illnesses very well and by the time you finally get him to a vet it may be too late. Enjoy your new budgie!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

He's adorable and looks perfectly normal and healthy to me. All of your listed concerns don't appear to be anything to worry about. All budgies wipe their beaks on objects to clean them off. All budgies sneeze occasionally. Unless he sneezes a lot and/or has mucus coming out of his nostrils it's nothing to be concerned about. His little feet look normal to me but you should make an appointment with a veterinarian that specializes in birds- a Certified Avian Veterinarian (CAV)- for a routine checkup to establish a "patient-doctor" relationship with. It makes it much easier to get appointments in an emergency if they have seen your bird before. If you don't have access to a CAV where you live, find a veterinarian that treats "exotic pets" in addition to your typical dogs and cats. Don't try to treat any suspected disease or infection yourself. Sick birds hide their illnesses very well and by the time you finally get him to a vet it may be too late. Enjoy your new budgie!

From your photos its clear that Kiwi is very young- less than four months old- because he still has stripes (bars) above his nostrils (his cere) which will disappear after his first molt. That's great because it's easier to win the trust of a baby budgie than an older one.

 

[Fatima I]

Thank you. That helps ease my mind a bit. I'll look into a vet for him. And thanks for clearing up his age as well been wondering about that.

 

[Fatima I]

I was able to get a better view and clearer pics. I pointed and circled where it seems most concentrated or visible. It seems a little scalier than the rest of his foot and is a grayish green color. Also there are a few spots where the skin seems to be raw/red. I don't know if that is just dry skin and normal color. But it's just something i noticed and wanted to get opinions on. Thank you for your help

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I was able to get a better view and clearer pics. I pointed and circled where it seems most concentrated or visible. It seems a little scalier than the rest of his foot and is a grayish green color. Also there are a few spots where the skin seems to be raw/red. I don't know if that is just dry skin and normal color. But it's just something i noticed and wanted to get opinions on. Thank you for your help

Its very hard to tell from photographs so I think it would be best if you take Kiwi to the vet for a check up. As far as I know, none of us on this forum are veterinarians much less certified avian vets (CAV), and aren't qualified to diagnose and treat bird illnesses. Its great that you are paying such close attention to Kiwi's health- a lot of new bird owners avoid taking their birds to the vet until the bird is seriously ill. If Kiwi has mites or some other infestation or disease, it most likely can easily and inexpensively treated at an early stage. It isn't prohibitively expensive for a simple bird health exam- generally less than $100 unless they need to do any blood tests which isn't likely for a minor skin issue in a very young budgie like Kiwi. If there's nothing wrong with Kiwi it won't have been a waste- it will put your mind at ease and give you the opportunity to ask the vet any other questions you may have (write them down so you don't forget) about Kiwi's health and behavior. Again, I suggest that you not try to self diagnose and treat Kiwi- that could lead to unnecessary pain, suffering and expense in the long run. Best wishes to you and Kiwi!

 

[Terry57]

I was able to get a better view and clearer pics. I pointed and circled where it seems most concentrated or visible. It seems a little scalier than the rest of his foot and is a grayish green color. Also there are a few spots where the skin seems to be raw/red. I don't know if that is just dry skin and normal color. But it's just something i noticed and wanted to get opinions on. Thank you for your help

I had budgies and finches finches with scaly mites when they joined out flock, and their feet looked much different from your baby's feet from what I can tell from the pictures. They had raised scales and was quite obvious, though, so I'm not sure what it looks like when it starts out.

I agree with Donnabudgies last post completely. At the least, a vet visit will make you feel better, and the vet can also get a baseline on your bird.

We have a list of vets who treats birds, hopefully that will help you in your search for a vet. All the ones listed are not CAVs, so you would need to ask them about that.

Avian Vet Resource

Your baby is beautiful and I wish you the best of luck with him

 

[MayMaroa]

This is Kiwi. I got him a little over a month ago. I think he is less than 4 months or maybe 6. I assume he is young from the full black eyes and bars on his head to his cere.
His behavior is ordinary : chirps and sings. flaps his wings in excitement and play/exercise and preens regularly.
Eating habits: haven't change. still has a good appetite.
Tame status: Not yet tamed completely; working on it. He will eat a treat from my finger. Occasionally go on my finger to reach a treat from my hand. He comes out of his cage sometimes to chill and returns on his own as well. He doesn't trust me much but he has shown great progress.
Sleep: he isn't restless at night and rests well (to my knowledge and checking on him).

Concerns i have (but also might be normal):
1. He does rub his beak on branches. After he eats, drinks or while in preening mode but sometimes when he is loud and just chirping.
2. He sneezes or blows air from his nose. Not A LOT but enough for me to notice his little squeaky cute sneezes.
3. His feet from the RIGHT SIDE of Kiwi (you see in photos) seem to have white spots on his feet. And some white stuff around the base of some of his nails.
4. If he does need medication applied or given, he doesn't trust me enough to handle him. He is still scared or weary of me quite a bit. So how will I be able to help him without traumatizing him or breaking the trust we have created thus far?

Notes:
His beak seems clear and fine. No white lines or crusty bits. No discoloration or scaliness. (that i see or notice)
The close up of his face is just stuck seeds on his chin area from him feeding on wet fruit and seeds. (it's also an old pic like 2 weeks ago)
The pic of him from the bottom view is more recent; yesterday.

Let me know if you need clearer or more photos.

Hello, welcome to the forum!
Those feet look normal to me I had a budgie called hope she had scaly mites her feet looked much different than yours.

Rubbing their beak is completely normal sometimes not to just wipe food off their beak but they also do that when they're sometimes hormonal.
He looks like he's 2 months old by the way.

 

[Fatima I]

Hello, welcome to the forum!
Those feet look normal to me I had a budgie called hope she had scaly mites her feet looked much different than yours.

Rubbing their beak is completely normal sometimes not to just wipe food off their beak but they also do that when they're sometimes hormonal.
He looks like he's 2 months old by the way.

Oh ok thank you that gives me relief.