mite or bug lovebirds eye

[Zhin]

mite or bug in lovebirds eye

Hello fellow parrots



My Fisher lovebird has something in her eye. How do i go about removing this mite / bug/ tick , from her eye? i just noticed this in her eye, some thing felt off, and i checked to see and it looks like a bug what to do? i dont have any possibilty of going to the vet as its too expensive,



i tried to remove the bug from the eye very carefully using tweezers , but its not working as the eyes move fast and cannot really get the mite out of her eye.


Attached is a pic, whats a way remove this thing??

 

[LaManuka]

Hello Zhin. I am unsure of exactly what the situation is with your lovebird, but the eye is, as you have discovered, a particularly delicate area that is a bit too tricky for the average owner to treat and warrants a visit to the vet. Is there a chance that you could borrow the funds from friends or family, or arrange payment plan of some sort with your vet? Companies such as CareCredit can also assist with situations like this. If your current vet won't help out with the cost of care, you can try using the link below to find an alternative that might...

https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

If indeed there is something stuck in her eye it will be causing a great deal of irritation or pain as well, so I hope you are able to get some professional help for her soon.

 

[Zhin]

Hello, La Manuka

as a result of current situation and unforseen expenses, and scam attacks on my finances, i wont be able to get a Veternarian. NewBaby is only a few months old and idk how this thing got into her eye. Shes gotten much bigger and stronger, but this mite is trying to get her down. That thing is in her eye, its like red and looks like a small bug attached, but its still hard to tell , i will try to get another better pic so you can see if its something we can help her with

Thanks for the reply

 

[Zhin]

 

[Zhin]

 

[LaManuka]

Vet bills can be expensive, but unfortunately they are part and parcel of ownership with any pet. If friends and family are unable to help you, you can try an organization like CareCredit for financial assistance?

https://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/

There certainly does appear to be *something* on her eye, although I am personally unable to tell what it is. You could try calling an avian vet and describing the symptoms to them over the phone, they may even ask you to send your pictures to them, but nothing beats a hands-on physical examination by a professional and they may also be able to make some suggestions to you with regard to payment.

 

[Kitekeeper]

Hi Zhin,

I stronly recomend you to take the great advices LaManuka gave you. A veterinarian check up is not just necessary but also need to be as soon as possible.

The last pictures were a lot better than the first one and as long as you can see 8 legs coming out of that red dot in the eye, I doubt it is a mite.

Judging by the pictures it could also be an inflamed cut that might need antibiotics. So be extremely careful and do not try to touch it with a tweezers as it would only worsen things.

Please, keep us posted and good luck

 

[Zhin]

thanks for the advice, again vet is really out of my reach and is not possible , unfortunately. it would be nice to have a vet look at it..


So what was done was , tried again with tweezers. this time, was able to grab a good hold of the 'mite' (thing in her eye) and pull it, it was attached right in her eye, and to the top of her lid, as i pulled it, it just slipped out of the grip. Got it again some more times and this time i think it burst a little bit and blood was seen coming out, dont worry NewBaby is ok, its the blood from that thing. Used Saline solution, as advised from a family member., Together , i was able to this time, grab a better grip on this thing, and a piece of it broke off. Some of it still remains in her eye, i need to do this again, unfortunately.



I couldnt tell if it had legs or not, but you can see something similar, i guess.



She is scratching her left side more often and closes her eye more often. But i think shes doing better,




That pic was hard to get, but its the closest i got.

 

[Scott]

I would be extremely concerned with possible infection or disease potential from remaining fragments of that ghastly organism.

 

[Kitekeeper]

Hi Zhin,

After all it was a tick. Beaware that mites and ticks are different in the way they feed on the bird. Mites will eat epidermis cells and ticks will suck blood.

According to your description the thing bursted in blood wich means you tored its abdomen containing NewBaby sucked blood.

Now, maybe a more complicated phase follows. Usually ticks react when there is an attempt to pull them out. They introduce their mouth parts even harder into the skin of their victims and when we finally got them out the mouth parts remain inside the victims body and can produce an infection as Scott advised.

Aside from washing the eye abundantly to clean from all the ticks debris, maybe you should consider using some cream with antibiotics proper to treat pinkeye.

Look, I am no veteriniarian and I advise you to contact one, although I understand that sometimes it can be difficult. I would, but that is me!

On the other hand, brainstorming here to help you to save the eye could make the difference for NewBaby, thus I allowed myself to express some thinking.

Good luck and please keep us updated.

 

[Zhin]

Thanks, all this helps out how to effectively get rid of this thing, what i have is Saline solution, alcohol , and tweezers.
I just tried now , but its still on her eye,. Is there anything i can sort of place near that tick so it will just come off?

 

[Kitekeeper]

I think the tick is dead by now.

Most likely the tick was a female and when you bursted her blood full abdomen she might have delivered eggs that can hatch and start to suck NewBaby blood once again.

That is another story as you might have to take profilatic measures against ticks and mites with NewBaby and any other bird you might have. There are some good medications to go for.

Regarding the tick in the eye, as I believe its already dead but its mouth pieces might be inside the eye tissue or her eyelid skin I guess we should wait until the bird body throw it out. During that process that might take a week or so you should consider using antibiotics cream proper for eye tissues. Please do not use alcohol in the eye.

I think it is a good idea to wash the eye with saline solution until Newbaby is no longer scratching it, wich hopefully means there are no longer tick debris.

Take a good look in Newbaby for any other ticks, usually they do not come alone and the neck, head and wings would be a good place to start looking.

 

[Zhin]

NewBaby needs your help



thanks so much for these replies, it really helps , i was monitoring her today, but



ok i see this , scar like thing on her beak. Idont know if its a result from her using her beak to clean using the wood perch, because this wasnt there , and its new, later today, right now im spotting more, dryness flakiness ??

 

[Kitekeeper]

Hi Zhin,

It does not look the bad the scar in the beak, probably will heal itself. How is the eye??

 

[Zhin]

Hi Zhin,

It does not look the bad the scar in the beak, probably will heal itself. How is the eye??

She seems fine so far, but that retarded thing is still in her eye.. it looks sort of white now, like a point in her eye, tried using the tweezers to get it again last week, but it was really hard to get a grip, i used Similasan Eye relief drops in here eye now,

 

[Kitekeeper]

Hi Zhin,

I am glad to hear she is doing well, thanks. Can you provide a picture of the eye?

As you said it turned into a white point in the eye, I suspect it might be an abscess (with pus inside), so please DO NOT use tweezers, use an antibiotic cream proper for eye tissues.

 

[Flboy]

For me, this has been one of the most stressful posts in a long time!

 

[Zhin]

the things still there, note the white dot right underneath the upper lid,

i havent not used this tweezers tech anymore;
the thing is still sitting in her eye, her actual eye is ok, its this thing

 

[Kitekeeper]

Thanks for the update! Can you tell if the white spot is in the eye itself or in the eyelid?

 

[Laurasea]

This is inflamed tissue! Not a bug or mite@ she probably damaged her eye when she damaged her beak. Do not mess with it!
Eyes are extremely delicate, and anything concerning an eye is considering an emergency and requires specialized care.

An abrasion on the corneal, or infection, or fungal infection, or scar, can appear white or cloudy.

A vet, and if needed veterinarian eye medicine is all I can recommend.