Reptile & Amphibian Forums

MY mustcahe parakeet has been acting strange latley. It all started when he lost alot of his wing feathers followed by a lot of his head feathers. He has been sneezing a bit when he is covered at night. He has been a little quieter but still vocal when my mom walks in the room. He has also been shaking like he is cold. He lets people pick him up like always. When my dad picks him up he bites him in the face for some reason. I have been researching moting and this is a possibility. He has been eating normally. No loss of apetite, if anything he has gained apetite. Is there anything you could reccommend doing?? Such as certain things to feed him? Keep in mind he is not a "BUDGIE" he is more like a conure.

Thanks, George

If he is missing patches of feathers on his head, and he has no cage mate, this is a definate cause for concern. Molting should never result in a bare patch. I would highly recommend a trip to an avian vet for testing and diagnoses.

If he has a cage mate, the cage mate is probably plucking the feathers off his head. It might be best to seperate them.

He does not have a cage mate...He is just losing feathers on his head. They seem to be growing back but he scratches his head with his foot. What should i do??

The scratching is normal with new feathers. They do it both to release the new feathers from their "sheaths" and maybe it even itches a bit.

As far as why he lost them with no cage mate he definitely needs checked by an avian vet. There are a lot of problems it could be and some are potentially serious.

Stephanie

Are you sure he is not just molting???? I am feeding him molting aid...Should I take it away from him?? I also have him under a heat lamp cause its a bit chilly in my apartment.