Mutism in your Pet Parrot
As we already know, parrots are very talkative, loud, and noisy animals. If a pet parrot has stopped talking it may simply be because something has scared it. That, and it needs to pay attention to the environment. But if you stop talking permanently for more than a day, something is wrong. It can be both physical and psychological, illness, discomfort, changes in the home, etc.
Sneezing
A pet parrot may occasionally sneeze to clear its nostrils of small particles that float in the environment. However, if the sneezing continues, it is no longer normal. An excess accumulation of dust in the air, tobacco smoke, the air fresheners that we use at home, can annoy and damage the health of our parrot. However, it may also be that the parrot has a cold, due to a viral or bacterial condition. Also, you may have air sac mites, tumors, or nutritional deficiencies.
Regurgitation movements of your Pet Parrot
The aforementioned head movements can also be accompanied by an attempted regurgitation and can be one of the symptoms that a pet parrot is sick. It may be that something is blocking your airway or crop. On many occasions, it is due to the presence of parasites or infections. Remember to deworm your parrot regularly.
Insistent scratching
Skin problems, such as dermatitis are common. However, it may also be due to the presence of external parasites. Stress and boredom may cause our pet parrot to develop abnormal behaviors such as stereotypies or even deleterious behavior. Such as self-mutilation, which can start with a simple repetitive scratching.
Inactivity within your Pet Parrot
Continuing with the symptoms that a parrot is sick, we already know that parrots are very active, curious, and playful animals. Therefore, if a pet parrot does not want to eat and is sad or down, it is bolted, does not want to move, and even falls off the stick where it usually remains, it is very possible that we are faced with a serious case that requires urgent veterinary attention. They may have been developing a disease of whatever nature and hid it until they reached that point.
By hedgehog94
Changes in stool
The feces are a good indication of the health of our pet parrot. We must be aware of changes in color, consistency, and frequency. If it increases its frequency and the consistency is more liquid, the parrot suffers from diarrhea. These can be caused by intestinal infection, parasites, chlamydia, lead or zinc poisoning, or liver problems.
If the color changes and the stool turns black, it may be because the parrot suffers from anorexia or has digested blood. If they turn clear, the pet parrot may have a pancreas problem. Also, if they are red it may have blood at the end of the digestive tract. The color of the stool also changes depending on the type of vegetable or fresh fruit that we give it. For example, if we give blackberries, the stool will be black and we should not worry.
Beak and/or nail overgrowth of your Pet Parrot
The beak and nails of a parrot grow continuously. If we do not provide perches or toys to help them wear them out, they may have an overgrowth. This is one of the symptoms that a pet parrot is sick and can be associated with hormonal problems, tumors, nutrient malabsorption, and other pathologies. All this can cause an exaggerated growth in these parts of the body.
Tremors
Tremors are part of the set of natural behaviors of a parrot, although it should not always occur. For example, if a gray parrot trembles, it may be in its reproductive season or it may have been nervous for some reason. Such as going to give it some toy or food that it loves. But it may also be that you are very scared about something that is happening.
When your pet Parrot has Changes in Plumage
The state of the plumage is indicative of the health, not only of a pet parrot but of all birds. Some of the negative changes that we can observe in the plumage and that are part of the symptoms that a parrot is sick are:
- Plucking: parrots only shed their feathers once a year, so if your parrot continually shed the feathers it is because something is wrong.
- Low brightness: if the plumage is dull, it may be that we are not giving it adequate food or that it suffers from parasites.
- Bald spots: Bald spots can appear naturally or because the pet parrot is plucking its feathers. This is known as “feather pecking/plucking“, indicating that the parrot’s stress levels are exaggeratedly high.
- Feathers in poor condition: if the feathers start to grow, but are fragile, break, do not have the normal color, or are deformed, our parrot could be suffering from a nutrient deficit, stress, or even have a genetic problem.
