Air Sac Mites

[Sally]

Since ASM are in the respiratory tract, I can't imagine that something like a powder or dust would be good for them--they are already having breathing problems.

[carmena]

I got that treatment from the Barrons book on Gouldians. I do not know the author but he says he is an orinthologist and biologist.

I have never had any adverse issues with the birds and only do it when transfering them for one reason of the other. (ie: I don't catch them just to dust them)

Should I NOT be doing this?

[CandoAviary]

Maybe that book was written before they had the more modern way of dosing. Seems using scatt or S76 would be much easier and cleaner to use.
We use to dust our dogs with sevin to keep the fleas off but now the new improvements of the once a month flea products are the best.

[cindy]

Believe it or not there are some pet bird owners that when they purchase a new bird they put the bird in a pillow case containing Sevens and shake. They claim it kills Lice and Mites.

I would never do that to a bird. Have you ever heard of doing this?

[Finch Fry]

The advantage to using SCATT is that you dose directly on the bird's skin, so it is absorbed completely. With S76 or Iverlux, they take it in the drinking water, but it is not as precise with the amount they get. I really don't know, I have never had to use both before, but if two canaries are still clicking, I would think they still have ASM, or there are so many dead mites in their airways that they cannot get rid of them. Then you might want to try the SCATT, followed by antibiotics and probiotics, as Candace has suggested in a posting just before this.

S76 can be used directly on the skin as well. One drop directly to the skin on the back of the neck for 5 days in a row is the stated dosage.

[kouma]

S76 says to apply one drop on the skin of the neck, whereas SCAT says to apply on the skin under the wing, does it matter where any of them gets applied as long as its on the skin?

[Finch Fry]

S76 says to apply one drop on the skin of the neck, whereas SCAT says to apply on the skin under the wing, does it matter where any of them gets applied as long as its on the skin?

My bottle of SCATT says to treat on the skin of the thigh. Between skin of neck, skin of thigh and skin under wing ,I think its pretty clear it just needs to get on the bird, on their skin, anyway you can do it.

I found that trying to apply this stuff to the skin of the thigh is pretty much impossible... the feathers are too small to manipulate with my fingers to reach their skin. I dosed on the beck of their neck where It is much easier for me to pull feathers back and dose.

[finchyfriends500]

What causes ASM?

My other Zebra died on thursday after showing the same symptoms described for these mites. I was going to give our local avian vet a ring about him but he'd already died when I got home from college however, i've had my finches for over a year so if he did indeed die of air sac mites, where did they come from? and should I worry about my remaining finch getting them? (He seems fine at the moment - breathing normally, looks well and is very active and sings very regularly)

I cleaned the cage and everything in it with a strong pet-safe disinfectant after he'd died, should that help? I will also change the food if this could be a cause.

[CandoAviary]

Many times the ASM can live dormant in the air sacs. When the bird becomes stressed, sick, etc. The ASM can play havoc on their systems.

[Jack]

I keep ivermectin (brand Iver-on) for my exhibition mice and treat them preventatively at 1 part ivermectin to 5 parts water, so I already have ivermectin on hand. I just bought a male zebra finch today and he has an open mouth, which worries me. However, since he's so small I am concerned about overdosing him with the ivermectin. Is overdose possible?

[CandoAviary]

Yes, you can overdose with this. The zebra finch may just be opening his mouth from stress, fatigue. In a new situation they will be very flighty and get out of breath...panting is natural in this situation. Sometimes they will also do it as a threat gesture. Give him a couple of day to adjust to his new surroundings and see if he still does it.

[Jack]

Thank you! I know that, with mice, as long as the dilution of Iver-on to water stays at or below 1:5, you can't really overdose, but my hunch was that with finches it was different, which makes sense. I'm glad I asked here. Again, thank you so much!

[jessyh]

I think one of my gouldians has air sac mites. Yesterday I noticed a tiny bump near his beak. I didn't think anything of it. He's at the end of his molt so I thought it was a little group of new feathers. Today it was all crusty so I caught him and put a drop of S76 on it. While I was holding him, I noticed a clicking. So, I put him up to my ear and dangit...CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. Really loud and clear. So, I caught 2 more gouldians from the same cage and listened and heard nothing. There's so many other birds in that cage and I can't possibly catch them all, so I'm treating the water with S76. He still sings all day long, is very actice, isn't fluffed up or sleepy. No open-mouth breathing. Totally normal. If a bird has air sac mites and has the loud clicking, will they still act normal? Could I have heard something else and I'm mistaken? Also, I use S76 regularly (once a month or so, 2-3 days in a row) as a preventative. Guess it didn't work.

[Sally]

I don't know if S76 every month would be too much. I use Iverlux (basically same) but I only use it every four months as a preventative. The directions for Iverlux call for it to be administered for two days in a row, then repeated for two weeks, for a total of three weeks treatment (six days in all). Then I don't do it again for four months. Perhaps you are never getting them cleaned out completely, because you aren't really breaking the cycle.

[jessyh]

You're probably completely right. I didn't even know they had them, so I thought once a month was good! Who knows how long they have had them, none have shown any signs at all. They are actually trying to breed all over the cage so I was just about to set everyone up for breeding now that their molts are over and they have been so...excited. I caught a 4th gouldian today cause she now has a tiny sore at the side of her mouth. Put S76 on it and listened and she has them too. I put her back in the cage and now she is on the bottom, asleep. Not looking well. She looked fine before. Sigh. Never thought they would get them, I thought I had the healthiest goulds in town. I really wish I was hearing something else.