Air sac mite symptoms, treatment, etc

Geordie · Post by **Geordie** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 5:51 am

I have been doing by best to research as much as I can in a very short time, one week ago I had never heard of an air sac mite, but now I know that they can be very prevelant in Gouldians and Canaries and some other finches too. One symptom I found on one website was a slight clicking while breathing, hmm should I be overly worried if one of my 2 month old Javas suddenly started clicking? Breathing seems normal and doesn't get out of breath after moving around a lot. Never been outside and have not been in contact with other birds.

Somebody said to wash my cage with vinegar and let it dry in the sun just in case...hmm...I am not very confident with the websites that I am getting my info from so you guys seem to be the experts so can anyone give me the be all and end all of the air sac mite stuff.

Is this accurate?
http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/g ... ben_en.htm

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 2:01 am

That website seems pretty accurate to me. I just use SCATT on all my birds both as a preventative and treating measure for air sac mites. Once they've had them for awhile, they completely stop singing or making any sound at that. I had one gouldian that happened to.

I HATE AIR SAC MITES! That is why I currently only own one gouldian

Geordie · Post by **Geordie** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 2:07 am

It's a lot of work for some little finches isn't it. But I am trying to read up as much as possible about any kind of ailment that may come their way.

Still worried about their eyes closing, but seems slightly better since I increased the heat in their cage and took away their treats and just left them with the baby food. What puzzles me though is that there is no swelling and the eyes look normal.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 2:09 am

http://www.justbirdstuff.com/search.php?mode=search

Here is where you can buy the scatt

Geordie · Post by **Geordie** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 2:58 am

Thanks Emily, that will be handy to have around just in case, it should be available here in Japan so I will check the pet store for it, it might be called something different though but I am sure I can get the same thing.

trevorama · Post by **trevorama** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 4:28 pm

There is another product out there S76 which you put in the water, not on the bird, as with Scatt. I've used Scatt before and it worked great. Now, however, I have a large aviary and there is no possibility of catching 30 birds to apply it, so I have the S76. I haven't had a problem with air-sac mites (yet) since I first had them (a pair of Zebras I saved from a horrible place) but I will be treating as a preventative with this new product. Maybe it's available in Japan.

Geordie · Post by **Geordie** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 8:35 am

My birds got a clean bill of health from the vet only a little over 2 weeks ago, but Riff has started open mouth breathing with a kind of a wheezy sound over the past couple of days, not all the time, just usually late at night when he is starting to doze off, once he is zombied then there is no sound. Raff on the other hand seems fine...could Riff have the dreaded mite? Both have great appetites and seem in great spirits and I can't see any other symptoms in Riff which would suggest the mites.

spector · Post by **spector** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:14 pm

Scatt is basically just Ivermectin, which is available OTC at most feed stores. If you can't find Scatt, you might ask your veterinarian about how to dose your bird correctly with Ivermectin. I do use Scatt, and it is miraculous how fast and efficiently it works (one drop applied topically and you are done)!

I have used S76 (which is also Ivermectin, but in a water-soluble form) and have not been thrilled by the results. It takes three weeks, during which you have to clean the cage with insecticide weekly, and I found it to be ineffective. I used the Scatt AFTER the S76, when not only was my original bird still suffering, but two more had started getting sick AFTER starting the treatment. I only had six birds (three of which were showing signs of air sac mites), so it wasn't too much of a chore to catch each one and put a drop of Scatt on them. Within 48 hours, even the original sick bird sounded 200% better!