Budgie eye disease

Budgies have a tendency to hide it when they are not feeling well. A bird that is sick may act perfectly healthy until it becomes so weak that it can no longer hide the signs and symptoms of illness. Budgies have large and complex eyes that can fall victim to disease and injury rather easily. Budgie eye disease can cause blindness or other problems if not diagnosed and treated properly.

Some budgie eye irritation can occur without a disease being the culprit. Budgies have sensitive eyes, and irritants include smoke, chemicals or dust in the air. Watch for symptoms like eyes kept closed or watering or cloudiness of the eyes. The first step is to determine whether or not a contaminant may be the culprit.

If the budgie's eyes are clouded, watering or seem to have gunk in them, the most likely culprit in many situations is an eye infection. Sensitive budgie eyes are prone to infection, especially from contaminants like dust and smoke. Because the infection may have spread, or may have begun someplace else in the body, veterinary diagnosis is important so that the right treatment is used.

Although eye irritation or conjunctivitis is not a common symptom when it comes to parrot fever, it still may appear as a symptom in birds that are suffering from parrot fever in combination with other symptoms such as ocular discharge, respiratory infection, nasal discharge and diarrhoea. Parrot fever or chlamydophila psittaci is a common ailment in many types of birds beyond budgies.

Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the inner part of the eye that can cause swelling, redness, watering of the eye and crusty growth around the affected eye. As the conjunctivitis worsens, the crusty substance can grow to cover the eye completely. Conjunctivitis can lead to other problems including respiratory issues, which when left unchecked can lead to death.

Any time that a budgie appears unwell, a veterinarian should be contacted to offer the correct diagnosis. By the time a budgie is behaving in an unhealthy manner, the eye disease has likely progressed and will need to be treated as soon as possible. In addition to the appearance of irritation in the eyes, a budgie that is ill may also appear fluffed up, thinner than normal and may appear to have difficulty balancing.