There are many people who decide to opt for birds when it comes to welcoming an animal to their homes, and there are several species of birds that we can adopt as pets and among the most characteristic and friendly, we can highlight the canaries.
They are happy animals, easy to maintain in excellent condition, however, they are also exposed to various diseases and are particularly susceptible to parasitic infections.
- In this article we talk about the prevention and treatment of lice in canaries.
- So that we can offer the best care to your canary.
Canaries can be affected by lice, being particularly susceptible to parasitic infection caused by red lice, a parasite that feeds on the blood of mammals and other vertebrate animals and attacks the weakest birds first, starting with the young, if any.
It is a parasite whose presence can be difficult to detect because its habits are nocturnal and occur only at night. Continuous monitoring will be critical to detect red lice early, because when treatment starts later, it will be more difficult to completely eradicate the parasite.
To detect a parasitic infection caused by red lice, it is essential to observe the cage and the canary’s behavior at night. There are several methods to confirm the presence of this parasite:
Another sign that we can observe in our canary is a characteristic paleness of the skin that indicates contagion by blood-sucking parasites, which consume blood.
Red lice are very difficult to eliminate, especially if not detected in time, so it is necessary to use broad spectrum pest control, in this case, ivermectin, an active substance that can be applied in internal and external parasitic infections.
However, an overdose of this pest control can cause neurological symptoms in the canaries and even cause death in some cases.
Therefore, it is vitally important that you do not self-treat your canary. Your veterinarian will tell you how to administer pest control, what dose to use, and how often it needs to be applied.
To prevent your canaries from being affected by lice and other external parasites, it’s important to follow these tips:
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you visit our Parasitic Diseases section.