My bird seems to be itching his tongue alot??

[riki126]

Hi guys.

My Indian Ringneck, Leo has started itching the tip of his tongue with his beak for about 2 weeks now. I don't know if it could be a sign of sickness? He is malting at the moment so it could be caused by that?

Thanks everyone

 

[SailBoat]

Hi guys. My Indian Ringneck, Leo has started itching the tip of his tongue with his beak for about 2 weeks now. I don't know if it could be a sign of sickness? He is malting at the moment so it could be caused by that? Thanks everyone

Although it may appear to be something that a few words can define, it really isn't. How old always helps. How often per hour helps. And other than the molting has anything else changed; diet, eating habits, water intake, etc...

Some possibilities: paper cut on the tongue, food (diet) irritation, muscle spasm, nerve ending issue.

Unless someone else has any ideas and it does not reduce over the next couple of days, its odd enough, therefore concerning enough to require a visit the your Certified Avian Vet (CAV).

 

[EllenD]

I'm going to agree, oddly I just noticed my year and 2 month old, male Green Cheek Conure doing something weird with his tongue, though I hadn't considered that he was "itching" it.

I first noticed him doing this last week, I as eating dinner and he landed on my shoulder and was trying to take the food right out of mouth, as usual lol, and when I gave him a little piece of sweet potatoe he ate it and then started sticking his tongue out of his mouth the entire way and rubbing it all over his beak. It was bizarre. He has now been doing this every single time I feed him anything, but he doesn't do it when he's eating his own food like his pellets, seed mix, or veggies. But every time he gets even a little piece of people food he eats it, and after he's swallowed it completely he sticks that tongue out and rubs it all over his beak for a couple of seconds.

Who knows...I just got back from taking my Senegal to my CAV, I'll be making an appointment for my Green Cheek later today...I can't wait to tell them that his problem is "sticking his tongue out and wiggling it around after he swallows any people food".

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[Teddscau]

I've had a few birds who liked to lick their beaks. Charlie did it for years. He'd lick the roof to the tip of his beak. I think he'd get seed husks stuck there sometimes. It was the cutest thing. In the short time I had Simon, he did it too. Noah licks the outside of his beak sometimes, like someone licking their lips. He does this when his beak gets overgrown (his beak had this overgrown part on the side When I got him that drove him nuts!), or when a piece of it chips off, or after he's had it filed. It's like when you chop a tooth and you can't stop rubbing your tongue on it.

Your birds might be licking their beaks because the food feels weird in their mouth, or they have a little piece of food stuck in their beak. OP's bird might need the tip of their beak filed, as licking can be an indication that it's getting a bit too long. EllenD, your bird may be sticking his tongue out due to starch, refined sugars, oils, or processed food. Another reason he may be doing it is he's enjoyed this strange food, and he's licking any residue off his beak.

 

[Rumo13]

My quaker parrot started doing that in the beginning of january, so i thought she may have injured her tongue. I went to the vet, the vet said nothing was wrong with her mouth. They did a blood, culture, mouth swab test. They just said that my quaker had low white blood cells and calcium levels. They gave me herbal and calicum liquid supplements, but i ran out. And she started doing this behavior a week ago. So riki126, did you figure out why?