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Why is my male budgie's cere turning dark? Should I see a vet?
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Bird | Parakeet | Male | 5 years and 6 months old
My 5-year-old male budgie's cere is turning a dark color. My Google searches indicate this could be iodine deficiency or a testicular tumor. He doesn't have any other symptoms; he's playing and singing like normal, leaves his normal "deposits," and is eating and drinking. He has always refused to eat anything but his seed blend, banana peels, and spinach, so it's possible he has a vitamin deficiency, but, looking at pictures, the darkening happened since November. Should I take him to the vet?
3 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on February 7th, 2022
If he is definitely male, then yes, this change is usually due to a testicular tumor - since the testicles are inside the body you cannot really check this. If you are worried you need to take him to an avian vet and have some blood testing done to check the hormone levels. There is nothing you can do for diagnosis at home. Be sure to take him to a vet that is used to treating birds.
I'm glad he is seemingly fine now but that could change quickly as birds often hide how sick they are until they are very sick.
Nutrition is important but an all/mostly seed diet usually causes other issues like fatty liver. You need to speak to the vet about how to get him changed over to a pelleted diet like Harrison's. Here is a link to their website.
( https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com )
Hope this helps. Best wishes.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpfulRelated Answers from Veterinarians
Answered By Emi Knafo, DVM, DACZM
Veterinarian, Board-Certified Zoological Medicine Specialist
Published on December 16th, 2017
Hello. I’m sorry to tell you that this is likely a poor sign. The color of the cere (tissue around the nostrils) is driven by sex hormones and is why make budgies have blue ceres. A color change signifies a change in hormone levels and it is sadly quite common to see tumors of the testicles that result in cere color changes from blue to brown. I would urge you to have Kiwi evaluated by your veterinarian to make sure here isn’t some other cause of the color change and see if there may be something that can be done early. If the tumor is small, some intervention may be helpful (surgery, hormone therapy, etc), but typically these aren’t easy to treat and we try to just keep the bird comfortable. Best of luck to you and Kiwi.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on May 10th, 2018
I wouldn’t be too concerned just yet. It is normal for a bird’s cere to vary slightly in color occasionally because of diet, environment (temperature), and overall health.
I would recommend keeping a close eye on London over the next week or so. Make sure he is still eating well and his stools and behavior are normal. If not, then you may want to consider taking him in to be checked out. I would also recommend taking a photo of the cere now and then again in a few days to see if the color change is progressing. If it seems to be turning more black then I would take him in to be checked out.
I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!2Pet Parents found this answer helpful