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Hello all,

A buddy of mine has a blue-fronted amazon. He recently noticed that this female amazon has a clear fluid in the back of her throat. He says that he can only see it when she yawns or when she's got her beak wide open playing with a larger toy. The fluid is perfectly clear and has a consistency almost the same as human saliva (he knows because he managed to swab a little out). Obviously, he knows that parrots don't have saliva. The parrot's breath smells just the same as it always has (no stink at all), and she continues to vocalize completely normally and enthusiastically at her normal times. He says that it's totally possible that this fluid has been there all along and that he may have just not noticed it before. His worry is yeast infection, but he wonders if this fluid is a normal part of the digestive system; something that aids in the swallowing of food. Apparently, the fluid never comes to the front of her mouth and she never leaves this residue on her toys or anything else that she mouths. This amazon's last vet visit (a few months ago) revealed her to be in very good health, and she is almost never fed sugary foods (a very good pellet brand, vegetables, and occasionally fruit--never junk). She's acting completely normally, and my friend is very attentive to changes in her behavior and physique.

So, does anyone know anything about this? Is this a normal part of digestion? What are other symptoms of yeast infection besides a stink? I've personally seen inside the amazon's mouth, and you can see a little glisten on the very far back of the tongue and back of the throat. I did not detect any lesions or abnormal morphology, but I'm not an expert, and I don't personally own an amazon.

Any help would be wonderful.

Thank you!

Ragnarok

If I were your friend, I would call my avian vet's office and ask these questions. My Amazons are rather quiet and seldom give me a clear view of the backs of their throats.

Contrary to popular belief, parrots DO have saliva. They do not have the amount of saliva in their mouths as say us humans or dogs, but they DO have saliva... so this may be what your friend is seeing. If in doubt, call a vet and ask!

MFids wrote:Contrary to popular belief, parrots DO have saliva. They do not have the amount of saliva in their mouths as say us humans or dogs, but they DO have saliva... so this may be what your friend is seeing. If in doubt, call a vet and ask!

that's interesting cause the back of Kias tongue looks wet sometimes. Not real wet, but just shiny. She tongues me all the time and I've never felt anything, but again, it looks like it's on the back of the tongue area.