Bird and metal

[Saravp]

I have a rainbow lorikeet who adores licking jewelry such as rings, bracelets and anklets. Should i let him? Is it safe or can he get Poisoned from the metal?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I have a rainbow lorikeet who adores licking jewelry such as rings, bracelets and anklets. Should i let him? Is it safe or can he get Poisoned from the metal?

Does he lick his cage bars or any metal fasteners or toy parts? It seems it would take an awful lot of licking for the bird to absorb enough metal to cause a problem maybe if he had the metal object hanging out of his mouth all day long for very long periods.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

Sadly, they can get metal poisoning from certain metals, especially pewter and similar metals. Not sure about gold or silver. The big concern is Zinc and lead poisoning.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Sadly, they can get metal poisoning from certain metals, especially pewter and similar metals. Not sure about gold or silver. The big concern is Zinc and lead poisoning.

Oh don’t forget copper!

 

[wrench13]

100% correct. Pewter, lead, zinc and copper are considered heavy metals and prolonged contact with them can cause heavy metal poisoning. Gold and silver and of course any gemstones would be OK. LOL, why not turn that proclivity for jewelry licking into a fun party trick - tell your guests that he in training to become the first bird burglar - those cat burglars have had it too good over the years!

As an aside, my little Amazon Salty loves to play King of the Mountain when I dump my rather extensive pirate jewelry collection into a pile on the bed in preparation for cleaning it all. He will fight off all comers who try to steal his treasure!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Sadly, they can get metal poisoning from certain metals, especially pewter and similar metals. Not sure about gold or silver. The big concern is Zinc and lead poisoning.

I agree about some metals like zinc, lead and probably copper. I'm thinking stainless steel, gold, silver (the jewelry kind not pure soft gold).

 

[Saravp]

Does he lick his cage bars or any metal fasteners or toy parts? It seems it would take an awful lot of licking for the bird to absorb enough metal to cause a problem maybe if he had the metal object hanging out of his mouth all day long for very long periods.

Actually we haven't had him for long as we found him as a wild baby fallen out of the nest a couple weeks ago and haven't found a good cage for him yet so right now he is free roaming the house on a large stand that we made him.

 

[Saravp]

Sadly, they can get metal poisoning from certain metals, especially pewter and similar metals. Not sure about gold or silver. The big concern is Zinc and lead poisoning.

Yeah I've heard that zinc is really bad for them, the problem is I'm not sure what material some of the jewellery is, especially the jewellery of quests.

 

[Saravp]

100% correct. Pewter, lead, zinc and copper are considered heavy metals and prolonged contact with them can cause heavy metal poisoning. Gold and silver and of course any gemstones would be OK. LOL, why not turn that proclivity for jewelry licking into a fun party trick - tell your guests that he in training to become the first bird burglar - those cat burglars have had it too good over the years!

As an aside, my little Amazon Salty loves to play King of the Mountain when I dump my rather extensive pirate jewelry collection into a pile on the bed in preparation for cleaning it all. He will fight off all comers who try to steal his treasure!

Thanks for the information. Haha sounds fun, Ill try it.
Awww cute.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Actually we haven't had him for long as we found him as a wild baby fallen out of the nest a couple weeks ago and haven't found a good cage for him yet so right now he is free roaming the house on a large stand that we made him.

How do you contain his liquid poops? You must have a real mess on your hands! Are you planning to get him a cage soon? It's probably good to get him accustomed to a cage unless you plan on releasing him.

 

[Saravp]

How do you contain his liquid poops? You must have a real mess on your hands! Are you planning to get him a cage soon? It's probably good to get him accustomed to a cage unless you plan on releasing him.

Toilet paper, toilet paper aaaand more toilet paper... 😅 Yeah it's a handful. We're looking on gumtree and facebook marketplace but so far no good cages. We're planning on leaving it up to him when he gets a bit older and his flight feathers grow back if he wants to stay with us or go and live as a wild bird, or do both, its up to him.

 

[LoveMyFids]

I have a rainbow lorikeet who adores licking jewelry such as rings, bracelets and anklets. Should i let him? Is it safe or can he get Poisoned from the metal?

No, don't let him! Jewelry has a lot of filler metals like nickel & such & it can be dangerous. I actually stopped wearing jewelry altogether except for small earrings because of mine always going for it.

 

[Saravp]

No, don't let him! Jewelry has a lot of filler metals like nickel & such & it can be dangerous. I actually stopped wearing jewelry altogether except for small earrings because of mine always going for it.

Okay thanks, I'll have a look into it again