New Consure Mom needs advise

[LeslieLuke]

Hi Everyone,

We're super excited to adopt a baby suncheek conure. His name is Solari (sunburst radiance in Italian). He comes home Friday. That said, we need help! My son is 7, and it's his first pet friend. We've got the conure handbook, 5 foot cage, 1st aid kit, toys, multiple stainless steel feeding bowls... now I'm scared!

He's a happy conure, 3 months, completely weaned. We have an Avian vet wellness check next week. I'm worried about sunscreen and lotion / perfume. Can anyone advise on how long after we apply that do we let our baby conure on us? Should sunscreen get completely absorbed? Is there a safe brand? Right now, the baby conure licks everything. We've thrown out all our nonstick cookware - replaced with stainless steel. We don't do oven self-cleans. No airfreshners, febreeze, etc. We've got a bird-safe cleaner from the bird store. We're washing our hands frequently. There's no other pet in the house.

I'm just scared about the conure licking our skin. And no, we're not allowing him close to our mouths or kissing his beak. Please advise! Thanks very much!

 

[Flboy]

Hello and welcome! I don’t use any scents, so I will let others handle that!

 

[Laurasea]

Congratulations! It is nerve racking to be a new parrot! I use lotions and potions when going out, and wash it off when I come home. Parrots especially young ones do like to explore with their tongues, should grow out of that pretty quickly. Then start the ripping off of scabs and eating them stage, that last for life

 

[Jen5200]

Congrats on your new addition - I hope you’ll share pictures....I think suncheeks are adorable . Sounds like you have done your homework and are pretty darn prepared!

Like Laura, I generally just wash everything off before the birds are on me. I don’t use perfumes or scented products in general. Sunscreen I wash off as some of my birds still lick my skin and I’d prefer that they don’t ingest it.

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and Solari!! Great job taking the proper proactive measures for safety.

Many sunscreen lotions contain zinc oxide, a heavy metal. Metal toxicity can be deadly for parrots. Caveat: I am not a chemist and assume zinc oxide is equally dangerous as zinc or lead coatings found on inferior cages and toys, etc.

 

[Allee]

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on your newest addition. Sounds like you did a lot of research before bringing your little conure home. I love the name, Solari and the Italian meaning behind it. Great idea to schedule a well check with an avian vet immediately.

For the reasons Scott mentioned above I would be extremely cautious with sunscreens or lotions anywhere your conure has access to.