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Metal poisoning from bird cages?
The following is a thread from a Linkedin group I'm in
My sun conure had a water bottle for years...until my vet discovered Petri had metal toxicity. So I purged everything that looked even remotely like galvanized metal, including the bottle holder, from Petri's cage. Be cautious there, please!
To stay on topic, Mouse (TAG) dunks food sometimes, but not always. My Indian Ringneck Parakeet does it with everything from Cheerios to Zupreem to Kaytee pellets...she even dunks her TOYS. I kid you not. Apparently, everything's better with water droplets on it. Needless to say, I place several small water dishes in her cage and on her playgym for her and I change her water frequently. :)
My Reply: @Sandy - it's unlikely the metal poisoning came from the water bottle holder - did you ever have the cage tested? I always question the metal toxicity diagnosis - because I hear it so often
Oh! Hi, Mitch! I missed your reply/question the other day! I'm sorry.
Didn't test the cage...it's a California Cage with the powder-coat finish still in nice condition from my OCD where Petri's concerned, and Petri & I are the original owners, so I have a good level of confidence in it. :) Petri got past the problem last year...and I got rid of every toy with a metal holder/chain/wire/etc. His water bottle was held by a galvanized metal contraption that his breeder had given me 10 years before, and while I kept it clean, I guess it never occurred to me that the thing could oxidize and problems could occur. The avian vet did a blood test, so I did the paranoid-mom thing and now anything Petri comes into contact with gets "the eye" from me. I think I still have zinc websites bookmarked from that ordeal...
I hang Petri's toys with bird-safe rope unless I have some kind of "proof" that the links are safe. Even then...I usually replace the links with rope.
Now here's a question for you!
What do you think of the Avian Adventures cages? Their powder coat finishes look nice and smooth...and they look very well thought out
My Reply: Having a California Cage is not a confidence instiller. Their reputation far exceeded their quality. They have been out of business for about 5 years. They had numerous manufacturing problems the last few years in business dovetailing with the (reported) heated romance between a principal & a principle’s wife.
My sun conure had a water bottle for years...until my vet discovered Petri had metal toxicity. So I purged everything that looked even remotely like galvanized metal, including the bottle holder, from Petri's cage. Be cautious there, please!
To stay on topic, Mouse (TAG) dunks food sometimes, but not always. My Indian Ringneck Parakeet does it with everything from Cheerios to Zupreem to Kaytee pellets...she even dunks her TOYS. I kid you not. Apparently, everything's better with water droplets on it. Needless to say, I place several small water dishes in her cage and on her playgym for her and I change her water frequently. :)
My Reply: @Sandy - it's unlikely the metal poisoning came from the water bottle holder - did you ever have the cage tested? I always question the metal toxicity diagnosis - because I hear it so often
Oh! Hi, Mitch! I missed your reply/question the other day! I'm sorry.
Didn't test the cage...it's a California Cage with the powder-coat finish still in nice condition from my OCD where Petri's concerned, and Petri & I are the original owners, so I have a good level of confidence in it. :) Petri got past the problem last year...and I got rid of every toy with a metal holder/chain/wire/etc. His water bottle was held by a galvanized metal contraption that his breeder had given me 10 years before, and while I kept it clean, I guess it never occurred to me that the thing could oxidize and problems could occur. The avian vet did a blood test, so I did the paranoid-mom thing and now anything Petri comes into contact with gets "the eye" from me. I think I still have zinc websites bookmarked from that ordeal...
I hang Petri's toys with bird-safe rope unless I have some kind of "proof" that the links are safe. Even then...I usually replace the links with rope.
Now here's a question for you!
What do you think of the Avian Adventures cages? Their powder coat finishes look nice and smooth...and they look very well thought out
My Reply: Having a California Cage is not a confidence instiller. Their reputation far exceeded their quality. They have been out of business for about 5 years. They had numerous manufacturing problems the last few years in business dovetailing with the (reported) heated romance between a principal & a principle’s wife.
We dropped their line due to quality issues about 2 years before they tanked. Lisa made a great point that I was remiss in making. Most municipal water supplies contain more lead and zinc than any reputable cage manufacturer’s cages.
We live in Chicago and won’t drink the water.
I can’t speak directly to Avian Adventure cages. Their focus is sales to big box stores. Our experience with them was not good but that was before they were sold to Midwest Pet.
Our 3 main lines of cages are Prevue, HQ & AE. We have assays on file from them and I wrote a review comparing three similar cages from each manufactures found here http://tinyurl.com/2axftly hope this helps
Posted by WindyCityParrot.com at Wednesday, September 08, 2010 9:22 AM 
Categories: Conures, Veterinary
Categories: Conures, Veterinary
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