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Re-awakening the dangers of toothbrushes as toys.

Greycloud

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This topic came up in some FB groups and I wanted to share my findings here as well. Some people question the safety of allowing our birds to play with toothbrushes, and rightly so. Even some parrot toys contain toothbrushes that are dangerous. While not all toothbrushes are made the same most contain zinc and metal clips that hold in the bristles. Small parrots may not be able to get through the head of the toothbrush, but larger birds definitely can. I did a study where I bought several brands of TBs and cut the heads in half. EVERY one of them contained these metal clip/zinc clips. So, it is me advice that toothbrushes should not be used as toys for our parrots as there is a danger of Heavy Metal toxicity poisoning.

toothbrush 003.jpg

toothbrush 005.jpg
 

Clueless

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My vet did a paper or article on this a while back. I found out about it through the gateway parrot club. Scary. I think I read about this somewhere on the forums but it is always good to repeat things.
 

Ankou

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Thank you for your dedicated research.
This is very informative, I had no idea.
 

SandraK

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RoxieW

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Thank you for sharing; this was news to me so I appreciate it when members share old information :D I had a cockatiel over 30 years ago and have just gotten back into having fids in the last 3 years. (I'll let you guess how old I am) :hehe:
 

Ankou

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I never would of even thought of giving my guys a toothbrush :wideyed:
Same, but it's nice to be informed.
It makes sense other people may have, it's like a chew/preening toy all in one. It actually make me think of the potential, like I have a brush with a rubber grip Peanut would probably love to gnaw on. If I cut the heads off, check the handle to make sure it's just rubber and plastic, maybe it'd be safe enough for tiny beaks she'd enjoy it.
 

Cynthia & Percy

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thanks for the information
 

Karen

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Thanks for the reminder. Years ago a Ruby Macaw got zinc poisoning from chewing on toothbrushes and had to go through a long and arduous chelation process.
 

expressmailtome

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Thank you for bringing this up again. I am sure that people will see this thread that were not previously aware of the danger.

Matt
 

Birdbabe

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Wow. Never crossed my mind to give birds a toothbrush, but always grateful for info!
 
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