Is rubber safe for parrots to chew?

[saroj12]

I had always read NO because it is made from petroleum byproducts. With the current popularity of parrot sneakers I was wondering if the rubber used in them is non-toxic...?
Or maybe they are not made of rubber at all

 

[lotus15]

I'm pretty sure rubber is not safe... I don't know about those shoes or what they are made of, but you're right about rubber and petroleum. Also rubber tends to give off a VERY strong smell. Our noses grow accustomed to it after a while but it still releases a very icky scent.

 

[CarmieJo]

Natural latex rubber is made from a plant and Howard loves to chew on it. There is also synthetic rubber which is made from petrochemicals. However I don't think it would really be any different than them chewing on plastic but I don't know that for sure.

 

[JLcribber]

The Kong balls for dogs are the same as the kong balls for parrots.

You need to be very careful with rubber. It's very easy for a bird to nip off little bite size chewy bits that act a lot like food in their mouth. I'd let a bird chew on it if I was sure he doesn't eat anything that he knows isn't food. I would think a smaller bird that doesn't "think" like a big parrot would be more likely to gobble a chunk. I wouldn't want one getting stuck in their throat.

They don't last long around here.

 

[CarmieJo]

I forgot, Howard has one of those holey balls too.

 

[saroj12]

we do too, but my birds don't chew it....it's great for sticking stems and leaves of veggies into!!

 

[birdlady]

I have those toys too and the only birds that actually chew through them are Nani and Chopper.


When I first got Nani, I bought one of the little mini bird kongs...she loves playing with it. But then she grabbed it and her upper beak got stuck deep in the rubber. It was tough to pull it out. In the trash it went.

 

[Danita]

Newman used to pick tiny little pieces off of the green one, I kept thinking he was eating them because they were so small. So I gave it to Bea, she just throws it around.