Crystals for enrichment?!

[ohthatdemoness6]

Now I understand that everyone has different opinions about crystals and their healing properties but I'm not concerned about that. What I am concerned about is their use for ENRICHMENT!!!!!

context: I actually ended up finding about this because I was trying to find a way to elevate my tiel's fountain bowl so she can drink in it without falling in because shes leaning too far in, but it's still too deep for her to confidently climb in and I ran into a fb post about using crystals for healing!

But really, think about it, bright, colorful rocks to stare at and mess with is a nice and possibly safe and cheap alternative to buying tons of toys, not that im saying that buying things they can destroy is not necessary.

I did find a list of crystals that should NOT be handled and will def avoid them (if I am allowed to I want to post the link bc I think it will be helpful but I think googling unsafe crystals should suffice) but I wanted to ask what are your opinion on using crystals and stones for enrichment? Because if I can use a stone that is easy to clean and not plastic and 100% safe for my bird's water or whatever then heck yeah I wanna get in on this!!!

 

[SailBoat]

Hey, why play with semi-expensive stones! Go straight to the real thing: Diamonds! After all, if that stuff is kind of good, the really great stuff has to be really great! Hey its only money and you can turn them back into money if you need too!

After all, what is better for enrichment than Diamonds!

Stop by your nearest gravel yard and buy a bucket of washed river stones. They will provide the same 'enrichment' as crystals for a lot less money!

 

[fiddlejen]

Not sure how many crystals or how you plan to arrange them for her to access the water or to play with. My concern would be if she starts moving (relatively) heavy objects around, if she could somehow get injured by them. Like if you plan to line the water bowl with them to make it more shallow, and if she climbs INto a water bowl lined with stones / crystals, could her claws get pinched by them, etc.

 

[ohthatdemoness6]

Oh I totally would never arrange it and make it unstable for her to stand in and cause her to be fearful of the fountain, it's moreso I just put a stable platform that is a rock on the bottom so she can get in to bath and drink without issues, and maybe put in a crystal on the corner to encourage her to be curious and interested to check out the water.

I did manage to find some neat crystals that are safe to submerge so I'll just leave a crystal here or there and clean it every day. Because some of the crystals aren't 100% smooth and can possibly be chipped, I think leaving them inside the fountain under water will possibly be much safer because leaving it willy nilly in the cage will bring a higher chance of her trying to chew on it, eating a crystal shard and getting terribly sick or worse.

Overall, I think most parrots do not enjoy the concept of submerging their head under water even if it's for their favorite food, but I'll keep a close eye on her anyways if she's feeling risky


Just felt like sharing this interesting thought for my fellow bird owners!

EDIT: I'm dumb, I didn't even answer your concerns I'm so sorry :39:

Essentially it's just a large and heavy flat stone with no way for her to move it so she can use it to get in and out comfortably, and 1 or 2 stones inside the fountain to attract her to the water, nothing crazy! I hope that cleared everything up!

 

[ohthatdemoness6]

that's true! if birds go nuts for shiny things she would totally go nuts for diamonds, not to mention the amazing healing powers diamonds contain and the side income you can make with the less lustrous diamonds!

As they say, anything for our babies right!!

 

[noodles123]

Many crystals are not safe for parrots specifically because, for example, even some of the relatively safe/common ones, like quartz, selenite etc all contain very harmful fibers if inhaled in powder form(many are soft enough for a beak to grind down or break and many will crack if dropped on a hard surface). Some crystals contain lead, mercury, copper ,zinc, arsenic, asbestos etc (all poison)...and most of the fibers of less toxic ones can still cause serious respiratory problems in mammals if in contact with dust (parrots have even more sensitive respiratory systems, so even a teeny tiny bit could cause serious and lasting damage). Additionally, fake crystals can contain toxic dyes, polishes and polymers etc. I would not do this if I were you. For humans who aren't grinding/cutting/tumbling some of these stones, they can be safe, but many are also harmful if disturbed (e.g., quartz clusters/raw quartz--- again something very common in crystal shops/rock shops). Then are also crystals that are toxic if touched (exp cinnabar= mercury ) and some others also have such high enough levels of toxic metals that hand washing is recommended after touching. A parrot could end up in trouble if they dropped and broke a crystal -even something fairly benign(like citrine), and used their beak and cage to grind it down. Mouthing or touching some would be enough to poison them, even with regard to those safe for humans (including those some will place in liquids for human consumption, as humans can tolerate higher levels of copper and zinc, whereas parrots can easily OD on vitamins in fortified foods etc).Scroll down to see the toxicity table and REMEMBER--- it says that some of the risk occurs when cutting or broken, but a beak is way stronger than a human hand and can saw through wood easily. If you had something SUPER hard, like a large diamond (lol) that would probably be safe, but in general, you aren't going to able to afford safe crystals strong and safe enough for a parrot (even if generally safe for humans to touch).

https://www.gemsociety.org/article/gemstone-toxicity-table/

Also, some dissolve in liquids and change state, so a wet beak or some saliva (which yes, parrots DO have in small amounts) could be even more problematic.
On top of all of this, there are loads of fakes out there, so even if you know about the contents of a real crystal, if you can't spot a fake, you have even less of an idea of what your bird could be ingesting or inhaling. There is a reason shops always wrap crystals in newspaper---most can break/powder/crack when dropped or bumped against another hard object. A parrot's beak or cage could easily result in shattering, cracking etc.

I was a giant rock collector nerd as a kid and I also have spent a lot of time researching and identifying crystals as a hobby lol.