PLS HELP 🚨 BIRD ATE A CHEETO

[Safamirza🤍]

PLS HELP ME my cockatiel ate a small piece of a hot Cheeto. I don’t know if he ATE the piece or just licked it but my brother saw it and there was a little bit of red on the tip of his beak.

This is not the first time he did this. Like 2 weeks ago he ate a small piece when my brother looked away. We always keep an eye on him but if we look away for 1 sec he runs away.

WILL HE BE OK??? This one time he licked some cheeto dust from my shirt and he saw me eating them, and now every time he sees me eating cheetos his eyes light up and he starts to chase me, so I can’t eat them near him.

I will make sure to never let this happen again but do I need to be concerned about what just happened?

 

[Safamirza🤍]

PLS HELP ME my cockatiel ate a small piece of a hot Cheeto. I don’t know if he ATE the piece or just licked it but my brother saw it and there was a little bit of red on the top of his beak.

This is not the first time he did this. Like 2 weeks ago he ate a small piece when my brother looked away. We always keep an eye on him but if we look away for 1 sec he runs away.

WILL HE BE OK??? This one time he licked some cheeto dust from my shirt and he saw me eating them, and now every time he sees me eating cheetos his eyes light up and he starts to chase me, so I can’t eat them near him.

I will make sure to never let this happen again but do I need to be concerned about what just happened?

I’m sorry if we seem irresponsible for this happening. We always keep a close eye at him but recently he has become very curious and brave. Before he was a scared bird now he’s not scared of anything and will put anything small in his mouth.

 

[Owlet]

he will be okay. cheetos are mostly corn with a small dusting of cheese and in hot cheetos case something to make it hot. Along with food dye. None of this is going to hurt the bird. It's not good for them by any means but the worst thing is the cheese and food dye and neither is going to kill a bird even in larger amounts. Spicy things are actually pretty favored and good for birds. Corn is eh but perfectly edible and found in most bird food.

 

[paddy1998]

My Scarlet ate a whole flaming hot cheeto once. It wasn't a big deal, but the next poop was reddish and freaked me out.

But it was fine.

 

[Jexnell]

I think you will be fine. Phoenix has obsconded with some questionable food and has had no measurable side effects

 

[HeatherG]

Don’t worry. I have used small pieces of Cheeto as bribes to train Willow.

It’s not great but the only really bad thing is the empty calories and salt.

I’ve read that if you want to make friends with crows, Cheetos are good treats to use!

 

[Teddscau]

The only thing I’d really worry about is the sodium. Just to be safe I’d have him eat fresh foods (sweet potato, lettuce, tomato, etc.). It also wouldn’t hurt to lay down some leafy greens in a pie plate and fill it partway with water to encourage him to splash around and drink some water. Parrots from arid climates (budgies, cockatiels, etc.) can be more sensitive to sodium since they tend to drink so little to make up for any excess sodium they may have ingested. That being said, he should be fine since he didn’t eat something with an even more ridiculous amount of salt (pepperoni can be deadly for parrots).

 

[Safamirza🤍]

The only thing I’d really worry about is the sodium. Just to be safe I’d have him eat fresh foods (sweet potato, lettuce, tomato, etc.). It also wouldn’t hurt to lay down some leafy greens in a pie plate and fill it partway with water to encourage him to splash around and drink some water. Parrots from arid climates (budgies, cockatiels, etc.) can be more sensitive to sodium since they tend to drink so little to make up for any excess sodium they may have ingested. That being said, he should be fine since he didn’t eat something with an even more ridiculous amount of salt (pepperoni can be deadly for parrots).

I always encourage my cockatiel, Kiko to drink more water especially during summers. He recently started to drink water a lot more often and I think it’s because of how hot it got here. I also want him to as you said, splash around in water and take baths but that is something we are still working on. Only thing he’s not scared of with water in is his water bowl.

 

[Teddscau]

I find pie plates are good for getting arid species to bathe. Just a tiny layer of water with a bunch of spinach leaves in it. A lot of Australian species will bathe by rubbing themselves against eucalyptus leaves that are wet from the morning dew.

It can also help to splash your fingers around in their bath so they can hear the sound of the water. This always gets my flock excited and in the mood for bathing.

Bathing is especially important with cockatiels since they have dust glands instead of oil glands, plus their feathers are naturally dusty. If you don’t have one already, I’d recommend getting a good quality air purifier, like an Austin Air. Birds, especially cockatiels, get dust everywhere.

 

[kme3388]

I think you will be fine. Phoenix has obsconded with some questionable food and has had no measurable side effects
View attachment 39949

Did the conure steal a chip by accident?

 

[Safamirza🤍]

I find pie plates are good for getting arid species to bathe. Just a tiny layer of water with a bunch of spinach leaves in it. A lot of Australian species will bathe by rubbing themselves against eucalyptus leaves that are wet from the morning dew.

It can also help to splash your fingers around in their bath so they can hear the sound of the water. This always gets my flock excited and in the mood for bathing.

Bathing is especially important with cockatiels since they have dust glands instead of oil glands, plus their feathers are naturally dusty. If you don’t have one already, I’d recommend getting a good quality air purifier, like an Austin Air. Birds, especially cockatiels, get dust everywhere.

I see some people take their birds directly in the shower with them or turn on the tap in the kitchen and let them shower in the sink. Is this safe to do? What does the water temperature and pressure need to be and can they just sit directly under the shower or tap? I also see that some ppl have a perch installed in the shower, is that necessary or can you just hold your bird in your hands?

 

[Jexnell]

How you let your bird get a bath is almost as individual as the bird is. My guy Phoenix hates the shower, but loves to sit under the stream of water from a faucet.

 

[MykaMom]

PLS HELP ME my cockatiel ate a small piece of a hot Cheeto. I don’t know if he ATE the piece or just licked it but my brother saw it and there was a little bit of red on the tip of his beak.

This is not the first time he did this. Like 2 weeks ago he ate a small piece when my brother looked away. We always keep an eye on him but if we look away for 1 sec he runs away.

WILL HE BE OK??? This one time he licked some cheeto dust from my shirt and he saw me eating them, and now every time he sees me eating cheetos his eyes light up and he starts to chase me, so I can’t eat them near him.

I will make sure to never let this happen again but do I need to be concerned about what just happened?

Ha! He'll be just fine. You might want to offer him some fresh hot pepper. Like most parrots, they love strong flavors.

Parrots have something like 400 taste buds to our 12,000. They need strong flavors to taste them.

Your bird clearly likes the heat!

 

[Eudie]

PLS HELP ME my cockatiel ate a small piece of a hot Cheeto. I don’t know if he ATE the piece or just licked it but my brother saw it and there was a little bit of red on the tip of his beak.

This is not the first time he did this. Like 2 weeks ago he ate a small piece when my brother looked away. We always keep an eye on him but if we look away for 1 sec he runs away.

WILL HE BE OK??? This one time he licked some cheeto dust from my shirt and he saw me eating them, and now every time he sees me eating cheetos his eyes light up and he starts to chase me, so I can’t eat them near him.

I will make sure to never let this happen again but do I need to be concerned about what just happened?

He should be in his toy filled cage so he can’t run away but have fun.

 

[yumyumcherry]

PLS HELP ME my cockatiel ate a small piece of a hot Cheeto. I don’t know if he ATE the piece or just licked it but my brother saw it and there was a little bit of red on the tip of his beak.

This is not the first time he did this. Like 2 weeks ago he ate a small piece when my brother looked away. We always keep an eye on him but if we look away for 1 sec he runs away.

WILL HE BE OK??? This one time he licked some cheeto dust from my shirt and he saw me eating them, and now every time he sees me eating cheetos his eyes light up and he starts to chase me, so I can’t eat them near him.

I will make sure to never let this happen again but do I need to be concerned about what just happened?

My Congo African Grey would sell his (and MY) soul for a Hot Cheeto....don't let the Pizza near him either. I think you (and he) will be Fine!

 

[savanahsirval57]

PLS HELP ME my cockatiel ate a small piece of a hot Cheeto. I don’t know if he ATE the piece or just licked it but my brother saw it and there was a little bit of red on the tip of his beak.

This is not the first time he did this. Like 2 weeks ago he ate a small piece when my brother looked away. We always keep an eye on him but if we look away for 1 sec he runs away.

WILL HE BE OK??? This one time he licked some cheeto dust from my shirt and he saw me eating them, and now every time he sees me eating cheetos his eyes light up and he starts to chase me, so I can’t eat them near him.

I will make sure to never let this happen again but do I need to be concerned about what just happened?

Please don't judge me but all my three birds eat a couple of fishy crackers (the whole grain ones but they are orange color) everyday of their lives, they are healthy, conures and a cockatiel, no red on them but they seem quite fine, maybehe is craving the salt, hope your bird is fine, my 1 bird is -15yrs, the other is 12yrs and thecockatiel is 17yrs

 

[RedsDad]

I’m sorry if we seem irresponsible for this happening. We always keep a close eye at him but recently he has become very curious and brave. Before he was a scared bird now he’s not scared of anything and will put anything small in his mouth.

I have a Red lored Amazon who just loves eating Chile peppers and over the last 40 year or so she has had no problem with them. If you still worried about it I would see a good vet that knows about Parrots.

 

[Safamirza🤍]

Ha! He'll be just fine. You might want to offer him some fresh hot pepper. Like most parrots, they love strong flavors.

Parrots have something like 400 taste buds to our 12,000. They need strong flavors to taste them.

Your bird clearly likes the heat!

Oh, yes! I have noticed something that Kiko suddenly loves spicy things. He usually only goes for things that have spices in them, and will lick the spice or spicy flavour off our lips when we’re eating

 

[Safamirza🤍]

He should be in his toy filled cage so he can’t run away but have fun.

I think I’m going to keep him in his cage while we eat, or teach him that he can’t just have anything he wants when he is OUTSIDE his cage and he “steals” food that we are eating, he will run or fly away to eat it because he knows that we will take it away from him.

 

[Safamirza🤍]

I have a Red lored Amazon who just loves eating Chile peppers and over the last 40 year or so she has had no problem with them. If you still worried about it I would see a good vet that knows about Parrots.

I was worried because the chip was very spicy. I know that parrots like spicy things and peppers/chilly, but I thought that it’s only safe for big birds such as African greys or macaws to eat spice.