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This is very scary, I give my fids cardboard tubes to chew on all the time

Darrel K. Waters tells us: “We have two Alexandrine parakeets that love to shred the paper towel rolls. In the pamphlet given out by Harrison's Bird Food, it lists items that are unsafe. It says not to give your bird access to paper towel rolls because they are a source of zinc. Is it safe to give them the rolls?




Wow! This is really scary! I’ve been permitting my Amazon parrots to play with paper towel rolls (I never gave them toilet paper rolls for fear of e-coli contamination!) for years with no ill effects, but I guess the party’s over! Long Island, NY, veterinarian John Charos has seen many cases of zinc poisoning in birds, but has never traced the cause directly back to paper towel rolls.

“It’s usually an older cage or the washers used to attach toys or perches,” he said. On the other hand, I visited www.exoticpetvet.net and found information derived from a talk presented by Dr. Fern Van Sant that identifies paper towel rolls as a source of zinc. “There may be significant amounts of zinc in the adhesive found on paper towel and toilet paper rolls.”



Zinc toxicosis is quite common in pet birds. Even low levels of exposure can be harmful. Some symptoms of acute zinc poisoning are vomiting, loss of appetite, larger than usual green droppings and, in some cases, sudden death. Kidney damage, digestive tract upsets, increased thirst and even feather picking have been linked to zinc toxicity. Cockatoos are particularly sensitive. If your cockatoo is a feather plucker, have it tested for zinc toxicosis, as it the bird may be subject to low levels of poisoning from something in its environment.



Galvanized after welding wire contains enough zinc to be toxic. Cages made from this wire must be cleaned with a wire brush and vinegar before placing birds in them. Never use galvanized dishes for bird food. Instead, use stainless steel, plastic or glass.



Birds do not have to actually eat flakes of the metal to get sick, as it can be leached into their water or soft foods, and, theoretically, leached into the water by soaked paper towel rolls if you have a bird that loves to dunk its playthings.



Padlocks and some toy hangers may have high levels of zinc. Metal that appears dull and emits a whitish dust should be suspect. Replace cage hardware with stainless-steel components. Some paints and varnishes contain zinc, and many common adhesives do, as well. Pennies, curtain or vertical blind weights, household hardware, keys, costume jewelry, floor tiles, duct tape and other common items may all contain zinc. If your bird chews on these, zinc toxicosis is a possibility.



A bird does not have to have visible metal in its system for a positive diagnosis. The only way to accurately diagnose zinc toxicosis or other heavy metal poisoning is through blood tests. Chelation therapy, which removes the metal from the blood of a sick bird, is used to treat heavy metal poisoning.



I e-mailed several major paper towel manufacturers to ask about the possibility of zinc in the cardboard rolls.

I received a reply from the Kimberly Clark Corporation:



Thanks for your e-mail about SCOTT® towels.

Although the core glue is safe for its intended use, it is not intended to be ingested. It is not food grade and does not meet indirect food contact regulations. Therefore, we cannot recommend that it be used with pets.

Thanks again for your e-mail.


Sheila

Consumer Services

Kimberly-Clark Corp.