Are cables toxic?

[joeydgraffix]

My bird absolutely loves electronics and cables. So I found an un-used mouse and put the cable in her cage so she can climb up and down. All day she's been in love with it.

My question is, is a mouse cable toxic to the bird in any way?

[LovelySydney]

I dont think the plastic casing around the cord is but whats inside might be dangerous. If your bird chews on it (which lovebirds do and yours probably will) he could ingest something that is sharp or toxic or just unsafe to injest. I wouldnt let him use the mouse cable in his cage unless you are watching, Im just not sure that it is completely safe.

[hollyhawkz]

Oh, I don't know but I don't think I would chance it. Plastics that are made for the use of human food consumption have many more safety specifications than electronics products.

It may also teach that bad habit of chewing cords that could be in use and lead to electrocution.

[joeydgraffix]

shiiiaattttt I might have a problem then.

Kiwi absolutely LOVES electronics. She's scared of some things here and there, but wow, anything electronic she just falls in love with the instant she sees it. I may have to figure something out then hmm..

[hollyhawkz]

We always have to watch Wawa... we caught him chewing the cord for the fish tank. I nearly had a heart attack!!!!

[Valo's Moirana]

i wouldn't - especially not if she chews on it... i'm not so worried about the covering plastic surrounding the wires, but the wires are sharp and copper... neither is good.... you might want to consider taking out the "interior" but even then i wouldn't let her have it unsupervised

[birdiemommy]

Here is an idea. Try the toy store. You can usually find baby toys that have buttons that make sounds, and some look like cell phones and stuff. They would probably be safer.

[pi77]

some cables employ teflon in their coating.

i know that burnt teflon will kill a bird but im not sure what ingesting would do.

any kind of plastic and a birds stomach can NOT be a good mix.

i have a neighbor that has been burning trash in his yard for years. everytime he burns it fills my house full of smoke which gives me headaches. up until this year i have tried to be a good neighbor and just bit my tongue.

well now that i have birds i can not take the chance that he burns leaves and trash and bits of plastic. should he burn wiring that had a teflon coating it would kill my birds.

i told him as such this year and he said he will stop.

[Valo's Moirana]

Originally Posted by pi77

some cables employ teflon in their coating.

i know that burnt teflon will kill a bird but im not sure what ingesting would do.

any kind of plastic and a birds stomach can NOT be a good mix.

well, teflon is an immensely, and i really mean immensely resilient polymer... i've used teflon coated stir bars in concentrated acids, heated or not, thinyl chloride, which is about as reactive as anything can be, bases, organic solvents etc... the biological chemistry is not severe enough to dissolve or degrade teflon. people tend to forget this

an ingested piece might locate itself somewhere where it's not good, but i doubt any chemical toxicity...