Green-Cheeked Conure Care Sheet

Scientific name

Pyrrhura molinae

Adult size

Length is about 10 in (25 to 26 cm), and weight is 60 to 80 g.

Lifespan

With good care, a green-cheeked conure commonly lives about 20 to 25 years. Reaching 30 or more is possible but not typical, and other figures run as low as 15 to 20.

Enclosure

A single pet needs a cage at least 24 in wide x 24 in high x 36 in long (60 x 60 x 90 cm), and larger is better. Bar spacing should be about 1/2-5/8 in (13-16 mm). Use perches of varied natural wood, mostly 1/2-5/8 in (13-16 mm) across, and no sandpaper perch covers. Supply plenty of chewable toys.

Keep zinc (galvanized) and lead hardware out of the cage, and keep PTFE (Teflon) coated appliances away from birds.

Temperature

Indoors they are comfortable at about 68-80°F (20-27°C). Keep the temperature stable, away from drafts and from direct sun through glass. A healthy bird can tolerate some heat and cold. Limits for outdoor aviaries are not well documented, but breeders commonly provide a sheltered, heated area when it falls below about 50°F (10°C), and shade plus water when it climbs above about 90°F (32°C).

Humidity

This is not well documented. Keepers commonly aim for about 40-60% indoors, adding baths or misting when the air is dry.

UVB

UVB is recommended. Best is direct, unfiltered sunlight, since window glass blocks UVB, for at least 30 minutes a week with shade available. Indoors, a full-spectrum bird bulb (CRI 91 or higher) helps but cannot replace sunlight. Mount it about 18 in (45 cm) from the bird, because closer can damage eyes, run it on the same timer as day length, and replace it about every 6 months as output fades. Birds without sun get vitamin D3 from the pellet portion of the diet.

Lighting

Normally provide about 10 to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark, on a timer. To stop chronic laying, shorten the day to about 10 hours and remove the nest box.

Heating

Hold the room at a steady 68-80°F (20-27°C). Never use heat lamps, space heaters or other heating elements with PTFE (Teflon) coatings, and keep birds out of the kitchen. Fumes from overheated nonstick items can kill birds suddenly, even in another room.

Diet

Base the diet on formulated pellets (about 75-80% for conures), with daily vegetables and dark leafy greens, fruit as a small share (about 10%) and seed only as a small treat. The leafy greens should be rich in vitamin K. Throw out uneaten fresh food after a couple of hours, and limit dairy.

Never feed avocado, onion, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol or salty snacks. Avoid processed foods and food cooked in oil or butter.

Supplements

Keep a cuttlebone or mineral block available all the time, replacing it when soiled. Pellets already supply vitamin D3, so do not add a D3 supplement unless your vet advises it, since excess D3 is harmful. Do not give grit, because conures hull their seed and grit can cause impaction.

A bird eating mostly pellets needs no multivitamin; powdered vitamins on moist food help only while converting a seed-eater to pellets. Feed dark leafy greens for vitamin K, since low vitamin K is a suspected factor in conure bleeding syndrome.

Shedding

This is not well documented by species. A bird typically molts once or twice a year, and indoor birds may molt lightly all year.

Handling

These birds are affectionate and playful, and among the quieter conures, though they still call. Hand-raised birds tame easily. Give daily out-of-cage time, enrichment and foraging, to head off boredom behaviors such as feather picking. They are not known as nippy, but any bird can bite, so supervise around children.

Health signs to watch

See an avian vet for any of these: a fluffed, sleepy bird; tail bobbing or open-mouth breathing; a hen straining, tail pumping or with a swollen abdomen (egg binding, an emergency); feather picking (rule out medical causes first); abnormal feathers or beak (PBFD); green urates, or eye or nose discharge (psittacosis/chlamydiosis, which can infect people); weight loss with undigested seed in droppings (PDD); breathing trouble (aspergillosis); an overgrown or misaligned beak.

Sudden labored breathing, wobbling or collapse can mean PTFE (Teflon) fumes, so get fresh air and a vet at once. Unexplained bleeding, such as nosebleeds or blood in droppings, is an emergency. Hemorrhagic conure syndrome is described mainly in Aratinga conures, and low vitamin K is a suspected factor.

Breeders are advised to test new birds for PBFD, polyomavirus and chlamydia, quarantine newcomers, and ask a vet about polyomavirus vaccination.

Welfare

Sell only fully weaned chicks that eat on their own. The Australian Veterinary Association states that unweaned parrots should not be sold, because inexperienced hand-feeding causes crop burns, aspiration pneumonia, infections, malnutrition and later behaviour problems. California law also bars pet retailers from releasing a parrot until it feeds itself.