Why Is My Conure Sneezing? Should I Be Worried?

Are you worried about your conure’s frequent sneezing or showing symptoms of a respiratory issue?

As a pet bird owner, it can be terrifying to have your beloved feathered companion in such a discomforting state and to make issues worse; perhaps you don’t even have an idea what you should do in such a situation.

But what is the exact cause of your conure’s sneezing, and what action can you take to solve the problem? Conures usually sneeze once or twice each day to clear their air pathways of dirt and dust.

However, if the sneezing becomes persistent or frequent, and there’s a colored and thick nasal discharge, it may be a sign of sickness in your conure.

Reasons Why Conures Sneeze

Although conures have a long life span, it doesn’t exactly imply that they can’t be sick during their lifetime.

There are several potential reasons for your conure’s sneeze that you should know. This can help you identify the root cause of the issue and take the appropriate action.

– Food Allergy

Allergies are among the most common causes of sneezing in conures. If your conure is not comfortable with a particular thing, it can result in allergic reactions, such as coughing, hacking, and sneezing.

Candles, perfume, furniture cleaners, and air fresheners can cause allergic reactions. It might be difficult to identify the primary cause of your conure’s sneezing, but you can narrow it down via an elimination process.

Some conures are even allergic to some ingredients that are present in bird food. If your conure frequently sneezes after a meal, you can try offering it another food brand to know if it helps.

This problem is common with low-quality, generic bird food. You’ll also want to learn about vitamin A deficiency in conures.

– Dusty Environment

If there is dust in your conure’s nasal passage, it may cause sneezing in your pet bird. Build-ups of dust can tickle your conure’s nose and force its body to respond by sneezing.

If your conure develops a sneezing problem, do well to look around its surrounding environment and make sure it is dust-free and clean.

Although most people live very hectic lives, you must find time to keep your conure’s living environment dust free and neat. After cleaning their cage, try cleaning the surrounding furniture too, using a feather duster. This should eliminate most of the dust.

Furthermore, try to replace your home air filter once in a month to help minimize the air dust. If you allow the air filter in your home to remain unchanged for more than one month, its effectiveness at eliminating bacteria, mold, and dust from the air might reduce.

You can buy new air filters from most home improvement and grocery stores for around $10, which is a little price you can afford for your conure’s well-being and health.

– Dry Air

Conures that live in low-humidity environments can also show symptoms of sneezing and some other symptoms of a cold. Besides, their skin can also dry out, causing them to lose some feathers.

Fortunately, this problem can be easily treated by putting a humidifier in the room where their cage is situated. If dry air is the issue, you will notice a behavioral change almost immediately upon putting a humidifier close to them.

– Infection

There are four kinds of infections or respiratory diseases that can cause sneezing in your conure. These diseases can affect the air sacs, lungs, and trachea:

Bacteria: Bordetella (affects turkeys), infectious coryza (chickens), E Coli, and Pasteurella

Viral: Viral infections include Newcastle disease, pox, avian Influenza, laryngotracheitis, and infectious bronchitis. Other kinds of infections are nutritional and mycoplasma.

How to Make Your Conure Stop Sneezing?

•  Getting proper medical attention is essential to your conure’s fast recovery. A vet will make a treatment plan for the conure, which usually includes a dose of medications, such as antifungal or antibiotics.
• Remove foreign objects from the conure’s airways and clean any dry secretions.
• Administer antifungal or antibiotics medications either through injection or orally or direct application your bird’s sinuses or nostrils.
• Making changes to your conure’s nutrition and environment can also help eliminate or minimize the triggers of the conure’s sneezing episodes.
• As soon as you have completed the treatment and your bird has fully recovered, proper preventative measures are required to avoid any future recurrence.

Should You Take Your Sneezing Conure to the Vet?

If your conure’s sneezing issue is persistent, then your best bet might be consulting a vet. The vet can perform a series of tests to diagnose the issue, and even its root cause accurately.

The veterinarian might probably test some of the conure’s blood samples and suggest taking some radiographic tests, such as x-rays.

Can Conures Get Cold?

While conures naturally thrive in humid and warm environments, it doesn’t imply that they can’t withstand low temperatures.

In fact, wild conures in colder climates can tolerate as low as 3.5° Celsius or about 38° Fahrenheit temperatures. However, keep in mind that conures can only withstand temperatures they’re acclimated to.

Can Conures Get Sick From Humans?

While diseases such as flu and common cold are common among humans, they’re not contagious to conures or other birds.

Your conure can only get respiratory diseases as a result of exposure to bird-specific bacteria and viruses. However, it is advisable to minimize contact with your conure when you are sick.

Can Conures Make You Sick?

Pet birds like conures can carry diseases that may be contagious to us. Anyone who’s exposed to conures with Avian Influenza, Histoplasmosis, or Psittacosis may display flu-like symptoms, including muscle pain, chills, and fever.

Conclusion

Just like humans, conures can sneeze occasionally. While some conures may sneeze just once in a while, others can do it many times daily.

It can be frightening to watch your helpless conure experience these frequent sneezing, and it can cause some conure owners to rush their conures to an emergency vet clinic.

You need to understand that such action may not really be necessary. However, you will still need to pinpoint and treat the underlying problem causing your conure to sneeze.

Hopefully, identifying the primary cause of your conure’s sneezing can be done by going through the factors mentioned above. While they are the most common causes of sneezing in birds, some conures can sneeze without any particular reason.

Monitor your conure closely and ensure that there are no other symptoms. If there are, you may need to take the conure to an avian veterinarian for a closer examination.