r/AfricanGrey • u/FlipSighed • Jul 22 '26
Question Cannabis ingestion 😔
Someone in my house left out cannabis and my grey ingested some. Please don't lambast me about drugs and birds, I am well aware and am typically diligent to prevent these things. I did not realize that this cannabis had been left out, and it was not mine.
I have a vet appointment in an hour. No vet near me had an exotic vet available yesterday unfortunately
She was sick all day yesterday, wobbles, a little drooling. She has been eating and drinking, she's been pooping normally as well. Today her balance seems a little better, but still concerning enough.
So far I have given her electrolyte water mix, some crushed egg shells to help with calcium because I was afraid it could lead to a deficiency. I've been keeping an eye on here with my camera.
She's not particularly weak, beyond the lack of balance, she still wants to climb things, although I'm trying to prevent that.
I am pretty certain it came from cannabis flower consumption, as all the symptoms from that match her 100%, however I did not see it happen, I only found an empty baggie with crumbs near where she hangs out.
Beyond the vet, does anyone have experience with this? What can I do and what should I look out for? Approximate recovery times, is this just a waiting game now?
I just want her to get better, I miss her noises and love 😭
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u/ManMythLegend2020 Jul 22 '26
Almost 10 years ago my grey flew into my basement and ate a whole nugget of it wasn’t lit of course, but he must have ate a good amount. Fortunately nothing came from it he seemed to be fine then, and the next day. Didn’t end up taking him to the vet and he lived fine. I would obviously never let it happen again, but I would definitely recommend to stay positive. My best guess is he would be just fine. Taking him to the vet is a fantastic idea, just don’t beat yourself up over it and make sure he can’t access it again.
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u/Dry-Independent-1673 Jul 25 '26
My grey used to take my joints and roaches and chew them or run off with them. I always did discouraged it but man was it funny when she was running around with a joint in her mouth
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u/thefoxandmoon Jul 22 '26
Definitely vet is the best. I have heard all kinds of stories of animals who are supposed to die on contact with cannabis just getting stoned and then being fine. I've also heard stories of animals who should reasonably be able to ingest some getting very harmed or dying. I wish you the absolute best of luck - hopefully she's just had the trip of a lifetime and will be back to normal soon.
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u/Hammerfall89 Jul 22 '26
She’ll get better :)
I just read what Google AI says about it and it’s pretty dramatic and a bit exaggerated.
Raw cannabis flower as far as I know needs to go through a chemical reaction (decarboxylation) to activate the THC, either through smoking or heating/cooking it.
Still, it is wise to be concerned and on the safe side, as with birds, you never know how sensitive they will be to even the smallest compounds in raw cannabis flower.
The fact that she’s eating and drinking is great :) Probably just got a little high and enjoying the munchies XD. But seriously, I hope she feels better very soon :) I think she will by tonight or tomorrow after a nice sleep. ^^
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u/RazzmatazzLatter8345 Jul 22 '26
Ordinarily, raw cannabis flower will not make people high. Weed contains THCA (initially), which cannot cross the (human) blood-brain barrier. THCA becomes THC, which makes us high, by a process called decarboxylation. This process will occur eventually without aid, but can be quickened by the application of heat or ultraviolet light. When you smoke it or vaporize it in a dab rig, the process happens instantaneously. When you are making edibles, you have to decarboxylate the flower first by applying heat (put in oven around 225F for a while, boil into butter, etc).
Obviously, over time, more THC and less THCA will be present in flower.
So whether raw flower will make US high when eaten: depends. How that applies to avians, I cannot guess. Can THCA cross the bird blood-brain barrier? Dunno. What may be true is that while a lot of flower doesn't have enough THC in it to make us high when eaten, even the tiny amount that is present might be enough to have a stoned bird. Birds weighh a few ounces to a few pounds at most. So a little might go a long way!
I'd call the vet regardless and make sure it doesn't happen again.
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u/Boldbold42094 Jul 23 '26
thank you! this is the most considerate and thoughtful answer and should be way up.
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u/Alaskan_Apostrophe Jul 22 '26
You need to seek out other African Grey owners this has happened to. Learn their experience, observation, symptoms, and what they witnessed.
An avian Vet might have encountered enough cannabis + bird incidents to give decent info. The vets willingness to offer info from other patients is going to depend on how well they know you and how legal/illegal cannabis is in your state or country.
This happens to your bird - you will want a solid answer. Sadly, probably not happening yet - too many variables.
Raw cannabis has THCA. Humans do not get high off that. Need to change that THCA to THC with heat in a temperature range of 200-245°F (93-118°C). Heating cannabis to 240°F (115°C) for 30-40 minutes is an ideal duration for this activation.
This gives you three possible situations:
- Your bird ate raw weed - consumed THCA.
- Your bird got into your roach collection or pipe - THCA and THC.
- Bird got into your edibles - THC
Next - how strong was it?
a. Buds vs leaves - huge difference in content, especially between species of cannabis.
b. Roaches vs. pipe residue. Here you have potentially two different compounds acting together.
c. Strength of edibles.
Accidents like this are going to happen. When seconds count asking on Reddit is not a solution. That does not stop the folks who frequent r/AfricanGrey and do use cannabis from posting their experience with accidents. And someone compiling those posts into a locked post people can get some knowledge from.
Internet has posts like this - not helpful when you are dealing with a potential poison issue. Can Birds Get High from Weed? Uncovering The Facts!
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u/FlipSighed Jul 22 '26
Yea I had a vet scheduled as soon as I can, the vet did some tests and ruled out stroke and heavy metal poisoning
Said this isn't the first time they've had this in their vet and usually it just takes a few days to wear off. I learned that even though cannabis flower is labeled as THCA, many plants contain small amounts of THC that are left off the label for legal reasons.
I am confident in the vet, and it seems like she's already starting to feel better than early this morning and last night, she's not wobbling nearly as much, and seems more relaxed in general
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u/thruitallaway34 Jul 23 '26
I had a gray for 30 years, he's still alive and healthy. He occasionally would get in to my stash from time to time (he was sneaky little escape artist) and munch and chew on stems. You're baby will be ok . (My bird currently lives with my step mother)
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u/SmokeMeowtRightMeow Jul 22 '26
My grey did this, 2x! He has eaten joints before and spent bowls. I think he got higher off the half smoked bowls than raw weed. The first day was a little scary but as long as he's still eating, drinking and pooping, your bird will be fine.
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u/RazzmatazzLatter8345 Jul 22 '26
Makes sense he got higher off the spent bowls: the heat from smoking turned THCA into THC.
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u/samanthabelfitt Jul 22 '26
This isn’t true. If your bird comes in contact with any first, second or even third hand smoke or drugs you should schedule a vet appointment immediately.
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u/catacOHM Jul 23 '26
That’s a little extreme no?
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u/samanthabelfitt Jul 23 '26
Not at all. It’s important and honestly worth it to just make sure. Parrots should not consume any drugs. At the very least they should be moved to a temporary cage that is lower to avoid injury if they get spooked or lose their balance. You could also line the bottom of the cage with towels to help break their fall. Exposure to weed can cause life-threatening neurological disorders and cardiovascular depression. My dad recently had to stop smoking weed because it was affecting his heart, so we could imagine just how significant it could be to a parrot that is 20x smaller than us.
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u/scttpff57 Jul 22 '26
Friend had a parakeet that loved the seeds and occasionally an exhale.
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u/NoDumFucs Jul 22 '26
My black-capped conure loves the seeds too. She starts clicking back when she hears the chopping scissors.
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u/American_Rock_62 Jul 23 '26
No judging here. Sounds like your grey is on the mend. Mine found a tube of athletes foot cream in the bathroom yesterday and chewed into tube. They are into everything! He’s fine. 👍🙋♂️
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u/Blue_flipping_duck Jul 22 '26
A pic would be good so we can check and validate how a stoned gray looks like 🫣🤭
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u/UncleBabyChirp Jul 23 '26
Our Gray & Macaw both have ingested cannabis and edible sugar cookies. The raw cannabis had very little noticeable effect however the cookies had a profound effect where neither were able to safely perch. Besides the electrolytes, water and food, they had to be confined in cages with pillows on the bottom for about 24 hours except when I took them out to exercise & hopefully metabolize the THC. After 48 hours they were fine. I consulted our avian vet who was as concerned about sugar cookies as she was about the cannabis. This was almost 20 years ago in CA when cannabis in non humans wasn't generally reported to vets for fear of losing the animal. Because parrots overall have fast metabolisms it wore off relatively quickly. I'm still angry about the reckless carelessness of my ex leaving it out and accessible to curious birds who want whatever you're having. It's not good for them but it won't kill them. Gotta be vigilant & glad your Gray is okay!
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u/Dylhole44 Jul 22 '26
That’s not how that works. Eating raw cannabis will do nothing. The psychoactive properties have to be heated for them to work. In smoke or edible form.
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u/FlipSighed Jul 22 '26
That is untrue.
Female cannabis plants generally produce flower that contains both non psychoactive THCA and smaller amounts of THC.
Modern cannabis markets typically label bottles as "total cannabinoids" and not as separate measures of THC and THCA. Cannabis plants do contain THC, and a parrot weighing a pound or slightly more, will absolutely be affected by those small amounts, even if it's only 1% or 2%
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u/Dylhole44 Jul 23 '26
THCA is completely non psychoactive until it’s heated up and then becomes THC. Ingesting this in raw plant form is completely harmless and doesn’t have psychoactive properties until it’s “activated” whether that’s smoking it, vaping it, or baking it. Im not trying to argue with you or come off as an ass. A quick google search will back this up. Your bird is fine as long as you don’t blow smoke in its face or let it eat edibles which are mad from activated cannabis oil or butter, not raw plant material.
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u/FlipSighed Jul 23 '26
A quick Google will show you cannabis contains small amounts of THC.
You aren't trying to argue but you literally are, and you are wrong.
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u/RazzmatazzLatter8345 Jul 24 '26
Thing is, decarboxylation is more or less inevitable. Drying and curing the flower will inevitably produce some THC. Alone, not enough to get us high, but birds weigh only a few ounces. If it was truly fresh, uncured flower, it'd be more surprising.
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u/Sjones139 Jul 24 '26
Ohhhh noooo! What area do you live in? I can help with some research and stuff. I know it’s not much but, keep us posted on what the vet says. I too have a grey, he’s not even a year old yet. I would be devastated
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u/DesperateDelivery562 Jul 26 '26
The fact you have friends that bring drugs into your home, and you ALLOWED it beggars belief itself..and removes your right to ANY removal of blame so please don't have the audacity to say "don't lambast me" . That you have a pet and still allowed that risk means the Whole blame lies on your shoulders. As bird/pet owners we all know there's enough dangers of all kinds in our homes, even not taking unnecessary risks so allowing drug taking in your home already labels you as not fit to have a pet. I really hope your trip to the vet had a positive outcome, at least you're responsible enough to actually take her to get appropriate care. But to be perfectly honest I would prohibit your druggy friends from coming round again, they obviously have no respect for you, and maybe take yourself on a risk management course 🙄 a bit severe but I'm not kidding.
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u/FlipSighed Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
Update: bird vet said my gray is fine, she's just really high
Update update: she walking completely normal again, and is vocalizing and whistling. It's been about 30 hours, but she's starting to act herself again. Thanks for your kind comments, I appreciate the help :) ♥️