Can Parrots Eat Tomatoes? – Safe Feeding

Can parrots eat tomatoes? If you have searched this term online you have probably come across contradicting answers. So, what is the truth?

Table Of Contents

1. Can Parrots Eat Tomatoes Or Can't They?
2. Nightshades Are Deadly
3. Safer Tomatoes
4. Why Should I Feed Tomato To My Parrot?
5. How Often Can Parrots Eat Tomatoes?
6. Conclusion

Can Parrots Eat Tomatoes Or Can’t They?

The short and simple answer is yes, they can. Tomatoes can be eaten safely by parrots, but only if taken sparingly.

The reason for this is that tomato is highly acidic. If a parrot eats enough of it, the acids from the tomato can cause an upset stomach – or even ulcers. These can be very dangerous.

Symptoms may only become apparent several days after ingestion. These can be as severe as the the bird bringing up blood. If this happens, take your parrot to an avian vet immediately.

Green or unripe tomatoes are more acidic than ripe tomatoes. Your pet can still eat them, but you should be cautious with the size of the portions. How frequently you offer them to your parrot also plays a role. Offering these to your parrot should be the exception rather than the rule.

Nightshades Are Deadly

Besides the acid levels in the tomato fruit, another danger is the tomato plant itself. Never allow your parrot to nibble on any part of a tomato plant other than the fruit. That includes the pedicel and sepal. These are the stick and leafy bits that make up the crown at the top of a tomato.

The leaves and stems of tomato plants contain a toxic alkaloid called solanine. This is also found in many parts of the other plants in the nightshade family to which tomatoes belong. Other well-known nightshades are the potato, eggplant and bell pepper plants.

Some symptoms of nightshade poisoning in birds include vomiting, diarrhea, labored breathing, paralysis or seizures.

Safer Tomatoes

It is better to offer your bird cooked tomato. Cooking neutralizes much of the acidity and makes it less likely to cause problems. Giving your parrot a small piece of cooked tomato is usually a much safer option.

Another good option is to offer your parrot some safe-to-eat foods cooked in sauce containing tomato. For example, pasta cooked in a tomato-based sauce. Prepare the sauce without salt if possible.

Commercial tomato purée, tomato paste and ketchup (known as tomato sauce in some countries) are all alternatives to raw tomato. The tomatoes contained in these products are all cooked, so acid levels will be lower than in raw tomatoes.

Some of these products may contain other ingredients that you might not want your parrot to have too much of. Added sugars are one example.

Finally, sun-dried tomato is another good option that you can consider. The drying process reduces the acidity level in the tomato whilst retaining much of its nutritional value.

The downside of sun-dried tomatoes is that their salt content could be as high as 6%.

Also, sulfur-dioxide is used as a preservative. Sulfur-dioxide is safe for the vast majority of humans, although asthma sufferers seem to be most sensitive to it.

The effect of sulphur-dioxide on birds is not really well-known. Keep a close eye on your parrot’s behavior over time if you decide to feed it sun-dried tomato.

Why Should I Feed Tomato To My Parrot?

Tomato is a reasonably good source of vitamins A, E and K as well as the mineral sodium.

For comprehensive nutritional information, see our nutrition table for tomato and nutrition table for sun-dried tomato.

Vitamin A supports good vision, skin health and the immune system, among other things. Vitamin K assists the body with blood coagulation and the binding of calcium in bones. Sodium helps in regulating the balance of fluids in the body, and is important for the correct functioning of nerves and muscles.

Tomatoes don’t stand alone in being able to provide these nutrients, though. You can substitute tomatoes with other fruits and vegetables to provide the same nutrients for your pet.

We have an extensive list of safe foods for African grey parrots that you can explore here on africangreylife.com. We also provide detailed nutritional information for almost all of the foods on the list.

Another reason that you might want to offer tomato to your parrot is to add variety to its diet. Over time, parrots can become bored with always eating the same foods, and would often welcome some change.

A third reason for offering tomato to your parrot is that your parrot likes the taste and enjoys eating it.

Our own African grey appears to be indifferent to the taste of the raw tomato fruit; he shows no interest whenever we offer it to him. On the other hand, if we offer him potato or spaghetti cooked in a tomato-based sauce, he will devour it eagerly.

Your bird’s tastes won’t necessarily mirror those of our grey though, and your experience could be altogether different to ours. Just as personalities differ from one parrot to the next, so do their food preferences.

How Often Can Parrots Eat Tomatoes?

In all cases, whether you offer your bird tomato in raw or cooked form, we recommend that it be offered more as a treat, and never as part of its regular diet.

For a full-sized adult African grey we suggest that no more than 1 quarter of a cooked, thumb-sized cherry tomato be offered to your parrot at a time, and not more frequently than once every week or two.

As a rule, you should always monitor your parrot’s stool and general behavior for deviations that may have been caused by something that it has eaten, and you should certainly observe your parrot closely for several days after it has eaten tomato.

Conclusion

I hope that you found this post useful. If you have ever fed tomato to a parrot, or even another bird, why don’t you leave a comment below to tell us about it? We’re really keen to hear about your experiences, and also welcome your questions and suggestions.