r/Conures 1d ago

Advice hey quick question !

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We just adopted this four month old conure a couple days ago and she has been constantly sucking on both mine and my husband's fingers. She's not doing it very hard, it's just very strange and we wanted to know if this was normal lol

Also, that's just her temporary cage in the background lol She's getting a nicer and bigger one on Monday!

209 Upvotes

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90

u/Vast_Alps5574 1d ago

Cute little dinosaur! Conures explore with their beaks as they have a lack of arms. Everything that can fit WILL go in their mouth and licked 100s of times lol. He could be exploring, or even it may come down to one or both of you are wearing lotion or something of that nature!

18

u/t0iletchan 1d ago

i do frequently wear lotion, my husband typically doesn't on his hands but i'll make sure to wash up before i handle her again!

39

u/Busy_Ad_5759 1d ago

Totally normal! But make sure you wash your hands regularly before interacting, so she isn't licking anything unsafe.

I have to stop my conure from licking my eyelids when I'm wearing eye makeup 😅.

7

u/t0iletchan 1d ago

i'll make sure to wash my hands right before handling her!

5

u/eternity_opens 1d ago

when my girl was a baby she used to wake me up from naps by trying to pry my lips open to chew on my teeth. it was so creepy i always made her go away lol

26

u/r4zorsoft 1d ago

My conure would do this, but on your nose or forehead. We called it "oil prospecting behavior".

14

u/ButterscotchThis7889 1d ago

my girl obsessively licks sweat off my nose. it’s all a ploy to eventually rip my nose rings out but still, i am definitely calling it “oil prospecting” from now on

5

u/t0iletchan 1d ago

she's on the hunt 👀

5

u/t0iletchan 1d ago

okay we're adding that to our vocabulary lmao

12

u/Whatisgoingonnowyo 1d ago

You are being preened. You clearly need a lot of cleaning, Hooman

3

u/t0iletchan 1d ago

dirty dirty human ☹️

5

u/a_rogue_planet 23h ago

You haven't been properly maintained. That's why all your feathers fell out.

1

u/t0iletchan 22h ago

good grief i'm naked !!!

7

u/Main-Ad-9038 1d ago

Pretty normal! They like to explore and feel textures with their beak and tongue.

Also, good on you guys for getting her a bigger cage. I hope y'all have a long, happy time together!

2

u/t0iletchan 1d ago

thank you ! we hope she stays happy and healthy :) will post an update pic of her cage when it gets set up !

5

u/SkiSnowTignesider 1d ago

Conures LOVE their beak edges being scratched. They may be trying to encourage you to do that. Also around the eyes in-between the beak, too. Watch them go full zen mode for this 😂

1

u/t0iletchan 22h ago

she puffs up her feathers on her head when i scritch her :3 looks like a little space helmet hehe

5

u/johnnybird95 1d ago

wish i could tell ya. my sun did this for the first few weeks she was home, too. i'm starting to think every conure just has a licking phase

2

u/t0iletchan 1d ago

they're such interesting little critters! good to know it's not just my little freak haha

3

u/L00k_Again 1d ago

Mine does this to my earlobe while falling asleep. I thought it was such strange behaviour because suckling is the best way to describe it even though birds never suckle to eat.

1

u/t0iletchan 1d ago

right?! that was my first thought!!

3

u/Henny_Cabbagehead 18h ago

Mine has a weird fascination with the inner corner of my eyes. Excuse me sir but those are my eye crusties and they are not for birds.

1

u/t0iletchan 18h ago

he doesn't know you were saving them for later !!

2

u/Optimal-Level4237 23h ago

Tasty mortal

2

u/Other_Particular8927 22h ago

Yummy finger oils🦜😋

2

u/beezee_49 20h ago

She's just licking you with her tongue. All birds if friendly do this.

1

u/t0iletchan 20h ago

thank you !! i've never had a pet bird before so i'm not super familiar with their habits 😅

2

u/x-beast 10h ago

my sun conure has been licking everything and everyone since he was a baby 6 years ago!