Amazon parrot: gear and buying guides
Amazons are expressive South American parrots, good talkers and sometimes singers, with an assertive temperament that varies with species and hormonal seasons. Their powerful voice and morning and evening vocalising carry through walls. Big eaters that move little in a cage, they are prone to obesity, which shapes both diet and toy choices.
Profile : 31 to 38 cm depending on the species, 40 to 60 year lifespan, high noise level.
In our shop, for this use: Bendable multicolour cotton rope perch, 40 cm (€21.90) · the whole shop
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Species profile
- Lifespan
- 40 to 60 years
- Adult weight
- 400 to 550 g
- Size
- 35 cm
- Minimum cage
- 100 × 80 × 120 cm
- Temperament
- A robust, extroverted and theatrical parrot, talkative and demonstrative, whose mood can turn sharply in the breeding season.
- Health watch
- obesity and atherosclerosis · seasonal hormonal aggression
- Legal status
- Most amazons are listed in CITES Appendix II (EU Annex B) and a few species in Appendix I: buy from a registered breeder, with a ringed or microchipped bird and paperwork matching the species.
🩺 This health information is general in nature and does not replace a consultation: at the slightest doubt about your animal’s condition, talk to your vet.
Amazon parrot gear, family by family
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Food
Low-fat pellets as the base, plenty of vegetables, a little fruit, and sunflower seeds banned from the daily menu. Obesity and fatty liver disease are the main health risks for companion amazons.
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Care & grooming
Regular showers or misting, often welcomed with open wings. A weekly weigh-in helps adjust rations before excess weight sets in.
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Toys & enrichment
Foraging toys that make it work for food, chew wood and climbing setups that encourage exercise. Daily out-of-cage climbing time is its best fitness plan.
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Bedding & habitat
A cage at least one metre wide in solid steel, around 400 to 800 euros, with a separate play area. Like most large parrots, amazons are subject to protection rules: buy a ringed bird with origin paperwork.
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Travel & safety
A rigid large-parrot carrier, introduced with treats well before the first trip. During hormonal periods, respect its body language to avoid bites, including tell-tale eye pinning.
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Accessories
Hardwood perches, lockable stainless steel bowls, a scale and an avian UV lamp if natural light is scarce. A shower perch turns bath time into a welcome ritual.
🧴 Care for a Amazon parrot: bathing, plumage and health watch
Bathing: basic hygiene
Offer bath water several times a week (daily in the moult): an XL bath, lukewarm hand shower or mister — the Amazon parrot handles its own plumage care from there. Regularly wetted then preened feathers stay waterproof and insulating; never soap or “shine sprays”.
Feathers, beak, claws: routine upkeep
Claws and beak wear down naturally on natural-wood perches of varied diameters (2.5 to 4 cm for this species) — an overgrowing or flaking beak signals an underlying issue: avian vet, never the DIY file.
The Amazon parrot’s health: warning signs
In the Amazon parrot, watch in particular for: obesity and atherosclerosis and seasonal hormonal aggression. And since every bird hides illness to the end, three signals warrant an avian consult within 24 hours — continuously fluffed plumage, sitting on the cage floor, altered droppings. Over 40 to 60 years together, an avian vet identified in advance is no luxury.
Quick answers
- How often should a Amazon parrot bathe?
- Two to four times a week routinely, daily during the moult — a lukewarm shower or misting at this size, always plain water.
- Do a Amazon parrot’s claws need clipping?
- Rarely, if varied-diameter natural perches are doing their wear-down job. Clipping remains technical: vet or experienced keeper — a struggling bird injures itself fast.
Our products don’t ship to you yet, but the PDF practical guide is instant: Budgies, Cockatiels and Canaries: The Starter Guide (€13)
🏠 Housing a Amazon parrot: a 100 × 80 × 120 cm cage, fully fitted
100 × 80 × 120 cm: the serious minimum
For a Amazon parrot, the cage measures at least 100 × 80 × 120 cm, wider than tall: birds fly horizontally, not in lifts. Bars horizontal for climbing, spaced 2 to 2.5 cm — any wider and the head slips through and jams.
Perches and layout
Install the perches (untreated wood, 2.5-4 cm in varied diameters) at the ends: the cage’s centre stays a flight corridor, and nothing overhangs the bowls. Add no-waste feeders, a newspaper floor renewed every two days and bath access — banning smooth plastic and abrasive “nail-trimming” sleeves, sworn enemies of bird feet.
Placement changes everything
Against a wall (safety at its back), at eye height, in the living room but out of the kitchen — fumes from overheated non-stick coatings are lethal to birds. Natural light without direct sun, 10 to 12 hours of calm darkness at night, and remember the Amazon parrot is genuinely loud — the neighbours will hear it: placement also manages your neighbourly relations.
Quick answers
- What cage size for a Amazon parrot?
- 100 × 80 × 120 cm minimum, wider than tall, bars spaced 2 to 2.5 cm — plus daily free flight, the cage being only base camp.
- Where should a Amazon parrot’s cage go?
- Against a living-room wall at eye height, away from the kitchen (toxic fumes), direct sun and draughts, with 10 to 12 hours of quiet darkness.
See it in the Planète Pets shop: Bendable multicolour cotton rope perch, 40 cm (€21.90) · the whole shop
We don’t ship products to your country yet; our practical guide downloads anywhere: Budgies, Cockatiels and Canaries: The Starter Guide (€13)
🧳 Transporting a Amazon parrot: travel cage and a bird-proofed home
The travel cage: small, dark, low
For a 400 to 550 g Amazon parrot, the travel cage is nothing like the home cage: reduced format, one single low-set perch, zero toys or swinging extras. Cover three sides with light fabric: in half-light, gripping its perch, it travels with surprising calm. Millet or watery fruit replaces the spill-prone water dish.
Everyday dangers beat travel dangers
For a Amazon parrot, the real risks are domestic: the window left ajar tops the loss statistics, followed by lethal overheated non-stick fumes, hot hobs, and glazed surfaces hit in flight. Before every out-of-cage session, a systematic room check beats any insurance.
Paperwork and regulations
Most amazons are listed in CITES Appendix II (EU Annex B) and a few species in Appendix I: buy from a registered breeder, with a ringed or microchipped bird and paperwork matching the species. These papers travel with the bird: a road check, a border or a simple vet visit can require them.
Quick answers
- How do you transport a Amazon parrot by car?
- A dedicated small, low travel cage, a single perch, three sides covered, seatbelt around the cage — never a loose bird in the car or the big cage balanced on the seat.
- What paperwork does a Amazon parrot require?
- Most amazons are listed in CITES Appendix II (EU Annex B) and a few species in Appendix I: buy from a registered breeder, with a ringed or microchipped bird and paperwork matching the species.
See it in the Planète Pets shop: Parrot outdoor harness with elastic lead (€25.90) · the whole shop
Outside our shipping area? The downloadable practical guide: Budgies, Cockatiels and Canaries: The Starter Guide (€13)
Guides to read
- Scaly leg mite in budgies: recognizing and treating knemidokoptic mangeCare & grooming
Knemidokoptic mange in budgies: the tell-tale crusty patches on legs and beak, the vet treatment, and how to prevent it.
- Nonstick pans and Teflon fumes: a deadly danger for pet birdsTravel & safety
Why fumes from overheated nonstick cookware are lethal to cage birds, and how to keep your kitchen safe without giving up nonstick pans entirely.
- Clicker training for birds: the basics of positive reinforcementToys & enrichment
How to start clicker training with your bird: the gear you need, the principles of positive reinforcement, and simple first exercises.
- Colored LED lighting in the cage: real enrichment or just a gadget?Accessories
Colored LED lighting in a budgie's cage: what the research shows about its effect on behavior, and how to use it without disrupting sleep.
- Lovebird or budgie for beginners: which bird needs the most company?Accessories
Lovebird or budgerigar: which one copes better with being alone, and which one absolutely needs a same-species partner? The practical comparison for choosing your first bird.
- Nest box for budgies: should you really add one to the cage?Bedding & habitat
A wooden nest box looks harmless, but it can trigger a full breeding cycle in budgies that have no chicks to raise. What to know before adding one.
- Outdoor garden aviary: real budget and health-safety measuresBedding & habitat
How much does an outdoor aviary cost, and how do you secure it against predators, weather and health risks linked to wild birds? The budget guide before you commit.
- Too many sunflower seeds: the mix mistake that threatens your bird's healthFood
A seed mix too heavy in sunflower seeds drives obesity, fatty liver and atherosclerosis in cage birds. How to fix the ratio without frustrating your bird.