I was talking to some friends the other day about how long we’d all had each of our parrots.
We went around all of us, and all had pretty impressively old parrots, but the oldest among them was one of my friend’s pineapple conures that he had for over 25 years.
I knew parrots could live a long time, but this was more than even I expected.
I wondered how long they could come to live, so I decided to look into it.
So, how long do pineapple conures live?
In captivity, a healthy pineapple conure can live for as long as 30 years. This is about the upper limit of their lifespan, though in the wild they would very rarely get anything close to that old. It depends on a lot of factors even in captivity, but the healthiest pineapple conure could live for 3 decades.
So, everyone would agree that 30 years is a long time for a pet to be around.
This is one of the reasons parrots in general are considered high maintenance—they will be around for a very long time, so it’s worth being fully aware of this if you are considering a pineapple conure.
Let’s look further into this.
How long do pineapple conures live as pets?
As pets is where you will see the much higher end of the lifespan spectrum.
The difference between domestic and wild conures is quite staggering, as I will get into, but it also makes perfect sense.
In a domestic environment, the pineapple conure doesn’t need to expend energy hunting for food or water or a safe place to sleep.
All of that is readily provided, adding years to its life.
Not to mention the consistency of diet.
In the wild, they would have a lot of trouble getting access to healthy food the year round.
As a pet, they will have all of this provided for them.
All that in mind, then, the biological lifespan of a perfectly healthy conure seems to be about 30 years.
This might seem like a long time for such a small animal, but parrots in general are very long-lived creatures.
If you are thinking of getting a pet pineapple conure, then, you need to prepare yourself for this.
Parrots are high maintenance pets, pineapple conures especially so, and they will be around for a very long time.
What about in the wild, then?
How long do pineapple conures live in the wild?
The wild is, as I said, a very different story.
Things are far less stable, and the parrot will have to look after itself entirely.
There will be long periods where it struggles to find nutritious food.
It will have to spend a lot of time flying long distances to find water.
It may have to provide for a mate or a chick.
All of this shaves years of the conure’s life.
Obviously, due to predators and other kinds of environmental problems, a wild pineapple conure could suddenly die at any moment.
All that said, the average lifespan of a wild pineapple conure is somewhere in the region of half the domestic lifespan. 15 years would be very good going for a wild conure.
That said, many will escape this due to good fortune, and could live to be as old as 20 in the wild. It really all depends.
How can you tell if your pineapple conure is dying?
What are the signs of a dying pineapple conure?
Pineapple conures display many of the same behaviors as a lot of parrots when they are ill or dying.
One thing they often do is fluff up their feathers and arrange themselves into a ball.
They will huddle up.
They will also tend to have discolored discharge and feces.
Their feathers may become limp and coarse.
They will want to spend more time by themselves and will shun company.
The point is that all of these behaviors can be quite subtle, and can also demonstrate other problems.
If you notice any of this, it’s best to speak to a vet.
Who is the oldest living pineapple conure?
The unfortunate truth is we don’t know.
There is no certified record of the oldest ever pineapple conure.
As I said, though, given that the upper limit on their biology is about 30 years, the oldest pineapple conure ever probably lived to be 25-30.
Conclusion
Pineapple conures are very long-lived parrots, then. all parrots tend to live for a very long time, but especially so with pineapple conures.
Of course, there is a huge difference in lifespan between wild and domestic pineapple conures, as well as the fact of how well cared for a domestic pineapple conure is.
Assuming it is treated exactly right and given the best possible life, you can expect your pineapple conure to be around for at least 25 if not 30 years.