5 Cage Accessories to Avoid
Friday August 1, 2008
We all want to make sure that our feathered friends have the best of everything, so it can be tempting to spoil our birds with every new toy and cool product we come across. While our pets are certainly deserving of such gifts, it's important to remember that not every product that you can buy in a pet store is safe for birds, even if it claims to be.
For some help with choosing safe and fun items for your pet's cage, check out my picks for the Top Five Cage Accessories to Avoid. Knowing the things that can be harmful to your pet will help you make more informed decisions as you shop, and will decrease your bird's risk of accidents and injuries.
Comments
To say cement perches are not safe for your birds is not entirely accurate. Cement perches have their place. We’re not a big fan of cement perches, we prefer Sandyperch brand abrasive perches because of their Manzanita core. The problem with cement perches is that most people use them improperly.
Many bird owners have told us they use abrasive perches up high in the cage and the cement perch eventually becomes a sleeping perch. If the bird spends a lot of time on a cement perch or worse yet sleeps on the perch, yes foot problems will probably manifest themselves in that application.
We suggest placing an abrasive perch - yes even cement - on the INSIDE of the cage door. when you open the door, the bird is excited because they are about to get out of the cage. Typically they will do a little dance until you come and get them. While they’re doing this little dance, they are trimming their nails. If you have a wood dowel and/or Manzanita perch and a rope perch for sleeping, up high in the cage, your bird will not spend a lot of time on the cement perch. Just make sure the diameter of the perch is large enough to the birds toes don’t touch each other and the nails come in contact with the abrasive surface.