Clumsy gymnast

[Shine]

I recently bought Fidget a new cage, a really big new cage. Hes a toy junkie so I stuffed it full of toys so he has plenty to do.

Its a tall cage and he loves to play rough with his toys, hanging and swinging on them, often times with one foot. However, in the past couple of weeks he has fallen from some toys 4 times that I have seen. He always seems ok, and will quickly climb right back to the top of the cage. He hasnt ever seem injured after he falls and will go right back to playing again. The toys he falls from are at the top, at the open, crescent door.

I'm worried about his hurting himself when he falls. Should I move the toys lower in the cage so he wouldnt have so far to fall, (I'm afraid he wouldn't play with them if I moved them down)

Is this something I should worry about, if so, suggestions on what to do to keep him safe?

Adding a pic so it makes sense, I hope. (I tried to get it upright instead of sideways, but couldnt figure it out. Sorry. )

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

WOW...thats a nice house he has!!! I think I'd keep it how it is...maybe he's just getting rambunctious with all his goodies he has. I don't think he's dumb lol..if he keeps falling he'll figure it out that..."hey!!...if I do THIS..then I go boom!...better not do THAT again!" JMHO


Jim

 

[texsize]

My 2 GCA are both young and a bit clumsy.
At first Luna would fall when she was playing. I put some fom rubber under the papers at the bottom of the cage (with the bars at bottom removed).
She has stopped falling but my new GCA Merlin is now the one who falls. So I moved the fom rubber into his cage till he gets more coordination.

 

[Anita1250]

Has Fidget recently had a toe nail clipping? My BFA Sam always falls more after that. That being said, Sam also falls when he gets excited ( can't seem to hold on when flapping wildly ), when he plays with certain bells and when running up and down the ladder and swinging around it. He also gets right up and starts to play again. I think that they are not meant to run on metal. In the wild, all of their antics are done in the trees, which are wood. They probably have a better grip with the claws on the wood. The metal can be a bit slippery, so hence they fall. I wouldn't worry too much. As long as he doesn't hurt himself, it should be ok.

 

[Shine]

Sorry for the late reply. Life got in the way.

Thanks, AMBF, he loves his new cage! I think hes just rowdy!

Anita, Thanks. He hasnt had his nails clipped in months. They seem to stay dull enough from the rough perch he has in his cage. He usually falls when hes hanging off of a toy and swinging wildly! Hes a toy playing fool for sure!

Texsize, thanks for the suggestion. I may try putting some foam on the bottom of the cage, but I'm afraid he would just tear it up. Anything new in or around his cage and he goes after it with a vengeance! But putting some sort of padding would sure make me feel better about his falling.

Thanks all!

 

[Flboy]

Awesome, fun, and yes, injury is possible! No different than what you and I survived! But, some of our buddies wore casts for a while!
Consider a net clipped across the bottom! The idea with foam is good too! Both will have to be cleaned!
Some ideas for nets!
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-toys/56035-cargo-net.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/51598-my-first-diy-cargo-net.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/51566-sisal-net.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/50325-climbing-net.html

 

[Shine]

Awesome, fun, and yes, injury is possible! No different than what you and I survived! But, some of our buddies wore casts for a while!
Consider a net clipped across the bottom! The idea with foam is good too! Both will have to be cleaned!
Some ideas for nets!
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-toys/56035-cargo-net.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/51598-my-first-diy-cargo-net.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/51566-sisal-net.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/50325-climbing-net.html

That's a great idea! Thank you for the links!

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[saxguy64]

I second texsize's idea. Padding UNDER newspaper. My preference has always been to put paper on top of the bottom grate. It gives them a big, flat place to walk around in the cage if they want to, and it's a heck of a lot easier to keep clean than scrubbing a big grate. This is of course not as helpful if you have a paper shredder that would go after the foam under it. My first Amazon wouldn't leave paper on the bottom of the cage alone, ever. At least he had fun with it though.

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[Flboy]

A thought for something simple and cheap, a sea grass mat hung with plastic chain! If you live in the states, the mats can be bought at pottery barn in any size for almost nothing! These carpets are made up of 12 inch squares that are real easy to pull apart! Both Lows and Homedepo carry the large chain by the foot! I also use this chain for simple hooks to hang toys! In fact, every time I am at the store, I check the cutting area for tossed links!

 

[Kiwibird]

Nice setup! And yay for spoiled BFAs!

Even if its been a few months since his last nail trim, that doesn’t mean they’ve grown to a proper length for safe climbing. A lot of groomers and even avian vets get a bit overexcited with nail trimming and clip them WAY too short. Parrots need big talons. Many I’ve seen who get regular trim have nails literally half as long as my birds, whose nails have been let grow to a natural length save clipping the very tips off when they become painful to our hands (Kiwi is an excellent climber and never had grip problems). I would suggest continuing to let them grow out and to just clip a few mm off the very tips when they become too sharp to comfortably hold. Unless a bird has medical issues that accelerates nail growth or is a total perch potato, clipping nails on healthy birds is more for our comfort handling them than their benefit and makes climbing quite treacherous.

For comparison here is what Kiwis nails look like. These are proper length parrot nails, not overgrown yet long enough to climb with (and most groomers would have a field day with aiming to shorten by probably 4+mm):

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Nice setup! And yay for spoiled BFAs!

Even if its been a few months since his last nail trim, that doesn’t mean they’ve grown to a proper length for safe climbing. A lot of groomers and even avian vets get a bit overexcited with nail trimming and clip them WAY too short. Parrots need big talons. Many I’ve seen who get regular trim have nails literally half as long as my birds, whose nails have been let grow to a natural length save clipping the very tips off when they become painful to our hands (Kiwi is an excellent climber and never had grip problems). I would suggest continuing to let them grow out and to just clip a few mm off the very tips when they become too sharp to comfortably hold. Unless a bird has medical issues that accelerates nail growth or is a total perch potato, clipping nails on healthy birds is more for our comfort handling them than their benefit and makes climbing quite treacherous.

For comparison here is what Kiwis nails look like. These are proper length parrot nails, not overgrown yet long enough to climb with (and most groomers would have a field day with aiming to shorten by probably 4+mm):

I take Amy to his doctor for nail trims now,after the !@^%&@ idiot at the pet store clipped too short on three nails and made them bleed and made him cry in pain :02: His CAV uses a Dremel and just does enough to get the tips blunt. I have a Dremel also but would be too afraid lol.


Jim

 

[Flynhigh]

A good guide to go off of for nails is when your bird is standing flat on a table or counter and the very tip of the toe ( not the nail) comes up off the table because of the nail its time for a slight trim. Get that toe back on the table an its perfect. Some birds do a great job of doing their own pedicures some not so much so teaching them young not to fear the towel is important. Or as baby's, introducing a nail file.

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[Shine]

Thanks for the suggestions! Hes a paper shredder so paper on the bottom wont work. I May try hanging a seagrass mat though. I have a few of those and plastic chain so that should be easy to put together.

As far as his nails, I dont get them trimmed at all. Hes got a couple of those rough perches and they seem to keep his nails trimmed down enough so that they arent needles. But they are still plenty long I think.

Thanks for all the ideas! I appreciate it!

 

[EllenD]

That's a very nice cage you got for him! He's a lucky boy!

Of course if he's falling off of the toys/swings that are up near the top of the cage to the bottom of the cage, yes he could potentially get injured, even badly. So as suggested, putting a net across the bottom of the cage to catch him, or the sea-grass mat, etc. is a good idea...But it's probably better to try to figure out why he's falling in the first-place...It could be his nails, I'd also check the bottom of his feet for any signs of Bumblefoot like scabs or red, raw areas...And then I'd keep an eye on him closely, and if he keeps falling on a regular-basis I'd consider getting him to your Avian Vet for a Wellness-Exam and regular blood-work if he hasn't had it done recently. He's probably falling because he's excited and not paying attention to what he's doing, or he's just a bit clumsy, or due to his nails (though they look fine in the photo, they aren't lifting his toes off of the ground and they aren't curled or anything...but sometimes birds do start falling off of perches, ladders, toys, etc. due to health/medical issues, so if it keeps happening then you should probably get him fully checked-out to make sure there isn't anything more serious going on...