Nails and beak help

[patch]

Hi everyone! I own a Nanday named Pepper who came from a pet store originally, but now lives with me after his previous owner said he was too noisy to live in their apartment. He wasn't handled much in the pet store so he is just now getting used to people at around ten months. I don't know if the lack of socialization after birth is why he is, to me, such a strange little guy. Pepper is also my first bird so I may just be ignorant!

He doesn't like his cuttlebone at all. He's never used it. However he loves chewing on his Hawaiian Delights treat toy. I really wish he would use the cuttlebone though. Anybody have tips for this?

Oh the subject of his nails, they get pretty long even with the nail-trimming perches I have for him. I don't use concrete perches because I've heard they hurt bird feet. Are there other perches I can use for his nails that are better than the ones with the rough sand stuff on the sides? And is there anything I can get him to play on while he's on top of his cage that will grind down his nails? Since he's still getting used to being handled, he has a lot of anxiety about leaving his cage (I have him to the point where he steps onto my hand at least!). I'm willing to try anything if it'll save money in the future!

 

[Sulphiria]

Theres nothing wrong with concrete perches as long as they have a variety of perches. Having only one type or size perch can cause problems.

Our quaker and tiel are the same way, their nails get sharp, fast. We just trim them down once every couple of weeks to get the sharp tip off.

 

[patch]

I read that too, that having different sizes is good. I have a bunch of different ones to keep his strength up. I may also be mixing up cement perches with concrete perches, in which case I'm sorry, I'm still learning. Are cement perches off-limits?