finch feet

[abbey77]

Hi Im new at keeping finches. Just wondering if you can use the rough perches to keep the nails manicured? I can't imagine cutting those tiny little nails. I had a quaker parrot for 30 yrs. I did his nails but he was MUCH bigger.

[Sally]

I use Hagen's Living World mini pedi-perches, which are rough concrete. I put one by each tube waterer in each cage, so the birds land on it to get a drink. It helps some, but I still have to trim some of the waxbills, such as Strawberries, which grow nails very fast.

I don't recommend the sandpaper perches, as they are supposed to be too rough and cause problems with the feet.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at the Finch Information Center, linked at left, and the members are always ready to help. If you put your general location in your profile, it helps when answering locale-specific questions later on. What kind of finches do you have?

[abbey77]

Thanks for the info..I have zebra finches. A friend of mine her birds had babies so I took a couple of them. Also do you recommend a light on the cage? I read it was good for them.

[delray]

Same. I have a pedi perch and their nails seem pretty well Kept. Welcome to the forum!!! There are many great people willing to help, and just remember, no question is stupid , because we were all newbies at one time, me being one of them.

[finchmix22]

welcome to the forum! I use pedi perches and some regular perches, plus I have a stone next to the seed dish on the bottom, so they eat on the stone, which helps with nails. I recommend putting a full spectrum light above the cage. You can buy one in the reptile section at many petstores. I use Zoomed 5.0 bulbs.

[wildbird]

I keep a few rough rocks on the cage floor along with a bunch of pebbles in a reptile food dish which has a small amount of seed in it for them to forage through. Also, there is a very good website on lighting for birds. Go to Health, topic "plant lights for finches", go down to the June 25 post by Debbie276. She lists two good websites on lighting.

[MiaCarter]

Welcome to the forum!

I also have a little pedi perch. It's clever, as the top side is smooth where it contacts their feet and the lower portion is rough, where their nails hit.
I don't recall whether we bought it like that or made it like that by coating the top half.

I never trim my zebras' nails. They just don't need it. They stay super trim.

Other species like spice finches and strawberries are another story! They can get crazy long nails if you don't trim...and fast.

[Toddmin]

I have a combination of regular perches and pedi perches.

I have a lava rock mounted where my Vasa parrot's food container is, so he stands on that when he eats. It helps so much that I never have to trim his nails.