FINCHforum

I came downstairs a few days ago and found my Male Schlegel's Twinspot hanging upside down with his leg/foot caught in a fake plant. It was caught in the joint of the plant where the two stems come together. The leg was distended, swollen, and not much blood flow. I kind of freaked out and jumped in the cage and removed him. Of course when I was going through the process of removing him, the CB’s and Lavenders flew out of the flight through the open door. So I got the Twinspot and his leg did not look good at all. No telling how many hours he was hanging there. I decided to try splinting it in way so that it was in “normal perching position”. Long story short…after about a day he started managing pretty well with the splint. It looked like the blood flow had started to come back after the second day so I removed the splint. You can tell it bothers him just a tad bit, but he is doing great. No trouble perching, flying, or anything!

This is the second bird this has happened to (in a diff. flight) so I am switching all of my fake plants out to ones that do not have the “V” shaped joints.

Can you supply a pic of the plant V joint that caused this?

Wow. Sorry to hear that. Hope he's ok.

I will take a pic tomorrow.

I am a big proponent of plants especially when breeding to conceal nests. I just need more of the right kind. The Twinspot is a very pretty bird. I don't see a lot of them around here.

I find that the fake fern fronds (if that's what they are called) work well.

Thank Goodness you helped him! I would like to see a pic of the offending plant as well. ;)

Here is the pic. They get caught in the main joints.

I tend to use the bush silk plants, cut them off of the big stem and weave them into a wire drawer divider or the side of the cage. Should anyone get caught, I can not imagine that a little effort would not pull them free even when wired. Using short pieces is the trick for me - if too long, they would not be able to pull free as well. I often use floral wire but it is not super tight. Have yet to get any bird caught and I have a ton of greenery.

hmmmm now I know what to avoid...