Multiple Questions-

Hey guys, get ready to get weird.
I have a couple questions-
I got a green cheek conure about 3 days ago.
last night, I decided he needed a play area upgrade (and because I need at least 263826 DIY projects going on at one time)
So I had this closet wire shelf that I wasn't using. cool right? cut it to size, sanded the ends, hung it up, added a bunch of toys, some ladders, all is great. except.
- I think the bars might be hurting his little baby feet because they're so far apart. Ive included a picture, but if you need more reference, they're in basically every closet in America. Im not sure if I need to glue wooden dowels in between those bars, or what's up. I need the OG bars to stay (or something that size) so I can hang toys from them. Im considering buying a bunch of wooden dowels and making my own shelves if the conclusion is yes, it's hurting his feet. He prefers sitting on the bigger bars at the edges. I do have T stand perches on each of the shelves just in case and he can get up and down at any time (we are still waiting for his wings to come in, but he can sorta fly)

- He keeps trying to eat the end of the bars. While I've sanded them down, there's still a little bit sticking off the end, and he likes to bite it. Its taking off some of the white rubbery coating, and I'm concerned that it might be toxic if he eats it. For now, I've put a bandaid around it and it really ruffled his feathers (HA!) but it seems to be working. I'm wondering if this is toxic (he might try to chew elsewhere on the shelves.) and/or if there is a more permanent solution.

-Alright. So birds aren't my main hobby. Fish tanks are. Live planted tanks, specifically. so I have tanks sitting on the living room floor, (temporary but they still have plants in them) and they sit right next to the sliding glass door, ( I leave it open for him, screen door closed though. he likes to hangout on the screen door) and sometimes he just hops skips and leaps over and on top of my tank, and chews on the live plants in there. Its Jungle Vallisneria, so pretty common, its essentially underwater grass. I don't think it's harmful, but i'm wondering if anybody knows.

Let me know, thanks guys!

you could get rope (hemp, jute, sisla(?? can't remember exactly what it's called) something safe) and wrap it around the bars to make them thicker and by default closer together.

I wouldn't let your bird have access to the tank for a variety of reasons. They could fall in and hurt themselves / the fish or possibly drown. And I'm sure you keep your water parameters are a healthy and clean level but still probably isn't good for the bird to drink.

Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!

Congratulations on the new addition to your household! Okay, a few things. I don't think the spacing of the bars is necessarily something that will be hurting his feet, especially as he has other places to go that will be more comfortable. But honestly speaking, that's the thing of least concern in this scenario.

First, yes, the plastic coating that he's chewing off could indeed be a problem. In setting up play stands for your bird, the first consideration has to be that you are using bird safe materials. And the bandaid could also be problematic this regard.

The proposed glue that you're considering using to add stuff on is also a potential safety issue, as most glues would be absolutely toxic to birds if ingested. You do have to keep in mind that birds chew on everything. You have to always assume that they'll be gnawing on, and potentially ingesting, anything that is within their reach.

Wooden dowels are not really a good choice for birds. Instead, you might want to look at natural branches of varying diameters and composed of bird safe wood. Make sure, if you're gathering the branches yourself rather than buying them from a pet shop, that the wood is of a type that is not toxic to birds. And also that said wood is completely untreated by pesticides or any other chemical additive. Here is a link to a site with a list of bird safe woods: Safe and Dangerous Woods

A good alternative to glueing additional branches on is to drill holes in the branch/perch and use screws and washers to attach the natural branch perches to the stands/cage bars. Here is a link to the sub-forum on this site specifically dedicated to DIY type projects like yours: Do It Yourself - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

And lastly, there's the issue of your aquariums. You have to be VERY careful having tanks and birds together. Specifically, the tanks should be covered at all times so that your bird cannot stick his head in at all. Now, while I'm uncertain about the toxicity of the particular live plants that you have in your tanks, it's always better not to take the chance. But the bigger risk in this instance would be that of drowning. Birds have delicate respiratory systems, and you don't want them inhaling a bunch of water. Things could go wrong really fast if your bird were to fall into a tank full of water. Please take the proper precautions.

First of all, no the valisneria will not hurt your bird if you waterquality is good.


But keep the birdy away from open water that deep!
Once in he will probably not make it out again alive.


I dislike grates for parrots anywhere, but I am with Anansi on this one: the plastics are a bigger danger than the "may be hurting the feet"

So I'm a DIY person, as well as a freshwater aquarium nut, so I can relate...I always worry about my guys getting into my tanks (I only have 3, one 40-gallon bow-front community tank, one 55-gallon community tank, and one 75-gallon-long Red Fin Shark, Catfish, and Snail rock-cliff tank, all planted with live plants, all freshwater...We have a rule in my house that no one lands on any of the tanks or they face a penalty of death, and so they typically stay off of them...Though Bowie, my Green Cheek, is the jerk-bird of the group and he regularly tests his limits with the fish tanks...I'm so afraid they are going to fall in and not be able to get back out and drown that I go nuts whenever one of them even gets close to a tank, and they are all well-covered and latched-down so they can't access the water...I've heard about numerous parrots drowning in toilets with the seat left up, sinks or bathtubs with water in them, etc, so I just don't risk it...However, most all of the live plants you would plant in a freshwater tank would be safe for them to eat, however the waste in the water might not, specifically the Ammonia...So I'd not let him drink the water..And just be careful about him falling in, because if that were to happen, he probably won't make it back out...

As far as the closet-organizer project, that's awesome! What a great idea! All 3 bedrooms in my house have them built-in to them, with my master bedroom being ridiculous, it's an Octagonal-shaped organize, and I might actually have to see about re-purposing some of it that I don't use!!!

I can see how those very hard, thin, wire bars might hurt his feet, so if you were to put something in-between the spaces it would most-likely help his feet quite a bit, either some type of natural rope, dowels, etc., that way his weight will be spread over a much larger surface area and they won't hurt his feet any longer...

***Have you ever made your bird any stands, perches, or play-gyms out of PVC piping/fittings and Vet-Wrap? I've done hundreds of them (sold them for a time), everything from small, simple tabletop and floor T-Stands to huge play-gyms that take up an entire room and have tons of toys hanging from them, built-in PVC swings, rope ladders, etc. Very cheap, easy, and fun to make...

FWIW, I have aquariums too.
I had glass covers custom cut to keep fish from jumping out, bursting bubbles from messing up my lights, and keep both dust and Pico out.
The glass fits perfectly front to back but side to side it's an inch short.
That leaves 1/2" of space on both sides for ventilation and feeding.

It wasn't very expensive.

Pico couldn't get into the tanks if he tried.
Also I keep the water level low enough so he can't take a sip at the side openings.
He does love to watch the fish though.

Ohnoitstfloyd said:

Hey guys, get ready to get weird.
I have a couple questions-
I got a green cheek conure about 3 days ago.
last night, I decided he needed a play area upgrade (and because I need at least 263826 DIY projects going on at one time)
So I had this closet wire shelf that I wasn't using. cool right? cut it to size, sanded the ends, hung it up, added a bunch of toys, some ladders, all is great. except.
- I think the bars might be hurting his little baby feet because they're so far apart. Ive included a picture, but if you need more reference, they're in basically every closet in America. Im not sure if I need to glue wooden dowels in between those bars, or what's up. I need the OG bars to stay (or something that size) so I can hang toys from them. Im considering buying a bunch of wooden dowels and making my own shelves if the conclusion is yes, it's hurting his feet. He prefers sitting on the bigger bars at the edges. I do have T stand perches on each of the shelves just in case and he can get up and down at any time (we are still waiting for his wings to come in, but he can sorta fly)

- He keeps trying to eat the end of the bars. While I've sanded them down, there's still a little bit sticking off the end, and he likes to bite it. Its taking off some of the white rubbery coating, and I'm concerned that it might be toxic if he eats it. For now, I've put a bandaid around it and it really ruffled his feathers (HA!) but it seems to be working. I'm wondering if this is toxic (he might try to chew elsewhere on the shelves.) and/or if there is a more permanent solution.

-Alright. So birds aren't my main hobby. Fish tanks are. Live planted tanks, specifically. so I have tanks sitting on the living room floor, (temporary but they still have plants in them) and they sit right next to the sliding glass door, ( I leave it open for him, screen door closed though. he likes to hangout on the screen door) and sometimes he just hops skips and leaps over and on top of my tank, and chews on the live plants in there. Its Jungle Vallisneria, so pretty common, its essentially underwater grass. I don't think it's harmful, but i'm wondering if anybody knows.

Let me know, thanks guys!

Click to expand...

Make sure you are using bird-safe wood. Pressure-blasted wood from the hardware store, plywood, 2x4s etc are not safe for chewing...Some wood is poisonous and some wood has been treated with chemicals. Wood from the outdoors is possible, but only if you know that it hasn't ever been treated with pesticides, is from a source away from run-off/winter salting of the streets, is a safe tree variety, and has been baked at 250 (ish) for about an hour to kill parasites and mold.

A good way to hang toys is to string a length of the hard palstic chain, available in any hardware store. Use stainless steel screw eyes to hook into the ceiling and string the chain betewwn them. Salty LOVES his chain.

I used a shelf just like that. Then my birds chewed off the plastic coating just like yours, and underneath that is unsafe metal! So I pitched it to the curb . ...
I use crepe myrtle branches now that I scrub , bake ect.

That shelving play unit is awesome! Very cool idea. I might have to try something like this myself.

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