chewing rust?

Kirby saw a small nail in a mirror he was looking at and bit it. He chewed on it for a second before I stopped him. It was rusty. Is this ok? He didn't Peel and ingest any. I'm so paranoid, sorry.
thanks for answers

Rust is not a good thing, as long as he didn't ingest any he should be fine. Find a way to keep him away from that rusty nail so it doesn't happen again

If any signs of illness get to vet ASAP including lethargy, falling off perches and being un coordinated.

if there are ANY signs in the near future that may look like sickness, not eating/drinking, uncoordination, not acting like himslef, ect go to your vet asap. as long as he didnt ingest any he should be fine. but keep a VERY good look out tonight/tomorow for anything unlike how he normally is.

As long as he didn't ingest much/any, and he didn't prick himself, he'll probably be fine. I would just keep an eye out for signs of illness.

Not sure. but I have never heard of iron oxide toxicity by ingesting a small amount... I would say he will be fine but I wouldn't let him keep doing it..

well funny thing the avian vet at the rescue helped with and told us was as long as the rust has been cleaned it is not harmful. It is fresh rust that is really harmful and they have to indigest a significant amount. Because we get older cages in with rust on and we were so unsure of the safety( we dont like to switch birds right out of there old cages if they are in poor shape). I would say you are fine as it hasnt been a reoccuring issue with large amounts digested, just keep an eye on him.

That brings up a question. What is the best way to rid rust spots on the cage? Steel wool?

Best and easiest way to remove rust would be a wire wheel on a drill or angle grinder..if you prefer you could buy a set of small wire brushes and clean it up that way.... But you should encapsulate immediately somehow to keep it from coming back.... Given the right condition it could rust back up in hrs..

Well as well you can steel brush it then if you get spray paint that is non toxic when dry you can spray paint it a similar color. Do this all while the bird is of in it. it is only for touching up not for like full out half a cage or so.

My only spots are on the water bowl side of the cage.

I doubt him being in contact with a rusty nail for a few seconds would hurt him, but I would still keep a close eye on him for the next few days to look for signs of illness. Since it was just a nail holding up a mirror, may I suggest you replace it with a non-rusty one so the same thing doesn't happen again?

Also, even the most closely supervised birds get their beaks on things they oughtn't from time to time. My mom always made her birds bite on a wet towel after they got a hold of something bad, to kind of "wash" their mouth out of as much residue as possible. I do the same thing with Kiwi (he has a special love of highlighters, and will help himself to one if your not looking). It's more visible with a highlighters of course, but it definitely wipes out their beaks! I'd suggest in the future, you give it a try as another way to keep your bird safe and healthy if they do get a hold of something potentially toxic.

I think iron oxide toxicity take a while with multiple exposures for it to do any real harm. But I'm no expert here so I would still keep a close watch on her.