Sores on feet

hi everyone! recently i noticed that my 'zon & 'too both have some pink/red sore looking parts on their feet!

are there any recommended perches that can help with this condition?

they currently have rope perches, natural perches and a pumice perch in their cage. the 'zon gets a swing/boing swapped into her cage at twice a month. the 'too is scared senseless of things that move though so none of those for him until he gets some confidence!!

advice will be appreciated!

yann said:

both have some pink/red sore looking parts on their feet!

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Are they both the same exact sores?

How long have they been like that?

How about a picture?

Joe

Goggle "bumble foot in parrots" .. Usually caused from perches being same dia, too small, dirty,etc. I'd get rid of the pumice perches and use larger diameter natural perches where i could. We also use the "pedi-safe" perches for their nails. How about some pics of their setup, maybe their feet too. Several threads about parrot safe woods for perches that you can cut yourself or buy Java,dragonwood type perches on line. Live near me? i could send you some.

Can you show us new pictures of their cage setup?


If the pumice perch is the highest perch in the cage, then put it down lower. If they spend a lot of time on hard perches, make it so they spend more time on the soft perches.



Make sure that they are getting a healthy diet, too!

joe: nope the sores are on different parts of the foot for both fids.

henpecked: i googled it! certainly does not look as serious as those in the pictures that turned up… i am using this
Sweet Feet & Beak Safety Pumice Perch Large - PEDICURE PERCHES by MY SAFE BIRD STORE
as a pedi perch as it seems to be the most effective for maintaining the nail condition. is it okay?:O i appreciate your offer very much! but i'm probably very very far away from you and shipping would just kill me


monica: i'll try to get a picture of their cage setup by this weekend! i have a rope perch as the highest one now…

this is the 'zon's foot! not the best picture…but she wasn't exactly cooperative-.- should be able to see the somewhat pinkish parts on her foot. tried and failed to get a picture of the 'too's foot though

Yes, that's the same perches we use. (along with natural perches) Personally we have stopped using the soft rope perches, can't say they caused foot problems. However we suspected them and now have zero foot issues. IMO i'd use a natural perch for the higher up roost perch ,maybe do without the soft rope for awhile and see if it helps.

aww dang it~ i genuinely believed that rope perches were better for their feet><

well that explains it since our rescue 'too that has been perching on a metal pole only for god knows how long only got sores when he came home with us i have been giving him mostly rope perches since i thought it'd be better on his feet….will stop the rope perches for some time and see if there's a difference!! thanks a lot Henpecked~ i didn't make that link between the sores and rope perches until ya mentioned it!

My zon also had those pink spots and Henpecked offered me the same advice . I worked

Bigger perches! What I found is that the bigger the perch, the better. Yes, they need lots of different size perches but make sure they are nice and thick.

Also, what really made the biggest difference for me, was installing a really thick and soft sleeping perch. I also changed out his favourite day perch to a nice extra thick branch. Regarding the sleeping perch - Percy came to me with a bamboo perch in his old cage and wouldn't sleep anywhere or, on anything else (clung to the cage for three nights before the guys here helped me figure it out). So, I left the perch but slowly intoduced some fleece wrapping to it, starting at the end where he didn't perch at night. When I got to the point where I had covered the whole perch with just a single layer of fleece and he was ok with it, I swapped out the perch for a thick branch, wrapped in thck sisal rope and covered in the same fleece. The entire thing is now about 3" wide and he sleeps on a soft perch with his his feet almost flat. Within a week from installing this soft, thick perch, the pink spots were almost gone and now, they're completely gone.

I keep an eye on his feet though - when I notice he spends too much time on his thinner perches, or his rope bridge in his play-window, I move things around to make sure those footies keep perching on different things. Focus on the perches he spends most of his time on and change those first.

momtopercy: wow glad to know it worked for you!

i've got good news here! its been about 5 days since i've removed rope perches from their cages and the sores are beginning to subside already!

yann said:

momtopercy: wow glad to know it worked for you!

i've got good news here! its been about 5 days since i've removed rope perches from their cages and the sores are beginning to subside already!

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That is just GREAT !!

Joe

It's it great we have forums now that can improve the lives of our fids. I learn new things on here most everyday.

an update! i've used only natural perches in her cage, except for a pedi perch at the food bowls…and the sores are GONE!!! so happy

I'm happy to hear that, Yann. Very useful advice in this thread.

Glad we could help.

I'm glad I stopped in here as Sootie spends almost all her time on rope perches and I always thought they were better for her feet too! I'll have to swap out some of her perches and try her on flatter surfaces.

I wouldn't say rope perches are bad but definitely shouldn't have more than one in the cage. Riley's cage won't have any at first because I'm only putting 6 perches in there and a swing. Natural perches are great because they don't hold pressure on the same spot that straight dowels and rope perches do. And they exercise the feet.