Cleaned cage - wet perches?

[Hawkmaid]

Hi guys, I started school yesterday, and decided this morning to clean Cricket's cage while I had the time/presence of mind. I moved him to his "travel" cage and scrubbed out the big one, but didn't have time to let it air-dry completely. I wiped it down with a rag to dry it off, but the wood perches (the dowel rods - I know, I know, I'm working on replacing those. ) were still damp because they're wood. By then I had to run to class, so I popped them back in with all the (dry) toys and put Cricket back in his house. Will this be okay, or are wet perches bad/dangerous/etc.?

 

[Flboy]

Depends, did you use a cleaning product?

Remember, replacing a dowel perch. Simple as walking into your yard and breaking a branch from a safe tree, or going to home depot and buying a hunk of rope and a couple tyewraps.

Maple, bottlebrush, sycamore, citrus, etc
http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml

 

[Hawkmaid]

Depends, did you use a cleaning product?

Remember, replacing a dowel perch. Simple as walking into your yard and breaking a branch from a safe tree, or going to home depot and buying a hunk of rope and a couple tyewraps.

Maple, bottlebrush, sycamore, citrus, etc
Bird; Birds: Safe, Toxic Trees, Woods. Safe Tree Wood. Parrots. Parrot cages.

Not on the perches, no, just warm soapy water thoroughly rinsed off. I did on the bottom grate, but he stays on the perches.

Oh good, they can have maple! We just downed a few trees, so that's perfect. I'll do that once I'm out of school.

 

[SailBoat]

It is always better to have fully dried the perches prior to setting them back in the cage. That said, it sounds like you did a light wash and rinse of the surface and that the perches did not sit in water or worst, a cleaner for an extended period of time. So, setting them back into the cage and allowing them to finish surface drying will not cause harm to your Parrot. However, this should not become a standard practice! Standard Practice is to allow everything to fully dry.

Disclaimer: Yup, there is always a Disclaimer! Perches that have sat in water for an extended time period will take an extended time to dry and placing them back into use prior to fully drying is not recommended!

It is always better that surfaces that the Parrot will perch on are kept clean and dry. The best way to dry the cage, its accessories, including perches and toys is to allow them to dry in bright Sunlight NOTE: Wet surfaces grow 'stuff' rapidly!

I strongly recommend that you target branches that are cut live from a standing tree or a tree that has been recently fallen! Avoid branches that have laid on the ground after being either blown from or as a dead branch, fallen from the tree. Avoid any branch with mold on it! Always remove the bark, provide a quick wash and rinse and let dry in bright Sunlight. This will assure any 'bugs' that maybe on the branch are dead prior to bring them into the home.

 

[Hawkmaid]

It is always better to have fully dried the perches prior to setting them back in the cage. That said, it sounds like you did a light wash and rinse of the surface and that the perches did not sit in water or worst, a cleaner for an extended period of time. So, setting them back into the cage and allowing them to finish surface drying will not cause harm to your Parrot. However, this should not become a standard practice! Standard Practice is to allow everything to fully dry.

Disclaimer: Yup, there is always a Disclaimer! Perches that have sat in water for an extended time period will take an extended time to dry and placing them back into use prior to fully drying is not recommended!

It is always better that surfaces that the Parrot will perch on are kept clean and dry. The best way to dry the cage, its accessories, including perches and toys is to allow them to dry in bright Sunlight NOTE: Wet surfaces grow 'stuff' rapidly!

I strongly recommend that you target branches that are cut live from a standing tree or a tree that has been recently fallen! Avoid branches that have laid on the ground after being either blown from or as a dead branch, fallen from the tree. Avoid any branch with mold on it! Always remove the bark, provide a quick wash and rinse and let dry in bright Sunlight. This will assure any 'bugs' that maybe on the branch are dead prior to bring them into the home.

I hadn't thought to remove the bark, I'll do that! Thanks!

 

[Flboy]

Oh good, they can have maple! We just downed a few trees, so that's perfect. I'll do that once I'm out of school.

Don't worry about keeping it simple! Just jamb them into the cage! Many do leave bark on freshly cut branches!

I also have a piece of PVC, wrapped in twine. End caps hold the twine in place, whole thing wedged in cage

 

[Hawkmaid]

PVC is a great idea too - I'll have to get on this! And have my Dad fix the band saw that I may or may not have broken...

 

[wrench13]

Hey 'Boats - doesn't it rain in the jungle? Seems like wet perches are not the biggest problem in the world... or am I wrong again?

 

[SailBoat]

In the World, you are correct my friend, it rains. However in the World, a Parrot does not spend hours sitting /sleeping in the same place. Pad redness in unheard of. Also, those wild Parrots spend large amounts of time flying from location to location, than spending several minutes foraging and eating and moving on. At the end of the day, they perch and commonly on wet branches. Branches that have been likely rained on at least once during that day, if not more. Branches that have during that same day also seen Sunlight for as long as they have seen 'clean, fresh rain water.'

The average cage perch rarely has direct Sunlight on it in an average month let alone in any given day. Combine a blown pad (or open wound), a damp perch and you can see the difference. Hence, the foundation for assuring that a perch is kept clean and dry.

 

[GaleriaGila]

About perches in general... may I add?

Getting those nail-trimming perches can eliminate nail-trimming, which was always so stressful for me and the Rb. It took a few years, but I eventually established a pattern/rotation that keeps him trimmed. I keep a dowel as the main "highway" down the middle of the cage, but the special perches are all over.

A few brands... but there are many: Polly's Sand Walk... Pumice Perch... Trimmer Perch...

 

[Flboy]

About perches in general... may I add?

Getting those nail-trimming perches can eliminate nail-trimming, which was always so stressful for me and the Rb. It took a few years, but I eventually established a pattern/rotation that keeps him trimmed. I keep a dowel as the main "highway" down the middle of the cage, but the special perches are all over.

A few brands... but there are many: Polly's Sand Walk... Pumice Perch... Trimmer Perch...

These seem to work very well for some fids, but for some, they are much too rough on the feet!
I understand there are some that have the abrasive on the sides.
Another cool perch is a drilled rock, mounted to the corner!

 

[Hawkmaid]

Hey guys, as long as the nails don't over-grow, is it okay to just leave them the way they are (pokiness aside)?

 

[Flboy]

Hey guys, as long as the nails don't over-grow, is it okay to just leave them the way they are (pokiness aside)?

I believe so, as long, as you said, not too long!
The idea is, as long as the toe is flat on a flat surface, the nails are fine.

 

[wrench13]

'BOATS .. 'blown pad'? Please explain that term, thanks .

 

[Hawkmaid]

Hey guys, as long as the nails don't over-grow, is it okay to just leave them the way they are (pokiness aside)?

I believe so, as long, as you said, not too long!
The idea is, as long as the toe is flat on a flat surface, the nails are fine.

Thanks! My next question was going to be "How can you tell they're too long", haha!

 

[SailBoat]

Blown Pads: The pad of the crawl, contacts the perch that as a result of extended and constant pressure develops pink to red surfaces. With time, the pad's skin thins and breaks. The open wound can become infected and/or result in that area of the crawl becoming stiff as the wound heals from the inside out and now lacks flexibility.

Historically, this has resulted from perching on overly small perches and/or dowels of any size. Over the last twenty years, there has been an increase of Pad redness as a result of perching on the square framing of cages when other choices are not provided. The above develops pad redness from the constant pressure on specific pads day after day without change regardless of where on the Dowel or Cage Frame the Parrot perches.

Pad Redness and Blown Pads is unheard of in the natural setting of the Parrot. The natural variation of tree branches assures that even minor movement of the Parrot, left or right, will change the contact load of a specific pad and between pads on either side.

This speaks to the need to provide numerous natural branches of different base diameters in and on the cage. Larger diameter natural branches for roosting areas. The diameter varies by Species with very large diameter branches for larger Parrots and smaller diameters for smaller Parrots. It is always better to error on a larger diameter than to provide a perch that is too small.

 

[dhraiden]

I use this stuff to clean everything. It's great for breaking down food bits and droppings and otherwise dries quickly. Boat gave good advice on the need for diverse perching materials. Everyday the fids get to fly out to the sofa and pad around on the cushions, gives their toes a rest from perching.