Need cage ideas for BF amazon

[brittani299]

I havent posted in a while but i have had my bfa Tiki for almost 5 months. He still wont let me handle him. I can rub his head sometimes and that is it. Tiki likes males more. My bf can get him to step up and can touch him. The thing i am having the most problems with since i have owned him is that he only wants to be on his cage. I leave his cage open all day. 99% of the time he is on top of it or on the window sill because he loves to watch outside. He only goes inside of it to sleep. I have tried adding new toys and food but he nothing to do with it. I have a play stand but he hates it and only wants his cage. I should also add that he was abused and was in a cockatiel cage when i got him. He also had no toys. Today i moved a perch so he could look outside better and he screamed until i moved it away. At the moment the top of his cage has a play area but most of it is metal. I am afraid he is going to hurt his feet in the long run. I would also like him to be able to play with toys. How can i make the cage more efficient and for him to have a bigger area to move around on? This is the cage he is in Pet Supplies - Pet Products - Pet Food | Petco.com

 

[Birdman666]

First of all, Amazons have a very real tendency to be perch potatoes, especially if they were cage bound in the past. I'd say it's normal.

My Sallybird actually hasn't been back to her cage in probably 3-4 years, choosing instead to hang out on her playstand, watching out the window. She stays in one of three spots for the majority of the day...

As for concerns about the long term damage to the feet, a do it yourself tree branch playtop fixes that. Problem solved. Or one of those T perches. Or hang something like a soft rope bird boing above the cage.

 

[MomtoPercy]

My vet recommended really big perches (8cm wide) for Percy's "favourite hangout spots" to prevent pressure sores. I'm replacing his sleeping perch with a flat perch (about 5cm wide on the flat side) as a trial - if he doesn't take to it, I will find a way to install a hefty tree branch I have waiting in the wings . He spends a lot of time on that one perch when he is caged and that is why I am particularly keen on preventing pressure sores from that perch (it is a natural perch about 4cm in width).

That said, he is not a perch potato - he is quite active and loves to clamber around all over. I find that having little foot toy bowls distributed through the cage, encourages him to move a lot as he scratches in all the bowls to find fave toys and hidden treats. And when he is out of the cage (when I'm close by to supervise), he never stops moving around, swining from things, going walkabout and generally getting up to mischief .

 

[MonicaMc]

You could always try providing foraging toys, or placing pieces of food in his toys to try and get him to interact with his toys.

Likewise, if you can find a favorite reward of his, you could reward him for looking at, moving towards, touching and then playing with a toy. That may help with the "perch potato" issue.

 

[Dougc1369]

Are you only putting toys inside his cage? If so, you might put some on top of the cage as well. Keep working with him. When I got Zack, I was told that he didn't like men, and I could not stick a finger into his cage without getting bit, now he loves beaking on my fingers just for fun. Zack was avused as well and has separation anxiety. He hates it when I leave the room and raises a rucus until I come back.