Toenail Trimming

[paula]

It seems to me that Oliver's five remaining toenails are getting sharper by the day. Should we trim his nails; have a vet do it; or, just leave them alone? If we should do it, do we just use clippers and how much do we cut off? He can really scratch with them. I put a ladder with ceramic rungs in his cage as I read that would help keep the nails trimmed, but he rarely uses it. Still don't see any signs of the lost nail "coming back".

Also, I keep reading about feeding pellets together with seed. What are pellets? My pet store didn't know what I was talking about. He absolutely, positively refuses to eat anything but seed. He's not even very fond of millet. I've tried just about everything this group has advised and all he does is work with it until it is totally in the bottom. He pushes everything right through the "floor" of the cage until it is out of his space. I'm thinking maybe adding some pellets may help - I just don't know what they are.

Thanks,

Paula

[musicjan]

Paula, what color is Oliver? Asking because of the pellets. Sandee Molenda advises against feeding pellets to the mutations. In term of the toenails, I think I would be afraid to do it myself. Let me know if you try it - how it goes.

[Kathy]

Hi Paula,

If you want to do a toenail trim, I would be sure that you can see the quick/vein and cut a distance from it. Nicking those will cause Oliver to bleed. Do you have a variety of perches for him? Sandy perches are very important for this matter -- Nemo has never required a nail trim.

Hope this helps a bit! :)

[memmey]

Paula are you sure he needs a nail trim??Me, I would be scared to do that. I always read that they can bleed to die fast, I don't know how acurate that is but I wouldn't take the chance,But that is just me .

[paula]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I am going to buy him some different perches. That should be fun (ha) - he HATES anything new. I'm going to take the suggestion I have read on this site and try introducing them gradually. We've decided not to try trimming the nails and will just let nature take its course together with some different perches.

Oliver is not a mutant, so if it's okay to feed him pellets, what are they? I'm going to a different pet store today in a neighboring city and although it is smaller than what we have here, it has a much larger selection of supplies, toys, etc. Maybe they will know about pellets.

Thanks everyone.

Paula

[catfish]

Be careful about sandy perches. Keep them at a lower level, somewhere he won't frequent as much. Sandy perches can cause ulcers on the feet.

Oh and if you decide to clip his nails at home. . . buy some quick stop (it can be bought at any pet store) and apply a little to each freshly clipped nail as you go.

[ArtS]

Paula,

These are the pellets I use (fine or extra fine are both OK):

http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/

How old is Oliver? Most young birds do not need their nails cut. The sharpness in the points helps Parrots (includung Parrotlets) grip things. If the reason you want to cut them is that they feel funny when your bird is sitting on you, I would suggest that you will get used to it - he will not be able to break your skin no matter how sharp his nails get.

Regards,

Art S.

[BeakerLuvsBunsen]

my little guy's nails have been getting really sharp too.
But I think I will hold off on trimming at the moment

[chapala]

I have a concrete "pedicure" perch for Cello. It is fastened right onto the door, so when the door is open, he likes to sit there, plus I often put his SS bucket or a spray of millet there. His toenails stay in good shape. I haven't cut his nails before, and hope I don't need to, though I have done the bigger birds.
Reta