[KiwiandDodi]

Hey everyone.
I'm not sure whether I need to clip my birds nails. Is this considered long?

He doesn't struggle walking and usually maintains them quite well but I guess I over worry about him.

 

[Rubydoo252]

Unless they are a problem for you, my experience is that parrotlets are best left with their nails as-is. Tumi's got pointy once and I had them trimmed, and regretted it. He struggled to grip anything, falling over and off perches. They weren't over-cut, he just really couldn't deal with the nails not having points.
Can you switch out the favorite perch with something harder to help wear down the nails naturally? Unless they are ridiculously long, I think the only issue with long nails is if they are doing damage to you.

 

[KiwiandDodi]

Unless they are a problem for you, my experience is that parrotlets are best left with their nails as-is. Tumi's got pointy once and I had them trimmed, and regretted it. He struggled to grip anything, falling over and off perches. They weren't over-cut, he just really couldn't deal with the nails not having points.
Can you switch out the favorite perch with something harder to help wear down the nails naturally? Unless they are ridiculously long, I think the only issue with long nails is if they are doing damage to you.

Thank you so much. Super helpful as always 😀

 

[ozzie3860]

As a general situation you do not need to change a parrotlet nails. I know sometimes you do. I had one years ago that needed it once but it was an unusual situation because his previous owner did not take care of him right.

Rio has very sharp wings and I considered having them clipped. My previous parrotlets were not that sharp. On the vet visit to have that done the vet declined saying he was a perfectly helpful parrotlet and was not in need of one so he declined.

 

[Anya]

Pugsley's nails were getting very long and I was starting to wonder how much longer they would get before they started bothering him. But finally for the last 4 days he's been chewing them back and they're starting to look a normal length again. After hearing what happened to Dana's Tumi I'm glad I don't have to get them professionally trimmed.

 

[Tofu]

I have had to get Tofu’ nails professionally trimmed once in her whole life and it was because the nail on her back toe was growing sideways and making it hard for her to perch (which sometimes happens to budgies and p’lett due to the way they grip the cage and climb around and my girl loves to climb on anything) and then we haven’t touched them any other time. If it’s not causing them any trouble or shift in behavior due to the length or direction of growth I don’t think there would be any need for a trim!

 

[GrandmaLil]

Pip’s vet said Pip does a nice job keeping his own nails trimmed, but I know that sometimes the can almost feel like his nipping me when he grips. The nails can be a bit pointy. He has several different perch types, including ones that are half White (looks like ceramic) and half black (almost sandpaper looking). He also uses them on his beak when he gets food stuck on it.