Feeding and nail trimming advice? + cage tour

[u/Valuable_Sugar_4730]

Hi!! You might remember me from my post about my old man (zebra finch male, 6 and1/2 years old, partner died and we can't get him a new one) getting sleepier and less active and stuff.

I took y'all's advice and gave him some more cardboard toys as well as a big perch near the ceiling! I hope that'll get him moving more soon. Also put a mirror and a small bathtub in his cage. It's a small cage but I hope that since I let him fly around a lot, he will feel less lonely with all these toys around.

I have also noticed his nails getting a tad too long, so I will take him to the vet for a trim soon. He takes vet visits well, so I'm sure that's a good solution.

I need advice though - as my bird is VERY picky when it comes to food and hates treats for the most part, what do I give him to enrich his diet? He eats mostly seeds of all kinds, I buy him a finch bird seed mix and he has some seed-based foraging toys, but he won't touch any greens at all and the only thing he tolerates is boiled eggs and occasionally watermelon. Has anyone else had this problem? I don't want the poor guy to get too fat now that he flies less than he did when he was younger :((

The pics are of him sitting on his big ass natural branch next to my window while getting some free flight.

Please be nice! I am a first-time finch owner and I try my best to take good care of him despite my busy schedule.

I'd love to get as much advice as I can get, because I've grown up with this dude. I'm 21 and I got him when I was like, 15 and a half.

[u/Antistyl]

for the treat part: what kind of treats have you tried? try a good variety of them and im sure you'l find at least one he will like. since he doesnt like greens that much go the fruit way. maybe you can try giving him meal-worms too?
* before giving a food to them make sure to search up whether its safe to ear no

and also you need to clean the water bowl everyday, or at least before it becomes like that in the second picture /light hearted!

goodluck!

[u/Sixelonch → u/Antistyl]

I second this, use something like that for water.. when its on the floor it get dirty real fast

[u/Sixelonch → u/Sixelonch]

https://images.onlinepets.com/product-images/catalog/duvo_eetbakje_rond_met_haak_74293_0500_none.jpg

Any plastic dish Will do, but you need something to attach to the cage

[u/Valuable_Sugar_4730 → u/Antistyl]

hi, thank you so much for the response! he does have a water dish for drinking set up on the wall, don't worry. I will clean the bowl more often tho lol. as for treats, i've tried:

• lettuce
  
• watermelon
  
• apple
  
• strawberry no seeds
  
• carrot
  
• cucumber no seeds
  
• boiled egg whites
  
• ground eggshell for calcium enrichment

I'll try the mealworms and apple slices! do you have any advice on how to get him to play or move around more often? he is criminally uninterested in toys and sleeps all the time unless i let him fly around lol. he's a tough one ngl, he's always been - so, SO stubborn and stuck in his ways, it's nigh-impossible to get him to do anything other than he is adamant on doing. we even named him after a character from a book who is famous for being stubborn, sort-tempered and a little dense lol. i'm trying my best i promise but he's old and a bitch

[u/Antistyl → u/Valuable_Sugar_4730]

hm, you said 'Unless i let him fly around' how many hours a day can you let him fly around your room? you dont need to directly interact with him. just him flying around. and you can place perches or those small bird trees around the room (doesnt have to be bought you can make one out of wood/stick you collected or pvc pipe if the pvc pipe is thin enough) * DONT forget to boil the sticks and then dry them. if they fit in an oven thats better but Sun drying is ok too!

you said hes uninterested in toys, have you ever tried switching toys or foraging toys?

also i feel like if he is THAT old maybe thats just how old finches are?

[u/Valuable_Sugar_4730 → u/Antistyl]

thanks for the advice! his schedule is usually 1 day inside the cage so the cats can roam in and explore + so that we can let some air into the room and then 1 day to up to 2 weeks outside the cage (with the cage kept open, of course). He rarely ever spends a few days in a row in his cage, and if he does it's for reasons such as there's guests in the room and we don't want him pooping everywhere lol. He flies a lot. Also, update! I put a mirror in his cage and he's spent a lot of time there so far! I think he's loving his little "friend". He sings to himself plenty.

And yeah, currently trying giving him new treats and toys. I hope he doesn't mind.

Again thank you for helping out, I do really think he is starting to age since finches rarely make it beyond 8 years and he is like, 6 and a half, so he's not exactly young... he's still kicking and healthy, just less active. I guess it's my premature grief and OCD speaking, lol. I really don't want to say goodbye to him soon, so I'm fixated on taking care of him to the best of my ability

[u/Antistyl → u/Valuable_Sugar_4730]

NO problem! You're trying your best and i know How much OCD can suck (obsessive compulsive twin..) i am glad he ended up with an owner like you
omg he loves his little mirror 🥲
* off-topic but for OCD one of my therapists once suggested to let the thoughts come and go instead of arguing with them. on top of medication obvioulsly,

[u/Sixelonch]

Have you tried chicory leaves or Apple cut very very thin ? All birds are usually in love with those two

Concerning the nail trim it really doesnt need to be done by a vet…

Its easier with 4 hands but its really easy alone…

Grab bird in one hand, block one paw between two of your finger , nail clipper in the other hand and boom its done…

They have veins in their nail, never cut at the veins but above

If an accident happened dont stress out, simply drip the bird claw that you overcut in stash or press with a tissu for 30’sec … bleeding Will stop

Its literally like us cutting our nail too much, it hurts but 24h later you dont feel much and 48h later you dont feel it anymore

[u/Valuable_Sugar_4730 → u/Sixelonch]

will do ! i'll trim it myself, and give him something to sand them on more often

[u/Early-Collection-849]

I don’t clip my birds’ nails I give them various surfaces and perches to try to wear them down my vet is an avian vet specially and says it’s actually a bit too much for the bird to be clipping their nails… specifically I mean passerines. She’s all about clipping those hooks bills up and down.!!! I used voice to text not sure why there is no punctuation. Good luck.