Accessories
Last Updated on Monday, 13 July 2009 09:30
The cage should have a cuttlebone or calcium block, brown salt/mineral spool, mineral block (an excellent source is Hagen Mineral Beak Block which comes in the shape of an acorn), water bottle, running wheel, some perches are needed, tree branches are best for climbing and gnawing.
Cleaning logs, branches and wooden items:
Soak in 1/2 tsp. dawn added to 1/2 cup bleach and 5 gal. hot water. Then rinse under water for 5 minutes and let them air dry outside.)
Nontoxic branches, bird perches, hemp ropes, and an exercise wheel (Wodent Wheels are approved by the ASPCA) http://www.transoniq.com are all important for exercise for caged fliers.
The exercise wheel called Comfort Wheel has a solid back and running surface with no spokes. The front is completely open. It is mounted on a wire base or can be mounted to the cage wire. If you have 1/2" x 1 wire, you may have to cut one cross wire to mount it. It would work on 1/2" x 3" wire. They seem to last longer if left on the stand. The wheel is mounted on a plastic spindle and when it becomes too worn to hold the wheel on, wedged a tiny, folded piece of cardboard into the slit at the end of the spindle and it will hold up just fine. (That may not make a whole lot of sense to you unless you are holding a Comfort Wheel in your hand, looking at the spindle. But it does work, and extends the life of the wheel.) You can also mount it on a wire shelf and use wire or plastic zip-lock ties to secure both wheel and wire shelf to the cage. AND, it is very quiet as the axle is plastic. It won't last as long as a Wodent Wheel, but it is fairly inexpensive and you sure can't beat the price at around $7.00 depending what size you get.
A new arrival in wheels is the Stealth Wheel http://www.sugaraesattic.com/stealthwheels.htm It's main advantage is it quietness (it has a ball wearing) and the grid floor makes cleaning a breeze as urine and feces fall thru. Costs about the same as Wodent, but MUCH easier to clean. Flyers also like to grip the grid once they get it going and spin around in circles until it comes to rest. They can still run full out like on the others.
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