Greeting all: Just recently I was given two wonderful friends....I have one quick question for you that I can not seem to find by flitting thru the archives. Is it okay to have a string toy in the cage. It seems they love to chew on it but where does it go? It was a rope looking type toy but now it is shredded and not sure if it is "good" for them? Any help would be greatly appreciated. This toy was already in the cage and I need to know if it is safe for them.

It has been years since I have been around a keet but such fond memories and hope to have great success with these kids! Kiwi and Limon are now members of our family and what a joy!

Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,

Helen502

Edited August 27, 200816 yr by **Liv**

welcome to our forums

 

my budgies always chew up their strings and they are frayed I leave them because both of mine love to preen and preen and preen . Plus you can buy toys that look like that too.

Hi, glad you are enjoying Kiwi and Limon. There are many, many toys with strings on the market for them to chew so hopefully you can get some durable ones. All my species enjoy the "made for different birds" pacifiers where they can chew and pull to their hearts content, it's a simple sort of a bead and bell thing with some strong long fibrous material.

Hello , my budgies chew everything whats in their cage, they love to chew ropes a lot. There are many kinds - maybe you get some which are not that easy to chew.

I give my birds raffia. I'm a bit of a paranoid nelly, and was concerned they might swallow a bit of rope or string - or get their toes caught in frayed ends etc. So, I tie a bunch of raffia together, and they really enjoy it. It is some kind of dried plant, so if they swallow any I assume they could digest it.

You do need to be a little careful with string toys. What shape is this toy in? Would they be able to get their nails snagged in it if they were climbing on it? You can always trim off the really frayed parts with scissors, but if there is any chance they could get caught in it somehow I would replace it with a new one just like it if they really love the toy. Another worry is if they were to ingest it. Most likely they just preen it, but if they were to actually eat parts of the string the results could be tragic, as it could get impacted somewhere inside them.

:ygbudgie: Thank you everyone for your replies. To be on the safe side I do think I'll replace it and see for myself exactly what they have done and will do with a new one. So far I believe they are just preening like mentioned but no point in taking any chances.

Thank you so much again for your guidance.

Helen502

That's a good call. Papery toys are safer for them to shred. Pretty much anything without little thin strands. My budgie lost a toe after getting strands of a toy wrapped around it so you can never be too cautious!