How To Choose The Right Bird Toys To Keep Your Pet Bird From Getting Bored

October 4, 2010 by  
Filed under Pet Talk

Birds are intelligent creatures with active minds and they can soon become bored if they had not kept entertained. Birds that are bored and start to exhibit a desirable behavior such as squawking a lot and pulling out all the feathers. One way to keep your bird amused even when you’re not around is to make sure that you provide him with a variety of bird toys.


One thing to think about when picking out toys for your bird is whether or not the toys match with your bird size. Toys designed for small bird like a parakeet might not be safe for a large parrot because the powerful beaks of the bigger birds can easily break the toys into pieces which can be dangerous for your pet.


Different sized birds do seem to enjoy different types of toys but one toy that all birds seem to like is the ladder. you want to be careful, however, that you choose the right side letter for your bird obviously smaller birds will meet once with wrongs that are closer together.


Swings and hanging ring seemed to be a bit more popular for the smaller pet birds. That’s not to say that larger birds don’t enjoy them as some do but in general the smaller birds seem to have a lot more fun. Hang a couple in your pets cage and you soon see him swinging around and hanging from them and just having a heck of a time.


The bigger birds seem to like maize toys and puzzles especially if you can put some of their favorite treats inside the toy. They also like ropes that have leather knots which they can unknot with their beaks. This gives them something to work out of their mind instead of hanging around doing nothing.


Birds have the mentality of small child and just like children birds can really get enjoyment out of a play gym. you can find these In all shapes and sizes, but typically they either sit on a table on top of the birds cage and when he is out of the cage they provide him with a variety of interesting things to play on including ladders seesaws and swings. Not only will your bird entertain himself on these though probably entertain you as well!


When you are shopping for bird toys there are some you might want to think twice about buying. Although most birds love mirrors and love to look at themselves, it does might not serve the purpose you want if they actually think it’s another bird they may bond with their own reflection and not care so much about bonding with people.


Always evaluated toy for safety purposes toys that are not well made and can come apart and harm your bird should be avoided. Also toys that have little areas that might pinch your bird’s toes or that he can get his head caught and should be avoided. Remember, your bird can get his little beak into just about anything so you want and make sure the toys are tough enough so that he can’t break anything off and swallow it which could be disastrous and possibly even fatal.


Your pet bird doesn’t necessarily need expensive toys to play with, many birds love things like paper towel tubes and tongue depressors. Just be sure that if you do you keep your bird toy like that that you make sure he doesn’t rip apart and start eating it – it might not be a bad idea to stay around and watch them whenever you give him any new toy.


Because your pet bird gets bored easily you want to rotate his toys. Put a few toys in his cage and then hide the others away where he can’t see them. After a week or two remove the toys that are in his cage and replace them with the ones you hid away. You can take this opportunity to clean the toys that he has already played with, then hide them away for a week or two. When you bring them out again he’ll think he’s got new toys to play with!

Lee Dobbins writes for http://pet-birds.pet-breeds.com where you can learn more about caring for your pet bird.

Dwarf Hamster Toys That Should Be Avoided

September 22, 2010 by  
Filed under Pet Talk

Pet stores are filled with hamster toys of all shapes and sizes. While some of these toys are meant for dwarf hamsters other toys are meant for larger hamsters. Most pet stores sell a mixture of toys out of which some toys are not suitable for dwarf hamsters or even larger hamsters. This article will help you understand which dwarf hamster toys should be avoided when you go shopping for your dwarf hamster.

Tunnels and tubes definitely make great hamster toys but majority of these toys are made for large hamsters. Tunnels and tubes that are very large will scare your pet dwarf hamster once he goes inside them and he may not understand how to come outside it. Extremely large tunnels and tubes dwarf hamster toys should be avoided.

Many pet stores sell metal and acrylic ladders as hamster toys but the truth is that these toys are not suitable for hamsters. Hamsters definitely like to climb but they need flat lofts to climb and not ladders. Metal and acrylic ladders are suitable for birds and they should not be bought for dwarf hamsters since dwarf hamsters can get hurt while trying to climb on these toys.

Exercise balls are considered as the number one toy for hamsters of all sizes and this is true. There are various types of exercise balls in the market and some of the exercise balls available are not suitable for dwarf hamsters. Exercise balls that are too large are useful for dwarf hamsters since dwarf hamsters have tiny feet and they will not be able to use the exercise ball. Hamster exercise balls that have metal bars are not suitable for dwarf hamsters and larger varieties of hamsters since these balls often hurt the tiny feet of hamsters. Exercise balls with metal wires can cause your pet hamster’s feet to go red or get blisters.

Many people prefer buying acrylic exercise balls that can move on the floor. The truth is that most dwarf hamsters do not like these balls since these balls are basically a large dome with holes. Most dwarf hamsters get extremely scared when they are placed inside these balls since they feel trapped.

Hamster toys that are made using a lot of glue or small beads should be completely avoided since these toys can harm your dwarf hamster. Glue is toxic for hamsters even in small quantities and beads can be ingested by dwarf hamsters. Edible toys that have too much sugar should also be avoided since these toys are very unhealthy. Edible toys like wooden toys can be purchased provided the wood is safe for pet hamsters. Before purchasing edible wooden toys you should find out what kind of wood is used to make the toys and you should purchase only hamster safe edible wooden toys as many types of wood are toxic to the hamster little bodies. There are so many dwarf hamster toys available on the market you should have no problem finding suitable and safe toys for your hamster.

For the most complete and up to date information on the care and raising of your pet dwarf hamsters. Go to www.friendlydwarfhamster.com

Can I put my diseased parakeets toys in my healthy parakeets cage?

February 2, 2010 by  
Filed under Pet Talk

My parakeet recently died of what looks like a tumor. I have two other parakeets in a different cage. Can I put my deceased parakeet’s toys into my healthy parakeets’ cage? Will my healthy parakeets become sick from playing with the toys, even if I wash them with soap and water?