Toy Questions

[BlueMoon]

First off, thank you to Dally for the Raffia Dangle idea- Rory ADORES it XD He's never taken to a toy so quickly, I hadn't even finished making it before he jumped on and was going crazy over it

Secondly, I had a rifle through the storage boxes under my bed and came across white crepe paper (undyed), a load of plasticky mesh type thing which is fairly sturdy stuff and the raffia, amongst other stuff.

Would the Crepe paper make a suitable shredding toy that won't harm him??
Does anyone have any ideas for the plastic netting/mesh I found?? The squares are roughly 1cm squared and a have a large amount of it. The cut edges are fairly prickly so i was thinking of perhaps using it to wrap around something or be bent over it to keep the edges away from him.

Thanks for any replies

[birdloverofamerica]

as long as it is nothing it can choke on

[BlueMoon]

I know that, but I'm not sure if the crepe paper has anything in it that birds shouldn't have- I was thinking of using it as both a shredding thing and wrapping a few treats in it, tying the top and making him work for it.

[Dally]

im not sure what crepe paper is... and the mesh, can you post photos?

[BlueMoon]

It's a very thin, slightly stretchy paper. I'm not sure how to describe it =/ It's like a cross between tissue paper and regular paper.

Also, Rory discovered some cocktail sticks and seems to be enjoying them. I've snipped off the pointy ends and filed it down so it's round and smooth but I'm just wondering if there is anything anyone can think of to cover the ends just to be totally sure it's safe for him.
I'll try and upload a picture, just bear with me


EDIT: Okay, just googled the crepe paper to see what it's made of and according to Wikipedia it is coated with "sizing". The Wiki definition of sizing is "Sizing or size is any one of numerous specific substances that is applied to or incorporated in other material, especially papers and textiles, to act as a protecting filler or glaze." However, I can't see any shiny coating or a glaze of any sort on the paper. Not sure if it's worth the risk =/

As for the photos, my camera has decided to die so I'll take a few photos once it's charged and see if I can upload them to here.

[BlueMoon]

Okay, so here are the photos of the mesh.

Double layer:


Single layer. You can see the cut edges in this one:

[FlyingCircus808]

NO NO NO on the mesh. Think of tiny feet caught in it, or a beak or head. The first rule of bird toys is that the toy must never be capable of causing the toes or anything else to get caught in it. Crepe paper with "sizing" is also not a great idea. There are other toys out there that are far safer.

[BlueMoon]

I wasn't sure with the mesh, but thank you for clarifying it's a no go. And there's no way he could get his head in it, I can only just get a finger in the holes- he's not that nimble

[FlyingCircus808]

If he got a foot/toe caught in it, he would panic and cause himself a great deal of physical harm. There is stuff called "Shredders" that comes in a roll and is safe for him (try cockatiel shredders, bird shredders, etc.), and anybirdie else that likes to chew. Try Googling that. There are also pinata-type round chewie toys that my Bourke's adores. Lots of stuff out there, just be careful!

[BlueMoon]

I've seen a roll of shredding stuff in a local pet store but the holder for it is £8 and the refills are about £5 each and he'd go through them like mad so I can't really afford it for him =/ Might have to do some ebay browsing XD
I know about the panic thing- he managed to get a leg trapped in the bars of his cage when he was running about like mad on top and slipped. Scary moment for me, but he was fine afterwards, nothing broken/strained. It was the ring on the leg I think that was stopping him pulling it out.

[FlyingCircus808]

Hmmm... the stuff I refer to has no holder and they take awhile to go through it. Let me do a search...

[FlyingCircus808]

Here, try this website: http://www.everythingbirdie.com/pp03137.html

That is the "shredders" I'm referring to...