How do i get his nails shorter?

My cockatiel Max has really long, sharp nails and i've tried everything to make them shorter. I've put sand paper in the bottom of his cage, thinking he might walk on it and trim his nails. They are still very sharp and Im not sure what to do.


Bird lover.How do i get his nails shorter?
Do not use sandpaper on the bottom of the cage. Do not use sandpaper or cement ';grooming'; perches. Check out some of the other questions here - people who were advised to use them are now taking their birds to the vets with open wounds on the pads of the feet. They are the worst things to use, and should not be sold in pet stores!





Take your bird to a qualified avian vet, or to a groomer that has experience with birds (ask for references). Have them trim the nails, and show you how to do it. You never want to clip them too short, as they will bleed, and birds do not have that much blood - they can easily die from loss of blood.





After the initial trimming, watch the feet carefully, and trim the nails regularly, before they get to the ';way too long'; stage, as birds have trouble grasping their perches if their nails are too long.





As for perches - for healthy birds with healthy feet, use natural branch perches, like the manzinita perches. Birds need surfaces of varying thicknesses and shapes to grasp to prevent problems such as arthritis in their feet. Here is an excellent article on perches: http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww8e.ht鈥?/a>How do i get his nails shorter?
You can get a pair of clippers at a pet store and do it yourself. Just make sure you have some styptic gel on hand to cauterize any wounds, since birds don't have the ability to clot.





If you don't want to do it yourself, you can get the vet to clip them or use the dremel (sanding file) which gets their nails nice and short and naturally cauterizes any wounds.





Just be careful with letting the nails get too long because you'll notice the blood vessel seems to grow along with the nail. (the potential to hit that blood vessel grows as the nail grows longer....)
Take him to a Professional to get them trimmed,and ask them to explain it to you so you can continue on your own from there.
cut them or take him to a vets to get them trimmed x
Try a Perch(not made out of wood) it Files down there nails easily. or you could try Cutting them but that would be alot harder to do.
I have a few parrots large and small. I clip my nails myself. Just use a regular nail clipper. You just have to trim a little off at a time. The second attachment is the best. Check it out.
nix the sand paper .. bad for feet!!!


There are perches you can buy most are called Pollys perches they have a slightly rough texture and do well at keeping sharp points to a minimum.


Id advise taking him to the vet for a nail trim, you can even ask the vet to show you how! It will run around $40 to do so, you can even check at the pet store to see if they do it or can recomend someone to help.





If your bird is used to being handled you can take a nail file and use it to knock off the sharp tips. Some birds take to this very well .. others need to be restrained. I did mention the vet .... LOL


Good luck with Max hes got a wonderful concerned owner!