Searched forum, no answers, need help buying

[memphisbird]

Hi, Tracy my CAG needs a bigger cage than the one he is in now. Our problem is that he likes to flatten his body to the bottom of the cage grate and pick up the newspaper, treats, etc. which is not good for him. The little guy can reach his leg down almost six inches!

I need any recommendations on cages available in the US market that have at least a six inch gap, and preferably more. I'm not sure what the average clearances on A&E, Prevue, Super Pet, and other brands are. If anyone reads this and is bored enough to measure their grey's cage, Tracy and I appreciate it!

[Talon]

I would recommend you buy the largest cage you can afford. There are plenty of inexpensive cages out there that will ship to you for free. Best to measure the space and go from there. I have bought 3 cages in the last 2 years for 3 of my birds, most are 300-500 dollars.

[memphisbird]

Thanks Talon for the advice. I think you misunderstood me. I am trying to find the measurements from the bottom cage grate to the bottom of the newspaper tray. My grey reaches his foot down to grab paper, dropped food, etc and can reach down about six inches. I don't want him messing with stuff that could have poop on it. The cage I was looking at was a Super Pets EZ Care in the large size, but another member said that hers only had a 2 inch gap. I need to know which brands have the largest gaps.

[judygram]

Most of us have greys that do not bother with anything that lands on the tray underneath the grate but you obviously have the exception to the rule and it will be hard to find a cage that has enough space that your grey cannot reach for he has learned how to get his foot down the grate to reach what is there.

I suggest you contact some of the cage manufacturers to see if any can tell you what the depth is in their individual cages but you might have to come up with another solution to the problem.

[Xtreme575]

I got rid of the grate from my cage. I was told that Grey's like to play on the floor of their cage, and that the grates can interfere with that. Mine spends quite a bit of time on the floor of his cage foraging around, and seems to really enjoy it. I find that he avoids the areas that he has pooped in, and I make sure that I only use black and white newsprint on the floor.

Maybe your Grey is just curious to see what's down there?

[Spinner]

I have an Animal Environment cage that has about 6 inches between the bottom grate and the tray. The unfortunate thing is they only make stainless cages now.

You will want to check those cages that have a catch apron - these usually have the grate well above the tray. And yes, I think a tray is an absolute necessity for good hygiene and health...but that's my opinion.

[memphisbird]

Xtreme575 wrote:

Maybe your Grey is just curious to see what's down there?

:P He is 17 years old, so I think he has a pretty good idea in his little birdie head what is down there.

Tracy gets so excited when he is on "a mission" he unfortunately doesn't notice if he is raking his feet in poop. I change his paper twice a day but he still manages to get his feet dirty.

[judygram]

I have to agree with Dave, a grate is necessary to keep them out of their own poop and for foods that have dropped down there and maybe spoiled so you don't want them eating that.

You could provide foraging opportunities in other ways.

[memphisbird]

I would like to thank all of y'all for the info. Judygram and Dave, I'm with ya on the need for a grate in my bird's case. He has lots of foraging toys now in his cage, but he still loves the challenge of getting stuff off of the tray.

Spinner, thanks so much for checking your cage and giving me the information! I'm going to check out that company.

[memphisbird]

Just giving you guys an update. I spoke with Mitch at WindyCityParrot.com and he said that Prevue has the largest gap, about six inches, so that is what we will get! I'm so excited to finally figure out a solution to my problem. We are getting some samples on colors and then Tracy will be getting a new and much bigger cage!