parokeet eating sandpaper

lainee

I have a parokeet who has lately taken to eating the lining sandpaper in his cage! he is getting through a full sheet now! just wondering if anyone might know why he has taken to doing this and if it is okay for him to eat it?

FAYESY

Does your bird have access to grit? That could be one reason he is eating the paper - boredom would also cause distructive behavious - does your bird have plenty of space & lots of toys?

Sigma Force

Sandpaper isn't needed for the bottom of the cage, it's a waste of money.
Just use plain newspaper (staples removed). The whole grit thing is debatable when it comes to parakeets, some say they don't need it because they take the hull off the seed, some say the grit can cause impactions, others say they need it.

Grit can also be over done, if they do have access to it they only need a tiny amount once a month or so, ensuring they have access to an iodine block and a cuttle bone.

How big is the cage and how much out of cage time does he get per day?
Toy wise a mirror if he's on his own, some like swings, perches of various sizes is important.
Avoid the plastic perches something that's natural like wooden ones are good for their feet. Zooplus.co.uk stock a few really nice ones that will last ages.

I have a laytex type one and our tiel loves it, it has a flat section where he likes to sit and rest his feet sometimes. If you have sand covers for the perches plus the sand for the floor that would be too much for his wee feet wooden perches should keep his nails trim.

Is it possible that he is a she as they tend to be more destructive, if your cage is large enough might be worth considering getting him a buddy (I'm taking it by parakeet you mean budgie?) that will help keep him busy too.