# Wide legs



## Fatrabbit (Jun 2, 2021)

Clarence has a tendency to hold his legs very wide, and likes to take his daytime/early evening naps on top of the cage with his belly resting and his legs on either side. I’ve managed to snap a picture of him in a favourite spot between the top of the fireplace (not used!) and the back of the cage. 

Is this a a normal budgie thing? He’s different from the other budgies. He likes confined spaces and crawling under stuff (See the terrifying picture of him seemingly tied up in one of his toys. This is why they are not allowed them unsupervised!!!!!). But he is also lively, greedy, chatty and adventurous. He sleeps on the perches with the others overnight and looks snug as a bug. He’s grown in a lovely new long tail feather and has stopped crash landing ever since. But he is still a little prone to falling off perches at night.
Should I be concerned or be doing something? 
He’s a very happy budgie!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*That yarn is not at all safe for your budgie to be playing in.
He can easily get tangled in it and seriously injure or kill himself.
*
*Dangers of Rope, Snuggle Huts, Fabric and Tasseled Toys*

*It sounds as though Clarence may have somewhat splayed legs since he likes to have them so wide apart and also since he lays on his tummy a lot.
When he stand on a perch are his legs set far apart?*


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## Fatrabbit (Jun 2, 2021)

Yes, even on the perch his legs are quite far apart. Doesn’t seem to bother him at all though. He can stand on one leg to scratch and stretch but doesn’t tend to sleep on one leg.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Then he most likely has splayed legs which occurred when he was a chick.
There is nothing that can be done about them at this point as he is now an adult and the bones have formed that way.*


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## Fatrabbit (Jun 2, 2021)

Clarence has a new issue: His claws are starting to look quite long. I’ve given my flock a variety of perches made of natural wood and the other two seem fine. However, Clarence’s favourite perch, where he always chooses to sleep, is cheap plastic tat that would have been chucked out months ago if Clarence didn’t love it so much. I only left it in for the first month or so during quarantine as perches were split across two cages, but I’ve not had the heart to remove it as Clarence loves it above every other perch. Trouble is it is thin and his nails don’t have contact with it all night, they just hang in the air.
Shall I bin it? I have other swings but they hang low and my little odd ball Clarence likes confined spaces. I’ve ordered a pedi perch but he loves making it swing!

I’m torn! I want my boy to be happy and spoilt, but I want him to be healthy too!


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Budgies nails can need trimming from time to time no matter what type of perches you have, if you are not comfortable trimming them an avian vet can do it for you.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*It would be best for you to have Clarence's nails trimmed.
Has he had a well-birdie checkup recently? It might be a good idea to have that done at the same time. 💛💛 *


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## Fatrabbit (Jun 2, 2021)

I’ve not taken them to the vets, I’m worried it will stress them out. Gogo is still nervous and the boys will only let me touch them when I offer millet. It’s hard taming them when they’re a little flock I don’t want to undo the trust I’ve managed to build. Obviously if they were in any way poorly I would absolutely put that first! I clip my rabbits nails so I may look into doing Clarence’s too. I hate the idea of him flying away from me again like he did after I picked him up to check his little cut!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*If you trim his nails, take him into a small room (like a bath or powder room) where you can close the doors.
Make sure any mirrors are covered and the toilet seat cover is down.
The smaller the room, the easier it will be to retrieve Clarence if he gets away from you when you are trimming the nails.
If you hold him in a soft cloth and give him a wooden dowel perch to hold onto with his feet, it will probably be much easier for both of you.*


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## Fatrabbit (Jun 2, 2021)

Thanks. I’m not looking forward to it! Poor little thing will be all scared!


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