Bioactive birdcage?

[Grim]

Hi,
Sorry if this is not in the right category, I’m very new to this forum!
I currently have two zebra finches. I’ve kept many different species of parrots and passerines but have settled down and am pretty happy with my two little finches. For a long time I’ve felt that they need an upgrade. While the cage is not small, it’s not huge. I’ve been wanting to build or modify a new cage, but there’s something that interests me.
I also keep two snakes, both in bioactive tanks. I want to know, would it theoretically be possible to keep finches with a bioactive substrate? Instead of a grate that needs constant cleaning, perhaps a more organic mix with plants and a cleanup crew. A little like naturalistic quail keeping which I’ve looked into some. Of course it could never replace actual cleaning, but it would be nice to give them something more natural to dig and mess around in, and maybe some live bird-safe plants to hide around. Any ideas would be great!

 

[Mizzely]

There was a thread a couple years ago about bioactive bird cages that might give some insight!

Bioactive bird setups - why aren't they more common?

Hi everyone, Joined here to ask a question that's been on my mind recently. Why aren't bioactive bird setups a thing that's done more often (if at all)? Let me elaborate a bit. I'm a reptile guy by nature, but I love the larger birds as well. In reptile keeping, the "traditional" way to do...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Xoetix]

I've thought about this a lot actually, because I think have a bioactive enclosure for my birds would be amazing. It's the logistics that trip me up.

For bird kept in the house, house would you keep the cleaner bugs from running off? Watching poop for weirdness would be nearly impossible too. You could put Plexiglas or something around the bottom of the cage as a wall for the dirt and bugs... You'd have to be careful what bugs you'd use those. Springtails would be out, they can jump like crazy and I don't need those in my house everywhere. Isopods might work, as long as they don't climb the plexi.

But what plants would you grow that would make a difference for your birds? With my tiel it'd be easy, but with a cockatoo I'd have to get a cage large enough to accommodate a small tree, which then means I'd have roots to deal with and need deeper substrate, which sounds like an outdoor enclosure, which brings me back to bugs.

Yeah,I keep running through it I think it's an amazing idea in theory and I would love to do it, but I don't have the ability. AllI keep picturing are those massive bird sanctuaries at zoos.