I want to switch my budgies to a bigger cage, but I am worried about about heavy metal toxicity.

[Raisins]

For a while, I have been thinking of getting a bigger cage for my two budgies. The issue is that almost all pet stores I have been to have cages that are either smaller than their current cage or they have bars that are too far apart. All recommended cages on the budgie subreddit or bird forums either cannot be found in my country(Turkey) or are currently out of stock. Their current cage is 60cmx35cmx40cm and it has nickel-plated bars according to the seller I bought it from years ago. Now, when I look at most listings from online stores, they usually either dont include the material in the about section or they just say ''it is metal''. I have been looking at cages online and I found some cages by dayang, particularly this one, does not state what material it is made out of, but it looks like a galvanized or painted cage, and back when I had my budgies in a painted cage, they would gnaw on the bars and eat the paint. I also found a lot of people recommending ferplast cages, but all of them are out of stock in online stores. I found the ferplast canto cage in a pet store in my city, but it still looks a bit small for two birds. It is 71 x 38 x h 60,5 cm, by the way and one of the online stores I found it in says that it is ''varnish coated stainless brass''. What do you recommend that I do?

 

[Finchbreed]

https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&country=IT&keywords=cage+for+budgies&originKeywords=cage+for+budgies&

The 95 x 45.5 x 102 looks quite good - being in Italy, is it possible to phone and ask them about it?
Alternatively, is there someone in your town who could make a decent size cage for you?

 

[Raisins]

if you are talking about this one, it says the bars are 1.25cm. I thought the bars should not be wider than 1cm, since the budgies could get their heads stuck between them.
Unfortunately, I do not know any business or person who makes bird cages.

 

[~Drini~]

Short of importing one from outside the country, I recommend making your own. The hardest part will be sourcing the appropriate metal mesh (stainless steel). For budgies, it's not too hard to build a frame out of wood or plastic piping and line the inner sides of it with that mesh. For small birds, some people will even convert furniture (bookshelves, armoires, etc.) into cages. You can find tutorials online.

I believe @Nnbal is located in Turkey, she may be able to help you identify either cages or metal mesh.

 

[Finchbreed]

Sorry I missed the bar spacing.
Budgies are big chewers - so I would be a bit careful with making a frame of plastic piping myself.
But wood or metal piping would work well.
Do you have "Mensheds" in Turkey? In a lot of countries these are popular and will take orders for projects.

 

[Vera]

I have had the ferplast canto for my 2 silverbills, it is a very practical cage, and the birds seemed to like it, but the bars got damaged easily.
I now have a bigger flight cage for them, and the are more happy and active.
It looks like the one in your link.
I bought it at zooplus, it is called the Tiaki grand espace. It is powdercoated.
Maybe when you google this one, you can find more info.
It is a very practical and nice looking cage.
I also use the Tiaki acryl feeders, so no mess around the cage.
I us paper on the floor grate. The grate cannot be left out.

 

[Raisins]

Do you have "Mensheds" in Turkey? In a lot of countries these are popular and will take orders for projects.

Nope. It is the first time I am hearing of a men's shed. I looked it up and we do not have anything like that here.

 

[Raisins]

I have had the ferplast canto for my 2 silverbills, it is a very practical cage, and the birds seemed to like it, but the bars got damaged easily.
I now have a bigger flight cage for them, and the are more happy and active.
It looks like the one in your link.
I bought it at zooplus, it is called the Tiaki grand espace. It is powdercoated.
Maybe when you google this one, you can find more info.
It is a very practical and nice looking cage.
I also use the Tiaki acryl feeders, so no mess around the cage.
I us paper on the floor grate. The grate cannot be left out.

I looked it up and couldn't find it. Zooplus stopped delivering to Turkey a few years ago.