Problem solving: keeping a bird in a terrarium?

[Feather]

Hi all. I'm working on puzzling out a working setup for my european starling and feel like I'm in a bit of uncharted territory.

Right now he's in this cage, sans the ramps/platforms, but this has never really worked very well for him and 1.5 years in I think we're both sick of dealing with it.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/prevue-hendryx-earthtone-dusted-rose-rat-and-chinchilla-cage

There are multiple reasons, but instead of being exhaustive I'll just cover the most pertinent two: The first is his insistence on shoving his beak through the bars, rubbing the top of it raw and wearing feathers off his face. The second is just how much the boy loves his baths. He bathes multiple times a day, and I have a whole army of puppy pads laid out in and around his cage just to keep the splashing under control.

So with that in mind, right now I'm looking at putting him in a 240 gallon PVC terrarium, 4'x2'x4'. He's not a climber, and obviously doesn't have the same talents for chewing and destruction our parrots boast, so not having bars to climb is a non-issue and he won't be chewing any seals or surfaces. This will eliminate the danger of him hurting his face on the bars and I can worry a little less about water damage.

My primary concern is ventilation. Do you think a mesh top will be sufficient, or will I need to make some modifications for this to work? I've considered perhaps placing a miniature air filter on the inside of the enclosure, or using CPU fans - either by facing them down on top of the mesh top or cutting into the sides and rigging a system to ensure airflow - but I worry about making the terrarium too cold/drafty.

Short version: Will a screen top alone provide enough ventilation for a small bird, and if not how would you go about ensuring proper aeration?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Shezbug]

Can you perhaps make something similar to the cages some vets use? They are perspex type stuff I think and have some air slits along the sides but they would not be enough to allow much water to be splashed out.

I guess the screen thing may work if the tank is big enough. I am really not certain of how good the air quality would be though- I remember having a mesh top on my big tank (4 ft long) I had skinks in and although the top was completely open the inside of the tank was always warmer than the air outside.

 

[Monaco]

I think the fans are a great idea. The material means that you can add holes for ventilation later if it's not working well with just the top screen. Be prepared for water splashed sides and that clean up if you want it stay clear. Crazy birds!

 

[Zara]

Can you perhaps make something similar to the cages some vets use?

I was thinking of something similar. I have also seen perspex cages available for birds, though usually they are not popular.

Also, @Feather you have been missed very much around here

 

[Feather]

Can you perhaps make something similar to the cages some vets use? They are perspex type stuff I think and have some air slits along the sides but they would not be enough to allow much water to be splashed out.

I guess the screen thing may work if the tank is big enough. I am really not certain of how good the air quality would be though- I remember having a mesh top on my big tank (4 ft long) I had skinks in and although the top was completely open the inside of the tank was always warmer than the air outside.

Yeah, I looked into acrylic bird cages first, but all the ones I was able to find were very small and pricey, and even just buying the acrylic sheets to build it myself would put me out more than the terrarium.

It's a 2x4 foot screen, and the door would be open frequently.

 

[Feather]

Aww. The terrarium was supposed to arrive tomorrow, but the shipment has been delayed until Monday. I was so excited to get his new cage set up over the weekend, and now I won't have the time until next weekend.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Have you posted your question on Starling Talk: The Care and Feeding of Injured and Orphaned Starlings
Sorry that the terrarium did not arrive when it was supposed to.

 

[Feather]

Have you posted your question on Starling Talk: The Care and Feeding of Injured and Orphaned Starlings
Sorry that the terrarium did not arrive when it was supposed to.

Nah, I don't have an account there and don't want one either.

At this point it's moot anyway as I've already purchased the enclosure. After watching some videos about it, I learned that the build has an optional secondary screen that goes on the front so I'm pretty confident it'll work out as well as any other acrylic cage would.

 

[Destiny]

Regarding ventilation, I have a large frog terrarium (4'x2'x2') and I provide ventilation using a small attic fan. It is placed on the top of the enclosure with the fan aimed along the length of the cage, parallel with the screen on top. I don't point it into the cage, because I don't want wind or cold drafts inside. My frogs are tropical and require warm humid air. I just need to encourage the air to circulate. Without the fan, the glass would fog up due to the high humidity and the plants might suffer due to being too damp all the time. With the fan, I can see inside easily and both frogs and plants are very happy.

I think a similar setup would work for your bird. The fan is very quiet and doesn't cost much to run.

 

[Feather]

Regarding ventilation, I have a large frog terrarium (4'x2'x2') and I provide ventilation using a small attic fan. It is placed on the top of the enclosure with the fan aimed along the length of the cage, parallel with the screen on top. I don't point it into the cage, because I don't want wind or cold drafts inside. My frogs are tropical and require warm humid air. I just need to encourage the air to circulate. Without the fan, the glass would fog up due to the high humidity and the plants might suffer due to being too damp all the time. With the fan, I can see inside easily and both frogs and plants are very happy.

I think a similar setup would work for your bird. The fan is very quiet and doesn't cost much to run.

Oh, awesome!! This is exactly the info I've been searching for, thanks so much! Didn't even think to look up tropical frogs.

 

[Destiny]

Yeah, you could also check out forums for orchid growers. They tend to know a lot about how to provide adequate ventilation/air circulation in a big glass box.

Like tropical frogs, orchids tend to enjoy high humidity and lots of misting, but lack of air circulation is bad for them. They need to dry out a bit between mistings or they will rot.

In my terrarium, I have mostly ferns or bromiliads, but I do have a few tiny orchids, like this one.



You won't be dealing with high humidity, but you should be able to take advantage of the same principles to bring fresh air into the terrarium for your bird.

...

Bonus frog pic!

 

[finchly]

We have a glass/wood aviary, we call it our "atrium" which came with only a screen on top. We did go into the back and replace half the wood with 2 layers of wire and put wood excelsior between the layers. This way if there was heat it would dissapate (necessary because the thing is 7 ft tall but only 4 ft wide). But the back doesn't help with air flow because it's against the wall.

Recently we decided there's not enough circulation so we set one of our air filters on top. It adds just enough to pull air up and through the thing. My next idea was going to be replace side panels with screening.

PICTURE before @Destiny says it.

 

[Feather]

Thanks for the tip! And omg, what a stunning environment! The frog is so cute.