🏠 Housing & Husbandry · 7 min
Species notes: birds and reptiles
Why this matters
Birds are where housing mistakes become permanent: a damaged flight feather or a case of bumblefoot ends a release.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- House birds by developmental stage
- Prevent bumblefoot and feather damage
- Meet the environmental requirements of captive reptiles
By stage
- Nestlings belong in small, snug containers, not large spaces. A nest cup keeps the legs positioned correctly. Suitable bedding is soft, clean and ravel-free.
- When a nestling fledges, it can no longer be contained in a nest and needs a larger enclosure where it can move and begin to use its wings.
- Provide heat for young precocial birds. A brooder is essential equipment for anyone raising them.
- An aviary must be wider than the wingspan of the bird housed in it, and the highest perch goes where the bird can see out and feel secure, with water dishes placed away from beneath perches.
Bumblefoot
Bumblefoot is a bacterial infection of the feet frequently acquired by raptors in captivity. Prevent it with perches of different diameters and materials and appropriate substrates, so the foot is not held in one position with pressure on the same points day after day. It is far easier to prevent than to cure.
Feathers
Flight feathers must be protected, because flight is the release criterion. Perches should be firmly fastened so they cannot swing and strike feathers. Tail guards protect tail feathers, and accipiters in captivity should always have them. Imping, replacing damaged feathers with undamaged ones, is a specialized technique used by federally licensed rehabilitators, not a routine practice for everyone.
Bedding cautions
Whatever you use must be clean and ravel-free. Loosely woven material entangles tails, limbs, tongues and digits, cutting off circulation. Terry cloth loops are a classic offender; fleece and smooth receiving blankets are safer. Never bring hay or straw into an indoor facility: water birds and raptors are extremely sensitive to Aspergillosis, and hay and straw carry mold spores that are frequently fatal to already-stressed animals.
Reptiles
- Insufficient temperature suppresses digestion, immune function and appetite. Reptiles cannot generate their own heat.
- A healthy reptile does need a UVA/UVB light source in captivity.
- Most aquatic turtles will only eat underwater. A painted turtle that refuses food on land may simply need water.
- Snakes often regurgitate if handled after eating.
- Never house a wild reptile in the same enclosure as a pet reptile. Disease moves in both directions.
This lesson is part of the NY Wildlife Rehabilitator Exam course. Open it in the course to answer the retrieval checks that go with it, track what you have read, and quiz the whole unit. Lessons, quizzes and the glossary are free.