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Self-indulgent pet thread

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Nero just munched his first ever insect, an adult grasshopper thats about half as long as him. Nero is a Gargoyle Gecko and whilst they can happily live on a diet replacement mix, they're much better having live insects too. He came from the breeder with the warning he'd never taken a bug.


Boom!
 
tonysingh said:
View attachment 342792


Nero just munched his first ever insect, an adult grasshopper thats about half as long as him. Nero is a Gargoyle Gecko and whilst they can happily live on a diet replacement mix, they're much better having live insects too. He came from the breeder with the warning he'd never taken a bug.


Boom!
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Action shot! He's got a lovely pattern on him, love that orangey/rusty colour.
 
Epona said:
Action shot! He's got a lovely pattern on him, love that orangey/rusty colour.
Click to expand...

He changes colour according to his mood. When he's fired up like in the photo, he's usually happy. When he's pissed off, he goes a grey colour and that's when you need to keep your fingers away :D
 
Puddy_Tat said:
life would be easier if people did that...
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Yeah I was just thinking that would come in handy. Kind of like - I don't know if people still use them, but the red/green badge thing to indicate whether able to socialise/converse or if it's all a bit too much right now - only automatic without having to think about it.
 
Lazy Llama said:
More Chilly spam.
S/he has lots of pin feathers coming through so loves me giving a good scritch.

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Nice one, lovely photo! Parrots that aren't in flocks/bonded pairs cannot deal with the pin feathers on their head by themselves and sometimes make themselves bleed rubbing their head on things because it is uncomfortable - a gentle rub of the feather coating between your fingertips or gently use your fingernails can be a massive help.

Gorgeous birdie 🦜 ❤️

(Jasper used to tell me he wanted pin feathers preened by flashing his irises then tilting his head and running a toe backwards and forwards across the top of his head :D )
 
Epona said:
gentle rub of the feather coating between your fingertips or gently use your fingernails can be a massive help
Click to expand...
Thanks - have been doing rubs and scratches quite a lot and Chilly loves it. My fingernails are short so I can’t scritch too much but we sat down for a session today and my legs looked like a terrible dandruff case with feather sheath bits all over.
The ones on the head are really awkward to get at and very short, down the back they’re longer but Chilly can reach those. Baths seem to help too. (I have wet green space-chicken photos).

The expression in her/his face when I get the right spot is so blissful!

Still bites the heck out of me - and my glasses, causes chaos throughout the day and poops on EVERYTHING but is completely part of the increasingly-animal-dominated household now.
 
Lazy Llama said:
(I have wet green space-chicken photos).
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Come on then, you can't say that without paying parrot photo tax! (EDIT: Invoice paid in full, please accept this as your receipt :D )

They do love a bath, Jasper preferred a light shower with mister pointed upwards so it fell on him like a light mist, it's lovely seeing them fluff up and shake themselves when they are loving a bath :D
 
Lazy Llama - when he bites you, does he do it hard (ie. draws blood) or is it more like nibbling?
If nibbling, he's just preening you.
Birds are (as you can see from the wet bird photo) about 50% feathers, so they don't really have a concept that if they grab with their beak it might hurt, they naturally have a lot of padding and when they grab one another it probably doesn't feel anything like it feels to us with our bare skin and their beaks that can crack nuts.
Best thing you can do is make an almighty fuss if he does something that hurts - make a vocal fuss (small shriek or cry), put him on a perch and turn your back on him looking hunched and sulky. Turning to face the other way is how parrots say they are pissed off with one another.
 
Epona said:
Lazy Llama - when he bites you, does he do it hard (ie. draws blood) or is it more like nibbling?
…
Turning to face the other way is how parrots say they are pissed off with one another.
Click to expand...
S/He’s only properly broken my skin once, early on when s/he hacked a chunk out of my cheek. The only other blood has been nipping moles and skin tags on my neck. Usually it’s just a firm bite of an earlobe or loose skin on my hand.

I do the “No biting!” in a deep voice and encourage the head bumps and nuzzles.
Good tip on the turning away. I’ve noticed he’ll do that if I upset him by taking away something he wants. His other thing is throwing stuff on the floor if he doesn’t like it. Basil leaves were repeatedly ejected today.

We usually refer to Chilly as “he” though we don’t know whether male/female. Seems easier to pick a side at least until we can do a DNA test.
 
If you aren't intending to find him a mate and breed from him (and I wouldn't recommend that from a feral with no health history for his parents/grandparents etc) then no need to get him tested, it doesn't matter in the slightest what gender he is. If he lays an egg at some point then that will let you know, but otherwise and/or until that point it's inconsequential. I never knew what gender Jasper was, I just felt like he was a he. He certainly didn't care.

Parrots are very much social flock birds and will generally respond to you withdrawing from play/attention if they bite, and rewarding desired behaviours with play/attention. As with any animal I do not advocate any form of "punishment" but as you have a lot of experience with animals I think you likely get that, just stop what you're doing if biting happens, say no (or cry out) and then immediately withdraw attention - you've seen him turn his back on you so you know how it looks, act the same - slow, deliberate and grumpy looking, look at him first then look away and do a grumpy turn your back, cross your arms in front of you too so you are withdrawing the offer to perch on you. They do seem to understand that.
 
Styx the polecat out for a walk.

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Polecats Styx and Black Bun (bringing up the rear). Really pleased with both of them. Styx has learnt to trust humans enough to be out with them and Bunny has learnt to trust ferrets/polecats enough to be out with them. Bunny had a real whale of a time that day.

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