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Urgent Rat Attack

Pippa

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Yes she is being a bit of a pain lately. Even her asserting her independence is a bit of a pain. She's usually very good about not eating things and I think she would have spit it out if I didn't reach for it.

She has a boyfriend! Well kinda, there's one male sparrow in particular who comes up to the window if she's out by it but she isn't too happy about it and will try to peck him through the screen if he lands on it. On the sill and branch near by is fine but not the screen. I think it's probably one of the babies we released earlier this year. Her feet are getting better I think. They look really good sometimes, totally fine, others they're back to their deformed self.
 

iamwhoiam

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How is Pippa doing after eating that vermiculite/styrofoam? As for her feet, some gentle massaging a few times a day (just for a few mins. each time) may help a bit as long as it doesn't stress her out. Looks like she doesn't have any problems perching, though.
 

Pippa

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She has no problems perching and she hates having her feet touched so I think I'll just leave them but I have been switching up the perches which I think is helping. She has been fine so far, her poo seems pretty normal and she's acting fine as well. I read somewhere that vermiculite is just puffed up Mica and if that's the case it shouldn't really hurt, should it?
 

iamwhoiam

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Good idea to switch the perches and great that Pippa is able to perch well. Spee's feet are so bad that this is not possible for him. Don't know about birds and vermiculite.

BTW, not necessary to feed her insects. I've never fed Spee insects. He gets additional protein through the Mazuri Insectivore and from time to time some egg white. House sparrows are mainly seed and grain eaters but will eat other things (such as insects) if necessary.
 

Bokkapooh

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I fed worms daily to Sapphire. :) meal worms and earth worms. Not as the main but a large portion was bugs. And then seeds and vegetables such as lettuce and carrots.
 

Bokkapooh

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It was dark outside so I set her down to play at the base of our Bird of Paradise plant. She was pecking around some and then found a piece of styrofoam in the potting soil. I went to grab it but she gulped it down. Could it have been expanded vermiculite in the dirt instead? She didn't have a problem getting it down I just hope she's okay. She's been a real pain lately.
I hope she is OK!!!
 

iamwhoiam

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I fed worms daily to Sapphire. :) meal worms and earth worms. Not as the main but a large portion was bugs. And then seeds and vegetables such as lettuce and carrots.
I guess I could do that if I had to but would prefer not to. :) I used to feed live crickets to some frogs I had and that was bad enough for me.
 

Pippa

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She's still doing good but......... sometime in early Jan/Feb, we're moving to..........FLORIDA!!! It's gonna be great. So no window add on but she's done well in the car so I hope she'll be fine for the 2 day trip.
 

Bokkapooh

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Wow! Florida! What a huge change! I bet you all will love it, except for the crazy mugginess between June-September. :D
 

Pippa

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I'm from south Texas, right on the coast. We were next to a bay and about 15-20 minutes from the Gulf, I love humidity! Giant spiders not so much, but non-venomous snakes, gators, and other reptiles don't really bother me and the only good thing about Massachusetts is the whole "no cockroaches" thing IMHO. Well and if we didn't live here I wouldn't have Pippa or the rats and never would have gotten into horses as much as I am now (there's a stable about 3 minutes from my house) but we've been wanting to leave for a while so.....
 

iamwhoiam

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Best of luck with the move. As for Pippa, you may want to put her in an escape proof cage or carrier and take her for short drives to get her acclimated. Spee always panics and pants initially when he is in the car but then he calms down and is OK. The longest we have driven for, before stopping was probably about an hour.
 

Pippa

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We've gone for about 1-1 1/2 hour one way trips. As long as we get her water she's fine, especially if she can come out and sit on a shoulder. We have a little cage that works nicely and we can put in a couple of perches. We need to stop every couple of hours for the dogs to use the restroom and get the rats water so I'll probably feed her pellets then and she'll have millet the whole time. We can get her water in between. She knows how to drink from water bottle caps and applesauce containers. Still have a couple months to go so planning is in the very early stages.
 

Bokkapooh

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You mah not want to take her outside the cage unless inside the car, while you're moving. Many people lose their pets that way, especially birds. :hug8:
 

Pippa

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Oh absolutely only in the car. We're driving pretty much straight through, only stopping to sleep in the car. Too much hassle to get everybody out and then back in. 2 cats and 2 dogs in one car, 5 rats and Pippa in the other. Is there anything I should keep on hand in case Pippa starts getting stressed? Is there any herb that my help? I can get a lot at my local health food store. Would even keeping a little bag with like chamomile, lemon balm, and lavender in her cage work?
 

Bokkapooh

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I think those herbs are a great idea and safe to consume too.

But a small/thin blanket covering 3/4 of the cage, may make her less stressed when you're driving. Then when you stop, uncover her.
 

iamwhoiam

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Don't know about the herbs. Used to give him some Herb salad but didn't feel comfortable with that. I've been extra careful with what I feed him because of his size and not wanting to give too much of something. I would cover as recommended by Mercedez and also do some short trips with her before going on your Florida drive. Build up the amount of time she spends in the vehicle. You may want to put something in the cage/carrier that she likes to eat such as millet. However, make sure she doesn't get car sick, don't want her eating and then vomiting. Also if you take her out in the vehicle, double check that the windows are closed and make sure no one opens the door. I have read of people having their birds out of the carrier and others opening the door and then the bird flies away. Also you may want to put one or two quick links on the cage door as an additional precaution in case the door might accidentally pop open.
 

Pippa

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She's learning to accept a cage cover before the light goes out for the night. It doesn't make her more comfortable though which is weird. She'll have her nest though, that's her comfort zone. She's getting better with nest building. Also with taking a bath every time she gets fresh water (about every other day) and making sure that I know that she doesn't like water with anything in it and she's not stupid either. She knows that her water is only 4 hours old and a quick bath didn't ruin it but that one little piece of grass did and fishing it out just makes her hop on the side of the bowl, and then to the perch, and back and forth until I figure it out and change her dish. But you can't help but love her. Especially when she talks with her mouth full of paper towel.
 

Pippa

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:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: My brat. I realized today that she wan't eating her pellets and almost all of her seed was gone >.> :busted1: She's gone from hating seeds, to a little junkie. I removed her dirt/grass box that was mostly dirt and rocks this time because it's where I feed her seeds (and it still had some sprouting and whole ones in it) and her millet spray. She ate the pellets when I fed them to her by hand but she'd rather the seeds so for a few days, only pellets (and veggies/fruits, maybe crabgrass of course) Does that sound okay? She isn't too hooked on them yet so I think I'll be able to give her some again as long as they are better hidden in grass and since they get watered twice daily, they sprout a little on their own or at least begin to germinate before she snatches them.
 

iamwhoiam

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I wouldn't take the seeds away to get her to eat pellets, BUT that's my opinion. What kinds of seeds are you giving her and have you tried the Mazuri yet? Spee eats more seeds than pellets (Mazuri) and it's worked out fine for him. In fact, he only gets a few teaspoons of Mazuri added to his seed mix.
 

Pippa

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The seed was jut a molting conditioning supplement thing (couple different millets, rape, oat, canary grass, dried pepper, vitamin/mineral) and I've tried her on Mazuri pellets but she seems to like RoudyBush more. If she was eating pellets also, I wouldn't have taken away the seed but she was eating just seed, and mostly millet with maybe a bit of canary. She's very selective.
 
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