Hello everyone!!
My name is Nakita, and I am from sunny Sarasota, FL.
I have been working in a pet store for several months and in that time have made friends with a beautiful pineapple conure, a stunning and incredibly cuddly Rose Breasted Cockatoo (Galah), and as of a week ago, a very cute juvie Parakeet (American Budgie)! The cockatoo is incredibly dear to me, but I cannot afford him, nor can I handle his big bird screaming in my apartment! However, after doing quite a bit of reading and research, I decided to go ahead and bring home my Budgie friend! (Hereafter I refer to said Budgie as "he", but as of yet he is a juvie and I don't know yet what "his" sex is!)
I purchased a medium sized flight cage for him, with lots of perches (wood, calcium, and a comfort rope perch) and several toys (rope, wood, leather, and a mirror). Spray millet, a cuttle bone, a mineral block treat, Zoopreem Smart Selects Parakeet food, and a snuggle sack. I got everything all set up for my little friend and brought him home today!!! I am so excited to have him! He is currently trying to adjust to his new cage, and hanging out on the perch I placed him on when I brought him home. He keeps doing this panting/beak thing, that I take to mean he is just stressed?
He steps up on my finger, and every time I walk into my bedroom he stretches each wing and foot for me, then shortly after the beak/panting thing resumes. If there is anything not okay about this, please let me know!! This is my first bird, and I just want him to be happy and healthy. His feathers are shiny, his little eyes are bright, and the look he gave me after looking around at his cage just seemed to say "for me?". I'm trying to leave him alone as much as possible to adjust. I don't want to stress him out unnecessarily. Having come from the store, he is used to music and noise, so I left the TV on to give him some background noise. I felt like complete silence after so much noise might freak him out.
I know they are flock animals, and I considered getting him a buddy, but he didn't seem particularly enamored with any of his cage mates and since he is already more tame than the others in his group, I didn't want to bring home another that wasn't tame at all and have it change his demeanor? I plan to love on him quite a bit every day once we get more used to eachother in this setting. Maybe I should leave the tv on? Or music? When I'm not home? Suggestions welcome. He already used to ride around on my shoulder at the store, so it's not like we are total strangers. But this is all new to him, and scary.
Anyways!! Here are a few pictures of my new baby and his cage!
My name is Nakita, and I am from sunny Sarasota, FL.
I have been working in a pet store for several months and in that time have made friends with a beautiful pineapple conure, a stunning and incredibly cuddly Rose Breasted Cockatoo (Galah), and as of a week ago, a very cute juvie Parakeet (American Budgie)! The cockatoo is incredibly dear to me, but I cannot afford him, nor can I handle his big bird screaming in my apartment! However, after doing quite a bit of reading and research, I decided to go ahead and bring home my Budgie friend! (Hereafter I refer to said Budgie as "he", but as of yet he is a juvie and I don't know yet what "his" sex is!)
I purchased a medium sized flight cage for him, with lots of perches (wood, calcium, and a comfort rope perch) and several toys (rope, wood, leather, and a mirror). Spray millet, a cuttle bone, a mineral block treat, Zoopreem Smart Selects Parakeet food, and a snuggle sack. I got everything all set up for my little friend and brought him home today!!! I am so excited to have him! He is currently trying to adjust to his new cage, and hanging out on the perch I placed him on when I brought him home. He keeps doing this panting/beak thing, that I take to mean he is just stressed?
He steps up on my finger, and every time I walk into my bedroom he stretches each wing and foot for me, then shortly after the beak/panting thing resumes. If there is anything not okay about this, please let me know!! This is my first bird, and I just want him to be happy and healthy. His feathers are shiny, his little eyes are bright, and the look he gave me after looking around at his cage just seemed to say "for me?". I'm trying to leave him alone as much as possible to adjust. I don't want to stress him out unnecessarily. Having come from the store, he is used to music and noise, so I left the TV on to give him some background noise. I felt like complete silence after so much noise might freak him out.
I know they are flock animals, and I considered getting him a buddy, but he didn't seem particularly enamored with any of his cage mates and since he is already more tame than the others in his group, I didn't want to bring home another that wasn't tame at all and have it change his demeanor? I plan to love on him quite a bit every day once we get more used to eachother in this setting. Maybe I should leave the tv on? Or music? When I'm not home? Suggestions welcome. He already used to ride around on my shoulder at the store, so it's not like we are total strangers. But this is all new to him, and scary.
Anyways!! Here are a few pictures of my new baby and his cage!