Hi UrbanSylvanus! Yay! I'm sure I'll have lots of questions! We keep him/her in the living room but I think I'll get a small heater since I don't like heating up the entire house! I should probably get a humidifier too since central heating dries out the air so much.
Do you have any other birds? I always hear that it's best to have more than one Java, but I've heard of people getting another one and they fight all the time and have to be separated. It would be nice to have two but I'm a bit scared!
Peepers was hand-fed but doesn't seem that tame. Any tips on taming him? He (or she, lol) is 9 weeks old.
Thanks!
I can definitely relate to wanting to ask so many questions, my own Java was my first ever bird so I spent the first few months worrying over everything!
The small heater should be enough, there's a tiny one that you hang on the outside of a cage that they sell here in Japan and it's worked for 2 and a half winters so far!
I have 2 Linnies as well, but they don't really interact with my Java. I think she's content with being spoiled rotten by the humans?
That might not be the case for other Javas though, but if you want to get Peepers a buddy you might want to be sure if Peepers is a boy or a girl first, see how he/she's personality is like, and go from there.
In any case it would be safest to keep Javas in separate cages since they're also infamous for being short-tempered and won't back down from fights. I've seen a blogger who has a Java, 2 Linnies, and a cockatiel, and the Java is the one who runs the house
Speaking of gender, if Peepers is around 3 months then if he's a male he should start to be practicing songs right about now. It won't sound exactly like the Java finch songs you find on YouTube but if they start trilling randomly then they're practicing! If it sounds like there's only cheeping even after another month there's a good chance Pepper's a girl.
As for taking, I can't say for sure. Oguro was perching on me by day 2 (see below lol) so I don't have experience with having to have her get used to me. I would suggest you give them time to get used to their cage first though.
I've seen tips where people brought their Java into a smaller room (like the bathroom) and let their Java out there while the owner just chilled and read/played with their phone. Java finches are naturally curious so while they were afraid at first, they would start getting closer to investigate until they eventually stepped up. It might take a couple of weeks and a metric ton of patience though. Maybe put some food in the palm of your hand?
Sorry, this got really long but hope something helped!