- Joined
- 6/21/17
- Messages
- 255
- Real Name
- Finn
Hello, I've been gone for ages. Didn't intend to be gone for so long, things just took priority.
To get right to it, one of my teachers has a pet zebra finch in their class (along with several other neglected animals that I'm currently working closely with). I don't know too much about this little finch, named Sonorous (Latin for noisy), but I do know that he is very alone, lives in a little cage with caked on poop from what looks like weeks to months of buildup, and has a seed-only diet. I have gotten permission from this teacher to help out with the snakes' setups and hopefully that will extend to helping out with this finch's setup, too.
I have so many questions and I'm not going to bombard the forum with them now, but I just need a place to start for this poor guy. I really don't know enough about finches to feel confident in my decisions regarding how to help improve his situation, so I just need help in general. I'll probably be posting more questions later, but I have a few important ones to start out with.
Firstly, should I try to encourage my teacher to seek out a friend for this bird? I know that finches are incredibly social but I'm wondering if this should take first priority right now.
What do I even begin with? This is an overview of the conditions, there's just so much I don't know where to begin.
Cage: it's pretty small but it does have corners and it does have enough space for Sonorous to flutter around in.
Perches: all dowels and he seems to only flit in between two choice perches at the top of the cage. One swing that he'll use occasionally.
Toys: has a few but I have no clue if they're interesting to finches or what would be interesting to them.
Cleanliness: like I said, buildup of poop across the floor and on his "basket" and "nest."
Other things: is a nest and basket going to encourage hormonal behaviors? If so, should they be removed?
Food: all seeds with the little bitty dyed bead-like pieces in them. Also covered in poop.
Water: in those tube dispensers that get moldy easily, didn't happen to notice if they had mold or not. There is mold in other cages for the snakes and crested gecko, so I would not be surprised if it's in the finch's water.
So I'm just at a bit of a loss.
I have been given permission by this teacher to modify and add to the snake tanks and, hopefully, he may let me work on Sonorous' cage as well. I just need some pointers on what to change and how to change it.
Here's a picture of the little guy.
He's very friendly so far and he actually approached me when I came over to talk to him. But I know no finch body language or how to interact with them properly, so for all I know he may have been very defensive, which I hope he wasn't. But he is constantly calling out and it breaks my heart to hear him during class, I know he is really in need of a friend.
To get right to it, one of my teachers has a pet zebra finch in their class (along with several other neglected animals that I'm currently working closely with). I don't know too much about this little finch, named Sonorous (Latin for noisy), but I do know that he is very alone, lives in a little cage with caked on poop from what looks like weeks to months of buildup, and has a seed-only diet. I have gotten permission from this teacher to help out with the snakes' setups and hopefully that will extend to helping out with this finch's setup, too.
I have so many questions and I'm not going to bombard the forum with them now, but I just need a place to start for this poor guy. I really don't know enough about finches to feel confident in my decisions regarding how to help improve his situation, so I just need help in general. I'll probably be posting more questions later, but I have a few important ones to start out with.
Firstly, should I try to encourage my teacher to seek out a friend for this bird? I know that finches are incredibly social but I'm wondering if this should take first priority right now.
What do I even begin with? This is an overview of the conditions, there's just so much I don't know where to begin.
Cage: it's pretty small but it does have corners and it does have enough space for Sonorous to flutter around in.
Perches: all dowels and he seems to only flit in between two choice perches at the top of the cage. One swing that he'll use occasionally.
Toys: has a few but I have no clue if they're interesting to finches or what would be interesting to them.
Cleanliness: like I said, buildup of poop across the floor and on his "basket" and "nest."
Other things: is a nest and basket going to encourage hormonal behaviors? If so, should they be removed?
Food: all seeds with the little bitty dyed bead-like pieces in them. Also covered in poop.
Water: in those tube dispensers that get moldy easily, didn't happen to notice if they had mold or not. There is mold in other cages for the snakes and crested gecko, so I would not be surprised if it's in the finch's water.
So I'm just at a bit of a loss.
I have been given permission by this teacher to modify and add to the snake tanks and, hopefully, he may let me work on Sonorous' cage as well. I just need some pointers on what to change and how to change it.
Here's a picture of the little guy.
He's very friendly so far and he actually approached me when I came over to talk to him. But I know no finch body language or how to interact with them properly, so for all I know he may have been very defensive, which I hope he wasn't. But he is constantly calling out and it breaks my heart to hear him during class, I know he is really in need of a friend.