noodles123
Well-known member
- Jul 11, 2018
- 8,145
- 472
- Parrots
- Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
So, over the last 2 months or so, Noodles started going down to her cage bottom while I was gone (or part of the time when the cage was covered) and pulling the paper-towels up from below the grate. I kept them (and the grate) very clean because I was worried she would get poop in her mouth) and I also was worried about her getting some sort of blockage. She always would go down to the same corner and pull them up from there, and this happened off and on until, it started to become a daily issue (with larger portions shredded). I know it wasn't an all-day affair, because I live-streamed her to see what she was up to. Usually, it would be under 30 minutes of time towards the end of my absence after a longer stretch of hours (aka boredom?). She has lots to do in her cage...she just enjoys this new-found pastime.
On Saturday, I decided to stop putting towels beneath the grate because if it is hormonal, I don't want that, plus, I am concerned that she could get a blockage from accidentally ingesting some of the paper (she doesn't appear to be doing so, but, I digress)....
My point is, since I have removed the paper towels, she has been going down to that same corner at night. I believe she spends most of her night sleeping on the perch (as I can hear her dropping things and moving from time to time), but at some point---probably around 4 or 5am, she is climbing down to that fascinating bottom corner and doing God knows what (NOTE: Her butt is positioned away from the cage-wires whenever I have watched her do this via live-stream and when I uncover her, so I don't think there is any self-stimulating behavior happening). Again, she isn't spending her whole night down there, as I can verify that she is on her perch for most of that time.
For the past 3 mornings, when I have uncovered her, she has been down in the corner (even though towels are gone), with her butt slightly in the air (not super high or extreme, but kind of crouching) and looking at me with a contented "chomp chomp". She comes up afterward and all is well...I know she is not staying down there all night, but it is weird.
She shows no issues climbing, eating, or perching....so I am hoping this isn't illness or an egg-laying situation...Sometimes when she is bored during the day, she will also go down to that corner, but she tends to come back up when she gets bored after a few minutes.
Thoughts?
On Saturday, I decided to stop putting towels beneath the grate because if it is hormonal, I don't want that, plus, I am concerned that she could get a blockage from accidentally ingesting some of the paper (she doesn't appear to be doing so, but, I digress)....
My point is, since I have removed the paper towels, she has been going down to that same corner at night. I believe she spends most of her night sleeping on the perch (as I can hear her dropping things and moving from time to time), but at some point---probably around 4 or 5am, she is climbing down to that fascinating bottom corner and doing God knows what (NOTE: Her butt is positioned away from the cage-wires whenever I have watched her do this via live-stream and when I uncover her, so I don't think there is any self-stimulating behavior happening). Again, she isn't spending her whole night down there, as I can verify that she is on her perch for most of that time.
For the past 3 mornings, when I have uncovered her, she has been down in the corner (even though towels are gone), with her butt slightly in the air (not super high or extreme, but kind of crouching) and looking at me with a contented "chomp chomp". She comes up afterward and all is well...I know she is not staying down there all night, but it is weird.
She shows no issues climbing, eating, or perching....so I am hoping this isn't illness or an egg-laying situation...Sometimes when she is bored during the day, she will also go down to that corner, but she tends to come back up when she gets bored after a few minutes.
Thoughts?
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