MeganMango
New member
- Oct 13, 2012
- 522
- Media
- 3
- 0
- Parrots
- 1 red bellied parrot (Mango), 3 cockatiels (Bugsie, Alfie, and Bananas)
Hello again!
When I bought Mango, my red belly parrot, he was eating only seeds with dried fruit in the mix. He saw a vet and we found he is a little underweight and slighly deficient and calcium and vitamin A. We started to move him over the the coarse Harrisons pellets, and he wouldnt touch them at first. I convinced him to eat them using a few tricks. I pretended to eat them and gave them to him while we had dinner. Then the next morning he got his regular food while we got ready to go, then I switched it out for the pellets for the day to see if he would eat them. He demolished them, and now its all he wants. I dont mind that he loves his pellets, its made the whole transition easier. The problem is that he is only suppose to eat a couple of table spoons, but he is eating 3-4 times the recommended amount. Since he has been underweight I havent restricted him at all, and I thought maybe he just feels super hungry from not being properly fed and hes making up for lost time. He is starting to pick at veggies, but he mostly wants to fight them when he gets excited. I give him two table spoons which equates to about 6 large pellets in the morning, and by the time I get home from work he wants more. He stands at his dish and peeps at me. If I give him veggies, it distracts him for a few minutes, but he goes back to his begging. I give him more pellets and he picks at them while we eat, and then by the time I do dishes he wants more! He will ask for more again before we go to bed, and they are gone by morning. Hes been seen by the vet and had blood done and everything, and he is in good working order. Is it normal for him to eat like this? Will it gradually decrease as he normalizes his calcium levels? I dont care if he eats more, but Im concerned about over-eating and getting fat or overdosing vitamins. Is this a serious problem? If so, what can I do? I cant possibly leave him feeling hungry.
When I bought Mango, my red belly parrot, he was eating only seeds with dried fruit in the mix. He saw a vet and we found he is a little underweight and slighly deficient and calcium and vitamin A. We started to move him over the the coarse Harrisons pellets, and he wouldnt touch them at first. I convinced him to eat them using a few tricks. I pretended to eat them and gave them to him while we had dinner. Then the next morning he got his regular food while we got ready to go, then I switched it out for the pellets for the day to see if he would eat them. He demolished them, and now its all he wants. I dont mind that he loves his pellets, its made the whole transition easier. The problem is that he is only suppose to eat a couple of table spoons, but he is eating 3-4 times the recommended amount. Since he has been underweight I havent restricted him at all, and I thought maybe he just feels super hungry from not being properly fed and hes making up for lost time. He is starting to pick at veggies, but he mostly wants to fight them when he gets excited. I give him two table spoons which equates to about 6 large pellets in the morning, and by the time I get home from work he wants more. He stands at his dish and peeps at me. If I give him veggies, it distracts him for a few minutes, but he goes back to his begging. I give him more pellets and he picks at them while we eat, and then by the time I do dishes he wants more! He will ask for more again before we go to bed, and they are gone by morning. Hes been seen by the vet and had blood done and everything, and he is in good working order. Is it normal for him to eat like this? Will it gradually decrease as he normalizes his calcium levels? I dont care if he eats more, but Im concerned about over-eating and getting fat or overdosing vitamins. Is this a serious problem? If so, what can I do? I cant possibly leave him feeling hungry.