Squeekmouse
Well-known member
Hi all!
So we've had Trigger for a year and half or so now. Next month Trigger will turn 2 years old, my how time flies!He's happy and healthy, he's an amazingly good talker, crazy-smart, knows lots of tricks, and he's bonded well to both me and my husband.
We've heard that it's important to introduce new things to an African Grey regularly, like something new every day, in order to keep them from becoming phobic and neurotic. We tried to do that for a while, but we got complacent. He seemed to handle things well and wasn't particularly fearful of things.
Alas... things have changed. At first, he'd get scared of a new toy if we introduced it too quickly. We had to leave it nearby for a while and gradually move it closer and into place over a few days. Some toys he didn't get scared of and didn't have to go through that. Sometimes he helped if he saw Yoda play with it and that let him know it was safe (and fun!) for him to play with. But over time, it's gotten worse.
Here's a funny example. Last summer I gave him a chunk of corn on the cob in his dinner. He freaked when we put his dish before him because of the big, strange yellow thing in there. Even though he's been happily, and greedily eating corn OFF the cob all his life and it's his favorite thing, he was scared to see it in this large shape. So we took it out of his bowl and placed it on the far side of his playstand, letting him get used to his presence and letting him see Yoda eating his chunk. It didn't take too long, he devoured it by the time dinner was done. Tonight, I gave him a chunk of corn for the first time this year. Silly me, I forgot he was scared of it last time, so I just put it in his dish and we served it to him. At first it was all fine. He reached right in and grabbed it in his foot, munching on it happily for a few minutes. Then all of a sudden he flings the chunk of corn into the air and goes flying around the room crying out in fear, and refused to go anywhere NEAR his playstand. It took us a few minutes to figure out, he had suddenly remembered he was afraid of corn on the cob, while he was eating it. Seriously.
Meanwhile, a week ago we got him a new perch. He's been afraid of it since day 1. We've left it in the living room, nearby but not too close. Hoping he'll gradually stop being scared. So far, not much improvement.
So how do we help him get used to new things? Do we move them closer more quickly? Introduce more things even when he's still trying to get over the last new thing? Any advice, tips, do's and don'ts would be much appreciated!
So we've had Trigger for a year and half or so now. Next month Trigger will turn 2 years old, my how time flies!He's happy and healthy, he's an amazingly good talker, crazy-smart, knows lots of tricks, and he's bonded well to both me and my husband.
We've heard that it's important to introduce new things to an African Grey regularly, like something new every day, in order to keep them from becoming phobic and neurotic. We tried to do that for a while, but we got complacent. He seemed to handle things well and wasn't particularly fearful of things.
Alas... things have changed. At first, he'd get scared of a new toy if we introduced it too quickly. We had to leave it nearby for a while and gradually move it closer and into place over a few days. Some toys he didn't get scared of and didn't have to go through that. Sometimes he helped if he saw Yoda play with it and that let him know it was safe (and fun!) for him to play with. But over time, it's gotten worse.
Here's a funny example. Last summer I gave him a chunk of corn on the cob in his dinner. He freaked when we put his dish before him because of the big, strange yellow thing in there. Even though he's been happily, and greedily eating corn OFF the cob all his life and it's his favorite thing, he was scared to see it in this large shape. So we took it out of his bowl and placed it on the far side of his playstand, letting him get used to his presence and letting him see Yoda eating his chunk. It didn't take too long, he devoured it by the time dinner was done. Tonight, I gave him a chunk of corn for the first time this year. Silly me, I forgot he was scared of it last time, so I just put it in his dish and we served it to him. At first it was all fine. He reached right in and grabbed it in his foot, munching on it happily for a few minutes. Then all of a sudden he flings the chunk of corn into the air and goes flying around the room crying out in fear, and refused to go anywhere NEAR his playstand. It took us a few minutes to figure out, he had suddenly remembered he was afraid of corn on the cob, while he was eating it. Seriously.
Meanwhile, a week ago we got him a new perch. He's been afraid of it since day 1. We've left it in the living room, nearby but not too close. Hoping he'll gradually stop being scared. So far, not much improvement.
So how do we help him get used to new things? Do we move them closer more quickly? Introduce more things even when he's still trying to get over the last new thing? Any advice, tips, do's and don'ts would be much appreciated!