Snake proof cage?

[wrench13]

And small vent holes, lots of them. DOnt forget the OP is in Australia, where just about every thing is poisonous.

 

[LordTriggs]

I wouldn't use Plexiglas, think how hot that'll get with any sun on it

Crazy though but maybe hang the cage from any bit of over-hanging roof? zero contact with the floor will severely limit a snake from getting to the cage

 

[clark_conure]

There goes lordtriggs again, thinking outside the box coming up with wacky perfect solutions to the problem. Butthead.....

 

[Scott]

I weigh up all the odds - he is far too noisy during the day to have anywhere inside or near the house. Once the wild lori's start up at dawn he calls continuously to attract them to his cage. I don't know the db but I think I would go insane or deaf if I was inside with him all day.


The other thing is quality of life. Yes there is risk that his life may be shortened by an unfortunate event but keeping a single bird inside all day is just unthinkably cruel IMHO.
At sunset I bring the avairy inside and shut the house up before transferring him into a small carry cage. I take him out and for a few hours to play. That's the way it's been for 8 years now. I know he is near his max life expectancy but at least I know in spite of the risks he's had the best life I can give him.

Many of us keep birds indoors and provide meaningful, safe, and long lives. I understand your POV, but keeping a bird in a cage with infiltrating snakes is exceedingly stressful with a virtually guaranteed outcome over time. Seems a halfway measure - a dose of outdoors without the freedom to effectively flee predation.

Various sources suggest lori lifespans 10 to 20+ years. If noise is a primary issue for placing outside, there are effective ways to mitigate!

 

[plumsmum2005]

I wouldn't use Plexiglas, think how hot that'll get with any sun on it

Crazy though but maybe hang the cage from any bit of over-hanging roof? zero contact with the floor will severely limit a snake from getting to the cage

But not the snakes that are already coiled around the roof rafters as in the pic, waiting for lunch

 

[LordTriggs]

I wouldn't use Plexiglas, think how hot that'll get with any sun on it

Crazy though but maybe hang the cage from any bit of over-hanging roof? zero contact with the floor will severely limit a snake from getting to the cage

But not the snakes that are already coiled around the roof rafters as in the pic, waiting for lunch

did not see those pictures! could we somehow incorporate drone technology to keep the cage in the air for the day?

Or some form of autonomous weapon defense system targeted towards reptiles?

 

[Scott]

I wouldn't use Plexiglas, think how hot that'll get with any sun on it

Crazy though but maybe hang the cage from any bit of over-hanging roof? zero contact with the floor will severely limit a snake from getting to the cage

But not the snakes that are already coiled around the roof rafters as in the pic, waiting for lunch

Yeah, looked at those pics again. My bird would be put back inside so quickly the snake would wonder if it saw a mirage!

 

[LordTriggs]

That's the way it's been for 8 years now. I know he is near his max life expectancy but at least I know in spite of the risks he's had the best life I can give him.

Just read this and well... He's not even middle aged yet! A Lorikeet easily lives into their teens and go into their 20's with a good lifestyle. A budgie lasts longer than 8 years when kept properly.

I'll also add, that keeping a bird around a wild predator isn't a good life, nor should anyone have the sentiment of "if a predator gets him it gets him" which is what that sentence comes across to me as.

Honestly there's no real safe method of keeping him outside, so just bring him in. It's a lot crueler to torment them with one of their predators hanging overhead than to keep them indoors. Even then you can bring them out when you're around under controlled circumstances

 

[Flboy]

That's the way it's been for 8 years now. I know he is near his max life expectancy but at least I know in spite of the risks he's had the best life I can give him.

Just read this and well... He's not even middle aged yet! A Lorikeet easily lives into their teens and go into their 20's with a good lifestyle. A budgie lasts longer than 8 years when kept properly.

I'll also add, that keeping a bird around a wild predator isn't a good life, nor should anyone have the sentiment of "if a predator gets him it gets him" which is what that sentence comes across to me as.

Honestly there's no real safe method of keeping him outside, so just bring him in. It's a lot crueler to torment them with one of their predators hanging overhead than to keep them indoors. Even then you can bring them out when you're around under controlled circumstances

I, also have a difficult time with this,-BUT-, in defense of the OP.. many folks believe in a rough and tumble life, not being a fool, but very different from those of us that were more protected! Examples: my sister, now in her 70’s was born with a heart defect that was to kill her before age 9, my mother, having already lost 3 very young children, chose to never tell her! School was never told either! My mom’s belief was to have a normal childhood and to enjoy it!
We grew up in the country and by age 6, my buddies and I were doing overnight hikes and camping! My first BB gun, age 9! By 14, I was doing primitive camping, alone, a week at a time!
Different times? Don’t totally agree, but ya!
Now, remember, the OP is in the land of OZ and has a very different lifestyle!
One person’s living life to the fullest is being afraid to get out of bed in the morning, depending on what pair of glasses you are wearing at the moment!

 

[Beak334]

"Anyone who owns a Lori will agree - Lorikeets eat and fly and squeal, eat and fly and squeal at a decibel limit that is almost painful, just because they can." https://echidnawalkabout.wordpress.com/tag/rainbow-lorikeet/

I will not subject my family to possible ear damage when there is alternatives that he really enjoys.
If you could only witness the thousands of wild Rainbow Lorikeets that flock to the trees around our house you would understand their true nature and that he wants to be outside so he can feel part of that.

 

[Beak334]

Actually I don't think he notices the snakes. Carpet pythons are stealth predators so they creep up without disturbing their prey. They are well camouflaged and even darken or lighten their colors depending on their background. And they seem to always attack from above the cage.
As for not being able to reach from above (see attached pictures) - that's a 45cm gap and he's going down (pic1) and back up again (pic 2) from directly above with nothing to climb up on.
Thanks everyone for the replies. Since there isn't any commercial cages suitable I'll probably build a snake-proof aviary out in the yard for him using mouse mesh (6.5mm holes).
https://www.bunnings.com.au/whites-90cm-x-5m-x-6-5mm-x-6-5mm-mouse-mesh_p3040081

 

[Cashclan]

Oh my goodness if I found a snake like that I would die of a heart attack!!! They’d find me and my bird dead, me of a heart attack and my poor bird stuck inside the insides of the snake in the cage. Think they could get it out like Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother out of the wolf? Hahaha, that still wouldn’t help me. I’d be dead as a doornail!