charmedbyekkie
New member
Hi guys! Ekkie-problem again :/
Cairo's diet hasn't changed one bit, except for eating more likely due to molting. He's 17 months, so it's likely his first big molt, not the baby molt when they're a few months old.
The only thing new that I can think of is, for Christmas, he did get some new wooden toys, but he doesn't ingest the wood - just bites it apart.
Just wondering if it's a diet thing, since he is molting, does he need more of a specific vitamin/mineral? I know ekkies aren't supposed to have cuttlefish bones or mineral blocks, but am I not giving him enough of something in his diet (which seems to be getting more and more specific as I test new and old foods)?
He's currently eating a chop of
Mains (these veggies have a higher ratio):
- bell pepper (red, yellow, green - capsicum)
- boy choy (xiao bai cai / Shanghai green)
- broccoli
- butternut squash
- carrot
Extras (these veggies have a lower representation):
- green beans
- snow peas
Sprinkle (these fruits/oats are minimally added):
- apple (Fuji) - tiny amount just to make splashes of sweetness
- pomegranate - also just a few to whet his appetite when he first sees it
- oats - sprinkled lightly on top
For some reason, he's been having a mild reaction to brown/red rice recently (it's the same brand we always get), so I've cut it out of his diet. I'm starting to adjust his diet based on not just toe-tapping but also how his droppings look like since our vet has been keeping an eye on them with faecalysis, so things like watermelon are quite literally a forbidden fruit.
Right now, his training treats are a mix of almonds slivers for low value, dehydrated apples for medium value, and dehydrated bananas for high value. All of these have never caused Cairo any issues before. And the dehydrated fruits we keep in the freeze to help preserve them in this tropical climate.
That being said, his toe-tapping isn't excessive like I've seen in others on here. It does bother him a little (he'll beak his foot a little when it happens), but it's not constant - just a couple of times a night, and even then, I've only noticed it once tonight and once a couple of nights ago, so it's not even a daily thing. As I write, it looks like it stopped for the night.
Since it's not daily and not excessive/aggressive, should I just accept as an ekkie-fate and ignore? He'd been good for the past few months; it's just recently it popped up again. Alternatively, since he is molting, should I be adding more of something or cutting something out? (And please don't say egg because his droppings go really, really off with egg - I was ready to bring him to the vet.)
...
As a P.S./side note, he's been preening in his new pin feathers - there's a lot of 'dandruff' as a result. We shower him every day now (it really does seem to help him, especially since he's much happier during and afterwards), but would it be alright to shower him twice a day to help? Or would that be a bit much for his skin and oil gland?
Cairo's diet hasn't changed one bit, except for eating more likely due to molting. He's 17 months, so it's likely his first big molt, not the baby molt when they're a few months old.
The only thing new that I can think of is, for Christmas, he did get some new wooden toys, but he doesn't ingest the wood - just bites it apart.
Just wondering if it's a diet thing, since he is molting, does he need more of a specific vitamin/mineral? I know ekkies aren't supposed to have cuttlefish bones or mineral blocks, but am I not giving him enough of something in his diet (which seems to be getting more and more specific as I test new and old foods)?
He's currently eating a chop of
Mains (these veggies have a higher ratio):
- bell pepper (red, yellow, green - capsicum)
- boy choy (xiao bai cai / Shanghai green)
- broccoli
- butternut squash
- carrot
Extras (these veggies have a lower representation):
- green beans
- snow peas
Sprinkle (these fruits/oats are minimally added):
- apple (Fuji) - tiny amount just to make splashes of sweetness
- pomegranate - also just a few to whet his appetite when he first sees it
- oats - sprinkled lightly on top
For some reason, he's been having a mild reaction to brown/red rice recently (it's the same brand we always get), so I've cut it out of his diet. I'm starting to adjust his diet based on not just toe-tapping but also how his droppings look like since our vet has been keeping an eye on them with faecalysis, so things like watermelon are quite literally a forbidden fruit.
Right now, his training treats are a mix of almonds slivers for low value, dehydrated apples for medium value, and dehydrated bananas for high value. All of these have never caused Cairo any issues before. And the dehydrated fruits we keep in the freeze to help preserve them in this tropical climate.
That being said, his toe-tapping isn't excessive like I've seen in others on here. It does bother him a little (he'll beak his foot a little when it happens), but it's not constant - just a couple of times a night, and even then, I've only noticed it once tonight and once a couple of nights ago, so it's not even a daily thing. As I write, it looks like it stopped for the night.
Since it's not daily and not excessive/aggressive, should I just accept as an ekkie-fate and ignore? He'd been good for the past few months; it's just recently it popped up again. Alternatively, since he is molting, should I be adding more of something or cutting something out? (And please don't say egg because his droppings go really, really off with egg - I was ready to bring him to the vet.)
...
As a P.S./side note, he's been preening in his new pin feathers - there's a lot of 'dandruff' as a result. We shower him every day now (it really does seem to help him, especially since he's much happier during and afterwards), but would it be alright to shower him twice a day to help? Or would that be a bit much for his skin and oil gland?