Green Cheek Hates Big Cage Help?

[TeekoGreenCheek]

I recently adopted a green cheek from pet smart, we fell in love with him from the start, and he is very loving we named him Teeko. Pet smart didnt have his age on the paperwork but id say he is somewhere around 5 to 7 months old. We bought him a smaller cage to ride comfortably in the car on the way home because i didnt wanna let him ride in a box..so we ordered him a bigger cage off of amazon. it took a few days to arrive so we didnt keep him trapt inside this cage for a few days, and allowed him to sleep on or inside this smaller cage till it arrived, i didnt wanna make him feel trapt. After the new cage arrived he loved it at first and it was the first night he slept inclosed. after a few nights he began becoming aggressive and biting and refusing to go inside this cage. And now he hates it. he has toys as well, along with a colorful ladder buthe loves this smaller cage, i can enclose it and take him outside and let him sunbathe and everything with no problem. can anyone help understand why he like the smaller cage so much? is it just the safety he feels with it?

 

[TeekoGreenCheek]

 

[clark_conure]

Leave they cage open and leave the water and food inside. Let him decide when to go in. Add some treats inside.

He'll be fine.

I mean inside the house...not on your porch.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

He probably loves the smaller cage because it means he's doing something fun when he goes inside it!

I would only feed him inside the bigger cage so he associates that with his food. This is what I do with my birds and I never have problems with getting them to go back in their cages.

 

[Jcas]

I recently adopted a green cheek from pet smart, we fell in love with him from the start, and he is very loving we named him Teeko. Pet smart didnt have his age on the paperwork but id say he is somewhere around 5 to 7 months old. We bought him a smaller cage to ride comfortably in the car on the way home because i didnt wanna let him ride in a box..so we ordered him a bigger cage off of amazon. it took a few days to arrive so we didnt keep him trapt inside this cage for a few days, and allowed him to sleep on or inside this smaller cage till it arrived, i didnt wanna make him feel trapt. After the new cage arrived he loved it at first and it was the first night he slept inclosed. after a few nights he began becoming aggressive and biting and refusing to go inside this cage. And now he hates it. he has toys as well, along with a colorful ladder buthe loves this smaller cage, i can enclose it and take him outside and let him sunbathe and everything with no problem. can anyone help understand why he like the smaller cage so much? is it just the safety he feels with it?

Birds like to take things slowly so don’t rush your new buddy. When I moved my Quaker from his old small cage to his new big cage, I opened both cages side by side and each day I moved one toy or perch that he had in his small cage , into his big cage. This made the big cage feel more familiar and the small cage less desirable. Eventually, everything was moved into the big cage, the small cage was empty, and my bird chose to move himself into the new cage. You might try reversing this just a little and put some of the perches/ toys from his big cage into his little cage until
he learns to like them, and then move them back into the big cage as familiar objects. My birds also like having one corner of their cage partially covered so they don’t feel so exposed when they are in it.

 

[TeekoGreenCheek]

Birds like to take things slowly so don’t rush your new buddy. When I moved my Quaker from his old small cage to his new big cage, I opened both cages side by side and each day I moved one toy or perch that he had in his small cage , into his big cage. This made the big cage feel more familiar and the small cage less desirable. Eventually, everything was moved into the big cage, the small cage was empty, and my bird chose to move himself into the new cage. You might try reversing this just a little and put some of the perches/ toys from his big cage into his little cage until
he learns to like them, and then move them back into the big cage as familiar objects. My birds also like having one corner of their cage partially covered so they don’t feel so exposed when they are in it.

yes i will try that. thank you, i just dont want him to feel so bound. im just over protective if you know what i mean? so when i let him just stay out of the cage in the room i get worried because he is a curious little guy. but i dont wanna get him bound in a cage thats for a small parakeet. but if he likes it, i just let him do his thing. thank you so much for the reply and help and time.

 

[TeekoGreenCheek]

He probably loves the smaller cage because it means he's doing something fun when he goes inside it!

I would only feed him inside the bigger cage so he associates that with his food. This is what I do with my birds and I never have problems with getting them to go back in their cages.

yes probably so! and maybe because it was his first cage its like a safety zone as well.. thank you!

 

[Jcas]

yes i will try that. thank you, i just dont want him to feel so bound. im just over protective if you know what i mean? so when i let him just stay out of the cage in the room i get worried because he is a curious little guy. but i dont wanna get him bound in a cage thats for a small parakeet. but if he likes it, i just let him do his thing. thank you so much for the reply and help and time.

Sounds like you really love your little guy! As far as I know, JJ, my Quaker, lived in a parakeet cage ( with daily free time) for fifteen plus years until he came to me so I wasn’t sure how well he would transition to a new, big cage. But once he made the decision to move in, he loved his new cage and still does. And I feel better because ( as you mentioned) I can put him in it for safety when I’m gone and not feel bad because he has plenty of space. I have no doubt that with a little time, your bird can come to love his new cage as well!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Sounds like you really love your little guy! As far as I know, JJ, my Quaker, lived in a parakeet cage ( with daily free time) for fifteen plus years until he came to me so I wasn’t sure how well he would transition to a new, big cage. But once he made the decision to move in, he loved his new cage and still does. And I feel better because ( as you mentioned) I can put him in it for safety when I’m gone and not feel bad because he has plenty of space. I have no doubt that with a little time, your bird can come to love his new cage as well!

Can the small cage fit inside the large cage? Maybe if you take the bottom off the large cage and set the large cage over the small one and open the doors of the small one. Just a thought.
It's funny how we put our own personal preferences on birds. We would want a bigger bedroom, so they should, too, right? Well, maybe not. Maybe the small cage feels cozier? Some people and animals like cozy.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

View attachment 52895

Make sure when you put his cage outside that any entry doors and food doors that slide up and down are clipped shut somehow with something he can't take off. Small birds are often clever enough to figure out how to lift the door and squeeze out before it shuts completely and escape. It breaks my heart every time I read that a PF member's beloved bird flew away.

 

[Guest46745]

Hello, I joined just to warn you about your smaller cage. It's not sealed at the top! In your picture of the cage outside, the top facing us has tabs that are not holding the top on. The side facing away from us is correct, but facing us it is open. There's no threat of the cage falling apart (it's still held by three sides, but that tiny gap could be enough for Teeko to squeeze out. I know from past experience that most cages are not fully assembled. I now use pliers to bend the tabs down so there's chance of them coming lose. Even on large cages they're never right. My male green cheek kept escaping his huge cage each time I left the house. Eventually figured out he was squeezing through the bottom back wall. While the front and sides had clips, the rear had nothing. He could bend the metal wire frame away from the plastic base and squeeze through. I could only get about two fingers through, but somehow he could squeeze his whole body. I guess they can squish themselves really flat?! I eventually used a drill and added zip ties all over. And as DonnaBuggie said, you also have to use bread loaf twist ties to hold the water/food tray doors closed. I even twist tie the cage's front door if we are going outside. These birds are very curious, squishy, and surprisingly strong. Even if your bird is calm, what if the cage fell or tipped over, or worse a hawk or cat messed with it... would it open at a seam? My advice is to zip tie that cage at every angle.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hello, I joined just to warn you about your smaller cage. It's not sealed at the top! In your picture of the cage outside, the top facing us has tabs that are not holding the top on. The side facing away from us is correct, but facing us it is open. There's no threat of the cage falling apart (it's still held by three sides, but that tiny gap could be enough for Teeko to squeeze out. I know from past experience that most cages are not fully assembled. I now use pliers to bend the tabs down so there's chance of them coming lose. Even on large cages they're never right. My male green cheek kept escaping his huge cage each time I left the house. Eventually figured out he was squeezing through the bottom back wall. While the front and sides had clips, the rear had nothing. He could bend the metal wire frame away from the plastic base and squeeze through. I could only get about two fingers through, but somehow he could squeeze his whole body. I guess they can squish themselves really flat?! I eventually used a drill and added zip ties all over. And as DonnaBuggie said, you also have to use bread loaf twist ties to hold the water/food tray doors closed. I even twist tie the cage's front door if we are going outside. These birds are very curious, squishy, and surprisingly strong. Even if your bird is calm, what if the cage fell or tipped over, or worse a hawk or cat messed with it... would it open at a seam? My advice is to zip tie that cage at every angle.

I noticed that gap too.