Need advice on how to park the booger-mobile

[Skittys_Daddy]

So I took away Skittles cuddle hut a number of months back. Even though we had gone years without incident, I decided to be cautious.

Skittles sleeps in the bedroom, I roll his cage in there at night. I cover his cage up at night. Skittles has plenty of chew toys in his cage and when he is out, so lack of them is not the issue.

Problem is, I have discovered holes in the cage covers (regardless of material) and the wholes in the material are on the side of the cage. So now, I worry about him getting his foot, wing or head stuck in the middle of the night. So tonight, I put his cuddle hut back in. I'd rather him be on the bottom of the cage in his cuddle hut rather than chewing through the bars on the material.

Truthfully, though, I'd rather he not be chewing on anything at all during the night.

So how do I address this issue? Would buying him a sleep cage be a good place to start? If so, what would people recommend. I'm running out of options. I can't keep replacing cuddle huts or buying new cage covers every few weeks. So I have to find a way to deal with this. I'd greatly appreciate suggestions!

 

[Christinenc2000]

Bumping this hoping someone will see and off you some help .

 

[SailBoat]

If I am following this correctly, your parrot like nearly every other parrot loves to chew and therefore has chewed several holes in the cage cover. If true, welcome to the rest of the World. The nice thing about custom cage covers is that they fit so very nice and look great - a double nice! The down side is that parrots will locate that area when any chewed hole will be seen and/or present a snag issue.

After several custom cage covers, we gave-up years ago and downgraded from style to functionality by using old bed sheet or other like cloth cover. Sun bleached or no longer in style beach towels, etc... However, I had always targeted beach towels that are out of style, no one steals those.

The uglier the better! This allow adding miss-matched patches without effecting the 'style'! 'Daughter' would complain that Mother had lost her decorating style. Two years ago, 'Daughter' got her own Amazon and after the fourth designer cage cover, she was routing through the old beach towels at the family cottage.

Hope this helps!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Thanks for the bump!

The thing is, this wasn't an issue until recently. At least not with the cage covers.

Yes, I know he's a chewer, I've resigned myself to that and am buying new tshirts regularly. BUT, with the shirts, I am wearing them when he is hiding in them or chewing them so I can supervise him. I can't supervise him during the night.

I just want to know if getting him a smaller 'sleep cage' would help and if so, if other people who own sleep cages out there have any suggestions. I've never bought a sleep cage before so I don't know what to look for/consider.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Well, I called a couple of local pet stores to inquire about sleep cages. The first store, the lady said there is no such thing and I explained to her about them and she said "I've had birds for 30yrs and I've never heard of that".

I 'almost' said, "well, ladida good for you miss know-it-all". lol. For the record, prior to joining this forum, I hadn't heard of them either and I've had birds for 29years.

The other store said they only have small parakeet cages for $40 (thin painted bars).

So those two ideas are out.

I decided to improvise for now. I clipped some clothespins to the outside bars in hopes it will prevent the blanket from being within Skitty's reach through the bars. Not sure if it'll work since he 'declared war' on them from within his cage when I was placing them. He likes to pull them off the clothesline and toss them on the floor. But it may work for now anyways. We'll see!

 

[rosembers]

Hi Skitty's Daddy!
I would recommend replacing Skitty's happy hut with a cardboard chew tunnel. They are a GREAT alternative to happy huts for birds that chew. I used to be a huge advocate of Critters Choice Chubes, but recently discovered Kaytee Chewbulars. They are way cheaper and just as safe with no lead or zinc in the binding agents and you can buy them on Drs Foster and Smith: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14596

They come with a critter bedding that is toxic to birds and must be discarded, but other than that I LOVE these and have purchased several. They also hold up really well to chewing. I buy the largest size for all of our birds, even the budgies (who actually chew the most LOL).

As far as cage covers, I have actually asked our avian vet about this for some of our rescue birds who chew but need a cover. She explained that food grade items (like paper towels) are safe for birds because they're human grade. They're a bit of a hassel to secure to the cage as a cover, but it works and it's safe if they did chew it and it still provides a nice cage cover

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I actually went to Walmart and got a 200 thread count sheet for $5. It's much harder for him to grab the sheet through the bars the way I securely tighten it around the cage. With the plush blanket it was much easier for him to grab. Plus, I've been putting pieces of cardboard on the bottom of the cage for him to chew up. Unfortunately, he goes through an entire large piece in one night.

I removed his cuddle hut after the first night. He didn't use it nor chew on it. Now, he prefers to sleep on his bungee rope. He loves that thing. I usually put yucca chips on the bottom of the cage but I'm all out as he goes through those wicked fast. I'm waiting til after the 21st when my CC statement is due, since I have to place a large order for bird supplies I want to wait so it doesn't show up til next months statement.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Just a thought on the previously mentioned 'sleep cage' - usually small dog crates are OK.

I have two small cages and they are both small dog crates, and not very expensive. Sell it as a specialised parrot cage and at least double the price. Just be wary of how heavy it is to carry about and the size of the bar spacing.

I like you use a large valance sheet to cover Plum at night and the best he manages is to pull some of it through the bars.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I may look into a small budgie cage or something like that. I have a travel carrier but its tiny and no room for a food or water cup, not even a perch. I use that carrier for walks or trips to the vet. I use a very small traveling carrier in case I get into a car wreck, Skitty doesn't get thrown all around or injured.

I like how his regular day cage is on wheels which makes moving it at night easy, however, the wheels are starting to wear into the tiles and I haven't even had the cage for a year.

Anyone have any ideas on how to prevent the wear?

 

[wrench13]

I went to the local fabric place, got 4 ads of the blackest, most opauge material, and sewed up a cover for saltys cage. When it goes on, it is DARK, like night time , and he goes right to sleep. I feel that if the bird can see light thru a cover, he goes to sleep when he feels like it, maybe after a good chew. Sewing a cover is easy stuff, even if you have to hand stitch it, some one you know may have a machine.

 

[plumsmum2005]

I went to the local fabric place, got 4 ads of the blackest, most opauge material, and sewed up a cover for saltys cage. When it goes on, it is DARK, like night time , and he goes right to sleep. I feel that if the bird can see light thru a cover, he goes to sleep when he feels like it, maybe after a good chew. Sewing a cover is easy stuff, even if you have to hand stitch it, some one you know may have a machine.

Is there no end to your talents? You will be telling us that you cook and iron too what next?

 

[wrench13]

I dont do basements. They are beneath me.

 

[plumsmum2005]

or even underneath you LOL

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Well I went to PetLife yesterday and got Skitty a new travel cage. It's bright orange, has two perches and a food/water dishes. I couldn't resist. It was only $15 and its bigger than his current travel cage which he can barely move around in and has no place to sit nor a place for food/water. It was more a rodent carrier than anything. So now, I can take him outside more often so he can get some sun and fresh air.

It was so far, so good with the new 200ct sheet, but I decided to invest in a sleep cage anyways. So after my appt I went to Petco and I got him a cage exactly like his old one (I wish I hadn't thrown his old one away, but it was broken). This new one is navy blue and matches my bedroom perfectly.

I was gonna go for a smaller cage, as it would have been easier (and cheaper) for me, BUT, with it being the same design as his old one, he took right to the cage. He was 'inspecting' it as I set it up and went right in. I went to check on him a little while after I put him to bed and he was sitting on his rope bungee (I put one in the sleep cage, he loves his rope bungees!).

It's hard for me though seeing his cage empty at night but I'll adjust.

It will also be good if I ever have to transport him long distance for a period of time, his normal cage is too big and heavy to transport. So it's all going to work out now.