Teaching him to play?

[JBassset]

Hiya all.

If you haven't seen my thread in the welcome area I've just been on the receiving end of a rehomed 3 year old GCC named Stephen.

Currently he doesn't seem to play with any toys at all but his ping pong ball. (He loves ping pong balls.)

He loves to cuddle and ride on shoulders but games and toys seem to be new to him and he pays them exactly ZERO attention.

Any suggestions on things to help stimulate this little bugger while I'm at work or otherwise occupied?

Also, anyone ever heard of a GCC with a gray tail? I'm no bird expert but all the descriptions suggest red or maroon tail feathers and similar colored bellies. His tail is gray and his belly is light yellow with maybe a hint of orange. I'm assuming he's just a weird variant or a mix of two different species but I figured I'd ask smarter people than me.

 

[Allee]

You are probably right, toys may be brand new to Stephen, he may not know what to do with them. Even birds familiar with toys will often avoid new ones until they are certain the toy doesn't intend to eat them. If he likes ping pong balls, he may like hanging toys with wicker or whiffle balls. Given time, he will more than likely make friends with the toys you've provided. Sometimes if your bird sees you playing with the toy, curiosity will get the better of him.

If you could post photos of Stephen, some of our GCC parronts would probably be able to help you identify the mutation.

 

[JBassset]

Yeah I need to post a photo or two.

The only one I have right now (that's any good) is this one of him playing with Legos. (We were building him a soccer stadium for his pingpong balls.)

 

[Flboy]

My JoJo also plays very little with toys! Loves small balls also! He hangs out on the bottom of his cage all the time, dragging the plastic ball and banging the grate.

 

[Allee]

Stephen is adorable! He has his own ideas about toys, he obviously likes Legos and ping pong balls.

 

[Flboy]

I think I am going to invest in Legos!

 

[JBassset]

I think I am going to invest in Legos!

I can tell you that Legos are largely harmless if swallowed. They're chemically inert and not digestible so they're a pretty safe toy. I worked with Lego on a fishtank project many many years ago and we had to look at what harm would come of Legos in a marine environment. The result was pretty benign. They're designed so that if a kid eats them it won't make them sick or poison them.

That said, they're kind of expensive and Stephen loves to pick one out of the bin and fly off to shred it. Which is fine but I'd rather he shred cheaper toys.

He is pretty cute though. I'll try to get a video of ping pong soccer.

 

[wrench13]

Heres a game to play - take a 3 or 4" square of cloth, and hide a treat under it, let him see you do it at first. THen you and he can 'discover' it. Pretty soon he will check for himself. and be playing with the cloth.