What are the Best triangle beds for Conures?

Tam

New member
Jul 17, 2016
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Hey everyone,

We have a conure and she has had a triangle bed that she loves and the material she isn’t able to chew apart but we were wanting to replace it because she has had this one for a while and we can’t seem to find the same type of bed.

Do you have any suggestions as to what material would be the best for her because we know there are some beds that can be dangerous for them if they chew it and we definitely don’t want to do that.

Thanks
 

LordTriggs

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Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
in short, none of them. Outside of the chewing dangers they can cause hormones to go rampant. I'd nominate to try getting her used to the idea of not sleeping in a tent. If not you can get large cardboard tubes for rabbits and similar rodents and bolt them to the cage. All safe to eat as far as I'm aware and dirt cheap too
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
Yes- they are an extremely bad idea. You aren't the first to ask (as they are marketed towards our birds) and they look cute... but many, many deaths (strangulation, blockages, missing toes etc) and hormonal issues (such as screaming, aggression and egg binding go back to these huts.

As humans, I think we tend to want our "babies" to have special "beds" like us (and we like to indulge what they enjoy--heck, they make these things for birds) BUT, aside from your covering the cage at night or turning off the lights, they do not need to have any additional dark sleeping holes inside of their cage...
Once the cage is covered or the lights are off, they can sleep just fine on the perch-- covering the cage can help them feel less vulnerable while simulating night-fall (as opposed to nesting)...Obviously take precautions if your bird is prone to nigh frights.

You know your bird better than I do obviously, but consider this: In nature, most of the time, a bird in a hollow/nest is a very young baby or a bird with plans to mate. It is their instinct to seek out nesting opportunities and dark spaces (along with mates), so of course they enjoy doing this, but as human companions, we cannot give them what they are ultimately seeking. Therefore, allowing them to access simulated nests causes hormonal spikes and other issues (for which they have no outlet).

There are some birds varieties that do nest in cavities outside of mating season, but they still have "mating season" in the wild (which is also spent nesting in nests/cavities). Consequently, when those birds are housed indoors and do not have other birds to mate with, all of the seasons kind of blend together but their instinct to mate doesn't go away...So in a captive bird who wants nothing more than to reproduce, "mating" season can change by the day, and without a nest, conditions seem less favorable.

Speaking of hormones, I would also suggest that you remove any shadowy/nest-like hiding spaces (in or outside of the cage). This including bedding, shredded piles of stuff, crumbled paper, boxes, tubes, hollow coconuts, tents etc. When out of the cage, avoid letting your bird hide under furniture or in blankets or pillows etc. So many undesirable (and sometimes, initially subtle) behaviors and health problems in companion parrots stem from inadvertent stimulation of our bird's hormones.
 
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noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
in short, none of them. Outside of the chewing dangers they can cause hormones to go rampant. I'd nominate to try getting her used to the idea of not sleeping in a tent. If not you can get large cardboard tubes for rabbits and similar rodents and bolt them to the cage. All safe to eat as far as I'm aware and dirt cheap too


Anything special dark spot like a tube still will stimulate hormones in most birds.
 

LordTriggs

New member
May 11, 2017
3,427
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Surrey, UK
Parrots
Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
in short, none of them. Outside of the chewing dangers they can cause hormones to go rampant. I'd nominate to try getting her used to the idea of not sleeping in a tent. If not you can get large cardboard tubes for rabbits and similar rodents and bolt them to the cage. All safe to eat as far as I'm aware and dirt cheap too


Anything special dark spot like a tube still will stimulate hormones in most birds.

yes very true, though if this specific one isn't being hormonal with it as some occasionally don't get hormonal, and if used to sleeping like this and being unhappy with sleeping any other way it would be better for a cardboard tube than a tent as I've not seen a single tent that wasn't dangerous in some form
 

ChristaNL

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May 23, 2018
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NL= the Netherlands, Europe
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Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
The ones in the garbage-bin

(sorry, those beds are one the worst ideas since we started keeping parrots as pets)
 

EllenD

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Aug 20, 2016
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Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
in short, none of them. Outside of the chewing dangers they can cause hormones to go rampant. I'd nominate to try getting her used to the idea of not sleeping in a tent. If not you can get large cardboard tubes for rabbits and similar rodents and bolt them to the cage. All safe to eat as far as I'm aware and dirt cheap too


Anything special dark spot like a tube still will stimulate hormones in most birds.

yes very true, though if this specific one isn't being hormonal with it as some occasionally don't get hormonal, and if used to sleeping like this and being unhappy with sleeping any other way it would be better for a cardboard tube than a tent as I've not seen a single tent that wasn't dangerous in some form

Actually this isn't true Triggs, with all due respect, just because a bird hasn't shown any hormonal issues before does not at all mean they won't start, and the quickest way to get them to start is to keep doing things that encourage hormonal behavior, namely allowing them access to ANY small, dark, warm places that they can get under or inside of, giving them ANY type of nesting-material, bedding, wood chips, shredded papers, etc., or giving them any types of towels, blankets, or other types of cloth.

***The best example I can give you is Sunny, the Sun Conure that had a Triangle-Bed/Hut inside of her cage for the first 7 years of her life and had no hormonal-behavior or issues at all, and then out of nowhere she formed a ton of Follicles and formed the first egg she ever had at the age of 7, which was so large that she became egg-bound and had to have open abdominal surgery done on an emergency basis to remove the egg, and almost died. And now she's on hormonal-implants to make sure it doesn't happen again, because if it does she will likely die and not make it through another surgery...And the Triangle Bed/Hut is completely gone forever now...

***So it makes no difference at all whether or not your Conure has had any issues in the past with hormonal behaviors, aggressive behaviors due to hormones, or any Follicle/Egg-Laying issues, if you keep providing her with ANY TYPE of bed, tent, "Hut", boxes, or any other small, dark places that she can get into or underneath (such as furniture she can get underneath), she will eventually start having severe hormonal issues, and we never know what that will mean in each individual pet/captive bird. When their hormones go crazy they can react/suffer in many different ways, from being overly stimulated and masturbating constantly, to constantly burrowing under/into things, to becoming extremely aggressive and violent with everyone, to plucking and self-mutilating all of a sudden, to being a chronic egg-layer, which is the most dangerous hormonal issue, because egg-binding is 100% fatal without immediate Avian medical intervention, and usually also is going to cost you thousands of dollars to treat, but you have no choice at that point or she'll die...

So obviously the best thing you can do for your bird, the safest and healthiest thing you can do for your bird, especially a Conure species who are seemingly the most-problematic when it comes to hormonal issues, is to remove ALL beds, tents, Huts, boxes, etc., and anything that could be used as nesting material, and just allow her to sleep on a perch like she would normally in the wild. Parrots certainly don't need any type of "bed", and providing a captive/pet parrot any type of 'bed" to sleep in is just we people trying to provide our pet parrots comforts that we think they need, when in-reality by providing them a "bed" or tent or Hut or box, all we are doing is providing them with things that they don't need, and that absolutely can potentially not only make them sick or literally kill them, but that can also ruin our relationships and bonds with them if they happen to be effected by hormonal-rages in an aggressive, violent way. So if you want to keep your Conure healthy, safe, and not provide anything that will eventually force her into Breeding-Season and hormonal-issues that are potentially lethal, please forget about providing her with any type of bed, tent, hammock, Hut, boxes, or anything that can be used as nesting-material.
 

SunnyGirl

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May 8, 2012
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Jesenice, Slowenia, Europe
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sun conure - Sunny
***The best example I can give you is Sunny, the Sun Conure that had a Triangle-Bed/Hut inside of her cage for the first 7 years of her life and had no hormonal-behavior or issues at all, and then out of nowhere she formed a ton of Follicles and formed the first egg she ever had at the age of 7, which was so large that she became egg-bound and had to have open abdominal surgery done on an emergency basis to remove the egg, and almost died. And now she's on hormonal-implants to make sure it doesn't happen again, because if it does she will likely die and not make it through another surgery...And the Triangle Bed/Hut is completely gone forever now...

this... she's talking about my Sunny here... she had her sleeping tent for all 7 years since I got her as a 3mo baby... she has been only slightly hormonal twice every year (a bit louder, a bit nippy), though never as much as this winter, she was horribly hormonal and it caused a huge egg to form... I'm not saying it was just the tent, but it certaintly made matters a lot worse... do read my thread please, it might give you a few very usefull informations and/or ideas...
I got rid of the tent the day before I got her back from surhery and she sheeps on a wooden perch now... she was confused for a few days but has adjusted perfectly and is also a lot calmer now... the implants should start working soon and she'll get the second dosage in late may or early june so that something like this never happens again...

like I told my family: I'd rather have a confused and annoyed bird for a week than a dead one in a few days... :orange:
 
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Skittys_Daddy

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Jan 6, 2014
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Lewiston, Maine
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Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
The cons surely outweigh the risks. Hormonal issues, dangling threads (and the threats they pose) as well as ingesting the fibres- not worth it. Fortunately, there are SOME companies that now put a warning on the front of the package big enough to notice that says "not meant for conures", I just wish more companies did that AND posted WHY they are dangerous. Of course, ideally they'd take them off the market, but that won't happen so all we can do is warn people.

What I do for Skittles is I take two empty tissue boxes and I cut off the glue part and the plastic part and I make a 'tunnel' with them. I then layer the bottom with unscented plain white paper towels. Never had an issue with that and the vet approved of the idea.

There are plenty of safe and safer alternatives out there. So far you've gotten some great ideas from others and I'm sure there's more out there.
 
OP
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Tam

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Thanks everyone for all the feedback. We are cleaning her cage now and we will be taking the triangle bed out, we will use a wooden purch instead :)
 

IndySE

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May 5, 2016
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Southern California
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Kermit, ♀ GCC (Green Demon)
Others have already probably warned you on the dangers of sleeping tents, but if you must go that route, get a grassmatt one :) It at least doesn't have any fibers that your bird can ingest. You still need to be careful/mindful of it promoting broody/hormonal behavior though
 

Boki

Member
Aug 7, 2018
150
4
HI
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Marcy - double yellow Amazon
Mac - blue front Amazon
Loki - rosefront conure
OK, I think everyone hears the message about tents. I want to know about a simple cardboard tube that I see my conure likes to sleep in. There is no nesting material. Am I at risk for hormonal behaviors to kick in? She only has access to this tube when she is in the sleeping cage. I am assuming this is not a problem because it is only used for sleeping.

My bird is a juvenile so I got to think ahead.
 

MMARC234

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Louisiana
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Male Pineapple GCC- Leo * Male Blue Quaker- Bluebell * Male Green Quaker- Avocado
What I did for my boy after I found out how dangerous the huts were was buy a corner perch. Most people use them for disabled birds but I like them cause I find that they form a more stable surface for them to sleep safely at night. It probably doesn’t matter but both of the fids use them over their other perches at night.
 

LordTriggs

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this just sprung into my head and I'm not sure why I didn't think sooner as it's what I used

40711-13.jpg


It's a "bird Trapese" is what I used to search for it. My conure LOVED his, soft on the feet, fun and not a nesty spot so no fear of hormones
 

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
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Lewiston, Maine
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Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
It's weird about all the 'hormonal' talk cause that's never been an issue (knock on wood) with Skittles and I. Which is funny, because we are honestly as close and bonded as a human and bird can be. lol. Yet, I have NEVER run into a hormonal issue with him. However, when I had Peaches, my cockatiel, she was VERY hormonal that it became a health issue. But she and I were very close as well but I always put the kibosh on the 'hormonal' behavior around me. But she was like a football. She wouldn't let anyone pet her (but she would land on people from time to time, but she wouldn't let ANYONE but me hold her) The ironic thing is, she didn't bite. She NEVER bit me in the nearly 20yrs I had her. That is NOT an exaggeration. Even Skittles has gotten nasty with me from time to time. Though its been awhile he did break my skin open several times back in the first years of having him. Anyways, sorry for my rant.

@Boki I think cardboard is fine as long as its clean and doesn't have any foreign materials on it. I do Skittles sleep tents with that and have for years. I use paper towels for the 'bedding'. I do know that my vet told me NOT to put newspaper on the floor of any of his cages cause of the ink. However, both his cages have grates and he can't get to them cause I tape them down.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
OK, I think everyone hears the message about tents. I want to know about a simple cardboard tube that I see my conure likes to sleep in. There is no nesting material. Am I at risk for hormonal behaviors to kick in? She only has access to this tube when she is in the sleeping cage. I am assuming this is not a problem because it is only used for sleeping.

My bird is a juvenile so I got to think ahead.

Yes, you are still at risk for hormones with the tube. Anytime they can get their head into a place that is more shadowy than the rest of the room, then yes. Smart to think ahead.
 

EllenD

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Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
OK, I think everyone hears the message about tents. I want to know about a simple cardboard tube that I see my conure likes to sleep in. There is no nesting material. Am I at risk for hormonal behaviors to kick in? She only has access to this tube when she is in the sleeping cage. I am assuming this is not a problem because it is only used for sleeping.

My bird is a juvenile so I got to think ahead.

You absolutely need to remove the cardboard tube, it's the exact same thing as the Huts/Tents etc...It's a small, dark place (very small in this instance) that your bird is going inside of...This is no different than him getting underneath furniture, getting inside of a "Snuggle Hut", a tent, a triangle bed, etc. It's going to eventually cause extreme hormonal behavior, if it hasn't already, and for males that will include horrible aggression and violence, and in females it unfortuantely is a risk to their lives due to eggs...

****The only difference between them having a carboard tube or box to get inside of or furniture to get underneath or nesting material in the bottom of their cages and one of the "Snuggle Huts"/Triangle Beds, as they BOTH cause severe hormonal behavior, is that the fabric Huts/Beds/Tents also pose an additional risk to their health in that they often eat the material little by little over time, and eventually it forms a Bowel-Obstruction because they can't digest it, and threads loosen and they either hang themselves or get their legs wrapped-up in them and if no one is home to free them, they can die of blood loss or lose their legs, or actually chew their legs/feet off...

So even though the cardboard tube or box doesn't pose the risk of Bowel-Obstruction or hanging, it still is a small, dark place that is going to cause hormonal behavior...And it's like a switch when it happens, just like the example with Sunny...They can go years without displaying any severe hormonal behavior, but once the 'switch" is flipped, it's nearly impossible to turn-off, and usually requires medical intervention like hormonal-implants or even surgery along with behavior-modification training to turn the hormones back off...And what causes the switch to eventually flip are the small, dark places and nesting-materials...

So you would be very wise to remove any and all carboard tubes/boxes or anything else that creates a small, dark place that your bird can get inside of or under...He will happily sleep on a perch with no issues, not withstanding a day or two of being grumpy about losing the cardboard tube...Better than suddenly having a bird that you love suddenly biting you as hard as they can, drawing blood, and being totally out of control and seemingly no longer bonded with you (really not what happens, but that's exactly what it feels like)...
 

Boki

Member
Aug 7, 2018
150
4
HI
Parrots
Marcy - double yellow Amazon
Mac - blue front Amazon
Loki - rosefront conure
Thank you all for your insight and experience. I only got the cardboard tube as when I would get her in the morning in the sleeping cage, she was always at the bottom of the cage. I thought it was a bad sign for a bird to want to be at the bottom of the cage. She was not on any perch. I assumed it was on the bottom of the cage out of fear.

I also appreciated the details of flipped hormonal switch as I did not know what exactly what was extreme hormonal behavior and definitely don't want any flipped switches. She will definitely grumpy not seeing her tube as that is the reason she goes so quickly into the sleeping cage. She runs up and down that tube about 20 times as seems to happy about it. I did have the tube on a slight incline but she still loved it.

The tube will come out today.
 

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
I've had issues with female birds and hormonal behavior, definitely was with Peaches, my tiel. I ended up having to remove some toys from her cage cause she would try to 'mate' with them.

Also, mirrors can cause hormonal behavior as well. Skittles doesn't have ANY mirrors in his cage. He's got enough of an ego as it is. lol.

@EllenD I will have to consider hormonal behavior should Skittles ever become overly aggressive with me, so I appreciate that insight!

As for the OP, when I removed Skittles cuddle hut, I think it was harder on me than it was on him. LOL. I HATED doing it because I knew how much he loved it. But he adjusted just fine. I almost wonder if that hut had played a part in the behavioral issues I was having at the time with him (prior to the retraining). The cardboard hasn't posed a problem for me and him and neither has letting him 'hideout' inside my shirt when I'm wearing it.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
The cardboard hasn't posed a problem for me and him and neither has letting him 'hideout' inside my shirt when I'm wearing it.


It hasn't yet, that you know of (he could be very hormonal, but just content with your relationship). I would just be very cautious---sometimes it isn't that obvious.
 
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