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Post by julianna on Oct 30, 2015 14:03:51 GMT -5
Today I had the energy to clean out Oscar's sleeping cage... the one with the 5,000 tie wraps in it. It is cleaned daily but this time I removed all the tie wraps, washed them all... removed and washed and dried all the perches and toys etc. The cage looks brand new again. I bet I found 500 of his little feathers tucked in there too.
All of this took two people 2 hours... then of course after that you have to clean the floors in the living and kitchen cause of the mess it carries.
Now... that was Oscar's bed. Where will he sleep tonight? I tried to get him to go in the cleaned cage and he looks around... he isn't afraid but he does not want to really go in there. He could always sleep in the kitchen cage however, I don't really want him in there.
I bought a very large piece of dark material to cover his cage with and when I am ready to go to bed... I will tuck him in and basically cross my fingers. I can close the door to his cage now, so I will make sure it stays closed. Last time I covered his cage he crawled out some time during the night and slept hanging to the side of his cage. I do not want that to happen again.
While I was doing this cleaning twice Oscar was having a foot biting fit.... and I had to comfort him. I think watching his house being destroyed was a little nerve wracking for him. Finally he decided to come and sit on the cage I was cleaning and then he calmed down.
Boy I hope it takes to it and there is no fuss. He will probably start re-building his house in a few days as that is what he usually does. All the tie wraps and clean and ready for his taking.
Wish me luck. |
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Post by biteybird on Oct 30, 2015 15:21:15 GMT -5
I can almost picture his expression - "What the blazes is she doing NOW?".
Do you have a beanie you could hang in there as a substitute sleeping hut until the other one is dry?
Bonnie crawls into one no problems & it's soft and cave-like.
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Post by aaron on Oct 30, 2015 20:25:14 GMT -5
Haha poor guy. I'm sure he didn't like that, but obviously it needs to be done. How often do you tear it down? That sounds like quite the task!
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Post by cnyguy on Oct 30, 2015 22:10:23 GMT -5
Oscar may have been thinking "She's tearing my house apart-- does that mean I'm going to have to go?" I think he may need some reasurances from you that all is well. Encourage him to start on a new construction project. Once he starts building again, he'll probably recognize that all's well with the world.
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Post by julianna on Oct 31, 2015 14:38:36 GMT -5
I tried huts in the past and he is really scared of them so that went out the door. I tear his house down about every 5 or 6 months but the inside was cleaned daily as I would stuff Kleenex in there and that is where he would poop.
Last evening I put Oscar in his cage on a branch and closed the door and wrapped the cage with the blanket. He never moved one inch from that spot until I uncovered him this morning. lol... not one inch. Poor little guy. He came out immediately and sat with me on the couch. He usually sits nice and quiet for about an hour then we get up for food. But this morning he tapped my hand over and over (meaning get up) so I tried to feed him... He was not interested in food but wanted to go and sit on the other cage. Guess he didn't have a good sleep.
He is still nervous coming down the rope to the coffee table and usually he just runs down it. I think because he has to see the inside of the cage and it looks new to him... he isn't used to it.
It was the saddest sight however.... when he took one tie wrap and tried to tuck it in his cage. Poor little guy moved it this way and that way and finally dropped it with a little squeal. I am going to help him a little to get started on his sixth house. I think this will be number 6 but really I lost count.
Well... he is definitely going back in his cage tonight so I can only hope he will have a better sleep tonight.
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Post by biteybird on Oct 31, 2015 15:33:07 GMT -5
Now I get it - he doesn't normally have a hut, but sleeps in the tie wrap structure somewhere?
Would it be worth putting a flat platform up in one corner with a fleece cloth on it?
I can't quite imagine what his cage would look like without the tie wrap structures - could you post a photo? Poor Oscar....don't worry, he'll recover OK.
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Post by julianna on Nov 1, 2015 15:09:05 GMT -5
Exactly biteybird... Oscar would sleep on the tie wraps and yes I have a little platform in the one corner. I helped him today and put a few tie wraps around the front of the cage just to show him... that this is still our house... lol. He really liked me helping and even let hubby put a few in there as well. Now that is amazing!! He never lets my husband near his cage now he is letting him put tie wraps in there.
Anyway.... here is a picture I took today... I think you might get the idea. He has a lot of various perches in there which help him to weave the wraps around.
Nope... it did not work. I will put them in the photo book section.
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Post by aaron on Nov 2, 2015 9:53:46 GMT -5
Aww poor little guy... It sounds like he is getting back into the swing of things though. That's great that it seems to be providing an opportunity for him to bond with your husband a bit  Going through this process twice a year sounds like a lot of work! For you and Oscar! I'd love to see photos of his rebuilding process  |
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Going through this process twice a year sounds like a lot of work! For you and Oscar!