A Question

[sebastiantheparakeet]

Alexandria, little Sebastian's best parakeet friend, passed away yesterday. He seems very upset, and I was wondering if I should get him a new friend from the pet store. Is this a good idea?

[kali]

Well, any 'friend' that you buy will first have to be quarantined for at least 30 days so you don't pass on any germies to Sebastian.

Then when you introduce them, they might hate each other. Which means you will have to have two cages and two lots of out of cage time.

Think about it very seriously. Seb will grieve for a while, just as any human would, and if you use mirrors and hang out with him lots (if he is tame) then it might be enough for him. After that, you can decide if a friend would be the best option.

PM Ashling (Melanie) if you have any questions. Her female cockatiel passed away and she bought her mate inside and he is going great as a 'pet' again. She has had a lot of experience with budgies, i will tell her to come look at this thread in the morning.

While it's easy for me to do that (one of my birds doesn't get along with the other two) it can become tedious for some people. Think about it a lot before you decide to run out and get another bird.

Good luck with your decision! Let us know how it goes.

[Chicklette]

I agree with Kali totally. Think about this very hard especially getting it from a pet store you must definitely quarantine him for a least a month. I would take him straight to the vets before brining him home. I always bring a new animal to the vets right away so if they are sick I can get them better faster.

By the time your quarantine is over your parakeet will be over the death of your other one. Then you have to do slow introduction, step by step, placing cage by cage so they get to know each other. If you have a back up plan if things don’t work out then definitely give it a try. You will just have two cages instead of one. If they don't get along you can try that with your new parakeet.

Sometimes birds get along, sometimes they don’t just depends on that individual bird and it’s temperament. Chiquita my IRN and Boomer my GCC HATE each other will a passion so they get individual play times with me. Which I see it in a good way because they feel special having a day with mommy. Every other day I rotate Boomer and Chiquita so they get to spend the day with me. One day is Chiquita, the next is Boomer. You bond better that way.

So give it a try if you have a back up plan. I personally think it will work out, they are not very aggressive.

Im so sorry you lost Alexandria, my thoughts are with you. It’s heartbreaking when an animal dies. Give Sebastian extra play time, love, snuggles and treats and he will be okay. Just give him some time to grieve and give yourself some time as well. If you feel sad just PM me and I will be there, with all the animals I have unfortunately I have been there many times.