Biting other family members?

[wishingonastar]

Hi everyone,

My 8 months old female eckie, Grover, is wonderful. I love her to bits and we've bonded heaps in the past few months. She's very sweet to me. My husband is a shift worker and works away from home for 2 weeks, then is home for 2 weeks. Grover doesn't really understand this and therefore hasn't bonded with him. If he tries to pat her (which I do all the time), she bites him hard. Even sometimes if he comes near her or walks past her cage, she'll have a go at him. We've tried him feeding her instead of me when he's home, but this doesn't seem to be working.

What do we do to get her to like him? Or at least not attack him?

Thanks,
Sarah.

[sodakat]

I'll bet this is really frustrating to your husband. I think you were on the right track in having him feed her, but not if she is uncomfortable when he is close to her cage. How is she with him when she is away from her cage? For instance, what if you bring her to the breakfast table and set her on a table perch there. Would she accept bits of toast or fruit from him then? A special time with both of you and special treats only from him? If only he gave her bites at this time, she might decide it was worth getting close!

The very first thing I thought of when I read this, is to ask where Grover sleeps. If it were me, I would have her in a sleep cage in the bedroom when he is home, so she can get used to having him nearby for many hours at a time.

Mostly of course, he needs to be patient and go at her pace.