Journal of an adopted 9 year old Senegal in Wilmington, NC

[Shinosuke]

Hello everyone!

I plan on updating this thread with pictures, stories, and questions about Klaus, the 9 year old senegal I'm in the process of "trial adopting". I've got another few weeks, and if things continue as well as they have been, I'll be keeping him! If you'd like to see the story from when I was looking for a bird up until now, three days after Klaus has been in my home, check out this thread:

Another one of those "First Timers", from NC

Or, you could just enjoy these (very amatuer) pictures I took last night:







After work I took Klaus to our only exotic vet here in Wilmington, Dr. Anderson (I think that was his name) at Dineen Animal Hospital. He went in for a general physical and nail trim. He isn't "overweight" but is a little on the big side, otherwise very healthy and happy. If I do end up keeping him I'm going to try to get him on more of a pellet diet as opposed to the Kaytee Fiesta seed diet he's on now.

The doctor was great, his confidence and handling with Klaus inspired me! He was letting him hang upside down, flipping him around, and even holding him upside down in his palm like it was nothing.. something I hadn't even considered trying to do yet! Needles to say I came home and tried it a few times, and gave Klaus some almonds as reward for being such a good sport. Turns out he's not a huge fan of almonds , but he did nibble on some a little.

Before the vet trip his talons were NEEDLE sharp, I've got tons of little tiny red marks from my knuckles on up my arm. Now that they're trimmed, the difference is amazing. Before all I could feel were needles sticking me when he walked on me, now his little claws feel so nice and warm when he grips my finger!

After the vet visit I went to petsupermarket and bought a few toys and supplies. We got a little jungle gym with a ladder and swing for him to hang out on in the living room. I also got a sandy perch to keep his nails trim, and at the suggestion of the vet, replaced his perch by the food bowl with that one to encourage him to use it but not over use it.

Klaus also got a whicker hangy thing and a hanging blue "starfish" with ropes knotted on the points. I've got a couple of really nice starfish in one of my aquariams, and I figured it'd be fun to mix my hobbies I rearranged his cage for the first time since he's been here, and added all the new toys. Right away he went up to check out the ropes on the star fish, but besides that he has just pulled his usual bump on a perch stance he pulls whenever he's in the cage. Hopefully the new toys and layout, as well as all the attention he's been getting, may inspire him to start being a bit more playful.

On a side note, thank you very much to Sooty Kitty for all your help with my beginner questions, and for pointing me towards this forum. I hope to meet more people here in the future!

Thanks,
Adam

[SisterBlue]

He is beautiful - best of luck! You'll see him start to come out of his shell little by little... :)

-SB

[sootykitty]

Oh, I am so very happy for you and for Klaus. I wanted to mention that his cage looked alittle bit like it could use some sprucing up, but I didn't want to rush you. What a great job you've done with findings an awesome avian vet. He sounds wonderful and Klaus most have liked him too. Your story today brought such a big smile to my face and a warm chuckle too. You have so many great things to look forward to while you two get to know each other more and more. They become so much more than pets. They become another member of the family. Keep us all posted on the progress.

[Shinosuke]

Hah, yea, the cage is a few years old, the toys look like they've reached a ripe old age, too. The owner was nice enough to let me have it all, though, and it's what Klaus knows, so it's what we're sticking with for awhile.

If you look closely at the door latch, you'll see that electrical tape is holding it in position! The handle is supposed to come back up and lean against a peg like this \ , but the peg has been worn down a bit so the handle sometimes falls open (according to the owner).

Is a cage of this size what a senegal needs? I would like to get a new cage at some point in the future, especially if I can find a local bird fair to get one at a good price. I've heard that if you get them too big a cage it can freak them out, and I certainly don't want to do that. He's not banded, so does it matter if I get a square or round top cage?

On a totally different note, he loves strawberries! Seemed to like munching on a banana with me, too.

How often should I change out his staple food? He never seems to eat all of it, and I don't want to waste it. I don't want it to go stale, either, so I've been changing it out every other or third day, cleaning the bowl at the same time. Water gets changed 2x a day.

Talk to you all later! I'll have some more pics either tonight or tomorrow!

Adam

[sootykitty]

Yep, he really does need a new cage. From everything I've read, the cage should be no smaller than 20" x 20" x 30" tall. It also depends on how long he's in there. I have it set up so that my birds are only caged overnight and a couple hours during the afternoon. Otherwise they're always out on stands or on my desk making a mess. lol If he needs to be in there for the majority of the day plus his sleeping hours then I would recommend a much larger cage. For mine, I like the dome tops just because Sennies like to hang upside down. But it really doesn't matter.

Here is what I have found that works really well when introducing a new cage. Place it in the same room, far away from the old one one the first day. Set it all up with toys, perches, food dishes, etc. Then every day move it closer and closer to the old cage. You'll know if it is too close because of the reaction Klaus will give you. Just go as far as he'll tolerate without getting scared. Finally, you'll end up with it right next to the old cage. At that point, you fill the food and water bowls. Put in his favorite treats too. He should get curious enough to investigate the new place. Once he has done that and is comfortable (may take a day or two) then remove the old cage. I find it is best to do this when he isn't in the room. It just disappears as far as he is concerned. This seems to work best for me. Now, I don't know Klaus, so you may even be able to move along more quickly, but I've found that this progression normally only takes about a week. The thing with him is that he has had the same "house" for such a long time, and he's recently changed his environment, so that is why I think you may be best served to go slowly and take your time. Just be patient and don't push him past his comfort level. Every bird is different. I can move along quickly with my CAG and JoJo, my other Sennie, much more so then I ever could hope to with Lolly. Let Klaus sort of dictate to you the speed to take to transfer him over.

Lolly loves strawberries too! And bananas. How funny. Here is what I've found to be the best solution for less waste of food; I only cover the bottom of the dish with about a half to three quarters of an inch of food. I change it out every morning. This way it doesn't go stale and there isn't so much waste either. If you fill the bowl up too much then they tend to pick through it for their favorites and end up leaving all the other stuff to go to waste. You can kind of force them to eat a variety by giving them just a little and then they will tend to eat the other, more nutritious stuff too. Also, mix in pellets for the extra vitamins and minerals. You'll always have a little waste each day, but that is just a part of having birds. And always offer the great fresh food like you are. You're doing fantastic so far, and you'll do just fine. You're a wonderful, concerned new bird owner. He's lucky to have you.

Can't wait for the new pictures.

Ginger

[Tom Lawless]

What a great looking little guy. I hope the partnership between the two of you takes a turn toward the permanent.

[Cpip]

This is my sennies cage ...

And this is his tree perch...

[Cpip]

p.s. does he have any foot toys?
My sennie spends most his time on the floor wrestling with his foot toys !

[sootykitty]

Just checking in to see what the progress is with Klaus.

[Shinosuke]

Thanks for the posts, everyone! Cpip, I really like that tree perch you have for your buddy, where'd you get it? Also, looking at the pic of your chage gave me a little epiphony (sp?).. why don't I have toys and perches on the outside of the cage? I might have to go get another perch and some hanging toys for outside the cage.

Klaus's owner didn't have any foot toys for him. I had looked for some in pet supermarket the other day, but couldn't find any. Does petsmart sell them, or any place online? I won't buy anything from petco, the way they treat their salt water fish is inhuman.

Jungle gym time!





He's not crazy excited about the gym, but he's getting used to it and seems content to hang out on it. Yesterday morning when I looked in his cage he had shredded the whicker part of one of his new toys. Also, he is not worried in the least bit about stepping on his new sand perch to get food. Seems like he's doing just fine with all the new toys and things he got last week!

I found out today that he's still able to fly pretty well. I keep a fan on in the hallway, and he doesn't like it when we walk by it. He got spooked and flew into his cage from across the room. He seemed to fly ok, but could use some work on landing. He hit the top of the door and fell the rest of the way into the cage, poor little guy. He fine now, but I was pretty worried when it happend.

Unfortunately I'm considering giving Klaus back. He's a great little bird, and we're getting along very well, but my (ex?) fiance and I are about to seperate and she's trying to find a different place to live Things in my personal life are in a turmoil, and I don't want the bird to have to suffer This obviously isn't something I can get advice on, and I hate that it may affect the bird, but that's just the way it goes some times...

Hopefully you'll hear more from me soon,
Adam