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Post by bluemoose on Nov 15, 2010 23:37:49 GMT -5
I realized I've never actually posted pictures of all my animals. My parents, who had only ever had one cat at a time before I came along, call our house the zoo. A slight exaggeration of course but it's more than they ever expected to be living with Aside from the three ferrets I have: My boy Fenrir. He's from a shelter who told me he was a Chow Chow mix but that's clearly not true. I suspect he's a Doberman x German Shepherd and my vet agrees. His tail is very similar to a natural Doberman tail. With snow on his nose Helping me open Christmas presents last year Savannah the Golden Retriever. Yes, she's as dumb as she looks. You know us blondes The newest addition Remulos Karma (aka Mini) the cat who was found abandoned in a parking lot and we saved from being run over by a heartless motorist. She came to us with fleas, ear mites, an upper respiratory infection, and not much fur. Cortez the Sun Conure. Quite possibly the loudest animal I've ever met. Nergal the Green Tree Python. Didn't want to show his mug to the camera. Balthamos the California King Snake I caught in the yard. She got that name before I knew she was female. The aquarium was hard to take a good picture of but it's a 100 gallon salt water tank. All the coral is real. I don't consider fish pets (you can't pet them after all ) but the tank is pretty cool. There's also another cat (maybe two but that one has been gone for like a week now so who knows, that's why my cat lives indoors) and a couple toads. And a few (but certainly not all) of my past pets I happen to have pictures of on this computer. Felix, the most amazing cat I've ever met who was taken by cancer at the tender age of four. Forever in my heart. Storm and Cloud. A couple of several rats I've had. And my unnamed Gold Dust Day Gecko.
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Post by Heather on Nov 15, 2010 23:44:57 GMT -5
Awesome fur and scale family. I will never consider my house a zoo again You definitely have the diversity covered. ciao
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Post by shilohismygirl on Nov 16, 2010 0:13:03 GMT -5
Oh, I love your beautiful animals. I was wondering, what is it like, taking care of a bird? I've always wanted to have a bird like that, but that'll be a ton of time in the future-years and years-plenty of time to do my research first. They seem like very intelligent, sweet animals-as well as being loud.
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Post by bluemoose on Nov 16, 2010 0:39:35 GMT -5
Conures are quite intelligent which is a good and a bad thing. Good because they bond strongly to their owners, can learn all sorts of tricks, and some will even speak (Corry doesn't talk but he'll make a clicking/kissing sound back at you). Not so good because if they don't get enough attention they get LOUD and destructive including self mutilation. Some Conures are louder than others and Suns are on the higher end of the loud scale. Even if they get plenty of attention they'll still scream a fair bit in the mornings and evenings or when they're excited like when you come home. So if you have close neighbors they might not appreciate it.
They are very sweet and playful animals though. Suns are are often referred to as little clowns. You'll catch them doing all sorts of silly things like hanging upside down from one foot in the cage. Once they trust you they'll even lie on their back in your lap for a belly rub. They need plenty of toys to stay entertained and like with most birds, you know you did a good job picking toys if they get completely shredded. An intact toy is a toy that was boring.
They do have a mean bite (he got me a couple times when he was young) and the beak can be intimidating until you trust the bird but they're usually not aggressive at all unless they've been abused or are scared. They use the beak like a third hand. They hold things, use it to climb, and they'll feel things with their weird little bird tongue.
Obviously they are quite physically attractive with all that color. Young Suns will have a lot more green, most of which they'll slowly lose. They live a long time, around 25-30 years so getting a bird like this is a big commitment. I would recommend a hand fed baby if you get a young one.
Some of Corry's favorite activities include riding around on a shoulder, getting neck scratches, destroying new toys, and throwing all his food on the floor. Did I mention birds are messy? Aside from all the poop, they throw at least half their food on the floor. He's always sure there's something more exciting at the bottom of the dish so I've learned to feed him a shallow layer of food.
Birds are definitely unique animals and a good bit of work but if you're willing to put in the time and effort you end up with a very loving companion.
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 16, 2010 4:09:56 GMT -5
That's a pretty amazing crew you've got there! And I remember reading about Felix in the bridge section What blew me away was the picture of him. That's exactly what my Watson looks like. I'd swear they could be twins.
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Post by shilohismygirl on Nov 16, 2010 10:14:07 GMT -5
Wow! Yes, I have heard that birds can be all of those things, but great if you have the time to devote-s I said it would be years until I'd actually get one, if ever. However, I recently fell in love with a Cockatoo and another Conure at the pet store here in town. They're so beautiful but I wish they didn't carry birds. Rocky, the bird they have, is a female salmon colored girl who is five. They only have one toy in there with her, and it is for the most part unused, because it's probably boring. She doesn't ever get to get out of her cage. She can talk, and she always talks back to us when we're in there-I always make it a point to come over and pet her, since when we are in there, she presses her head against the bars to be petted. I always tell myself that if a miracle happened, and I came across enough money to get her, and to put aside for her to live lavishly with us, I'd get her. They live so long, which is great, but Cockatoos live like 60-80 years, and might outlive me, so I'd have to have a plan if I ever did get to have her. I always dream about being able to rescue her. I wish someone would. I hate that stupid pet store.
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Post by bluemoose on Nov 16, 2010 13:21:54 GMT -5
That's a pretty amazing crew you've got there! And I remember reading about Felix in the bridge section What blew me away was the picture of him. That's exactly what my Watson looks like. I'd swear they could be twins. Yeah they do look very similar! I always feel a tug on my heartstrings when I see a cat that looks like Felix. I'll probably never get one with those markings again because I wouldn't be able to stop comparing the new one to Felix. As for birds in pet shops, the pet store we used to get our live mice at before I started breeding them always made me so mad. My dad is friends with the owner and refuses to acknowledge the terrible conditions she keeps the animals in. The dogs are all clearly from puppy mills and the animals live in the smallest cages. The last few times I was there she had a beautiful Cockatoo in a tiny flat cage (barely space for him to walk around and no room to stretch his wings) with no toys. His only entertainment was the low quality food. What really pissed me off was the lack of branches for his feet. He had to keep them flat on the ground all the time. My town does have an excellent bird farm though which is where I got Corry. They have lots of interesting birds who are all well cared for. It's fun just to visit and look around. Everything from Parakeets to Conures of all sorts to African Greys to Macaws and even a couple Toucans! The Toucans aren't for sale I don't think. All their babies are hand fed and make the sweetest pets.
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