YodaBird
06-08-2018, 09:48 PM
Hi, all. I hope you're enjoying your feathery bundles of (occasionally frustrating) joy.
Yoda has become a compulsive paper chewer. When we let her out of her cage, she looks around for paper and is very agitated when she doesn't find any. In the middle of a 'chew session,' she ignores almonds, one of her favorite foods. She places the long, thin strips (around 4-10 inches in length) in her back tail area.
This has gone on for at least a few months, and really didn't appear until a while after her first (and only) egg. In addition, we think she's not eating as much. Right now she seems to be in two states of being: in her cage or on the hunt for paper.
Questions:
• Is it OK to let her do this as a natural behavior, or is the degree of her obsession unhealthy?
• If she should stop, would it be OK to have her kick the habit cold turkey? Or would it be better to taper her off?
• Is there a way we can have her cut back? It seems as if there's no gray area; she has "ON" and "OFF" buttons.
• I read on this wonderful site the following: "She can't have paper any longer, due to egg-laying concerns." I don't understand this. Got any clarification?
Thanks!
Yoda's confused caretaker
Yoda has become a compulsive paper chewer. When we let her out of her cage, she looks around for paper and is very agitated when she doesn't find any. In the middle of a 'chew session,' she ignores almonds, one of her favorite foods. She places the long, thin strips (around 4-10 inches in length) in her back tail area.
This has gone on for at least a few months, and really didn't appear until a while after her first (and only) egg. In addition, we think she's not eating as much. Right now she seems to be in two states of being: in her cage or on the hunt for paper.
Questions:
• Is it OK to let her do this as a natural behavior, or is the degree of her obsession unhealthy?
• If she should stop, would it be OK to have her kick the habit cold turkey? Or would it be better to taper her off?
• Is there a way we can have her cut back? It seems as if there's no gray area; she has "ON" and "OFF" buttons.
• I read on this wonderful site the following: "She can't have paper any longer, due to egg-laying concerns." I don't understand this. Got any clarification?
Thanks!
Yoda's confused caretaker