escape peep

[goldnyght]

Apparently the cage I bought was not so secure as I thought. Or maybe I just have an exceptionally clever fid 8o .

My boyfriend woke up this morning to not-so-gentle nose nibbles, and his cat cowering in the corner of the room ( :rofl: ). Somewhat confused, he got up and checked the cage. Nothing was unlatched or opened. So he stuck Pete back in the cage and went on with his day.

About an hour later, he came in and saw Pete doing the ferret thing and squeezing through the corner of the cage. Then Pete saw Bun, and immediately ducked back in, hopped on his swing, and started whistling :whistle:

So then I got a call
"Zipties are safe for Pete, right?"
"Ugh?" (being me in the early morning)
"Zipties. The plastic ones"
"Um...yeah..."
"Okay"

And when I got there this evening, the corners were entirely covered by zipties.
:rolleyes:
The war between the menfolk continues

[linda040899]

You may want to consider getting Pete a safer cage. This sounds like an accident just waiting to happen.

[goldnyght]

well, it appears that it was just the corners, and considering that the corners are now completely and totally sealed with afore mentioned zipties, we're doing good.

The thing that puzzles me is why the cage was advertised with 1 1/2 bar spacing, but the corners were so much wider. That's very dangerous false advertisement.

[linda040899]

1 1/2" bar spacing, as in 1.5" bar spacing????? If I'm reading that correctly, methinks a new cage is definitely in order..... :) Lovie bar spacing needs to be 1/2" or 5/8", no wider. 3/4" is for Tiels.

Not sure why the corners would be so much wider. Do you have a photo of the cage?

[goldnyght]

(considers that thoughtfully and goes to check photobucket)

here's a cage pic (not all of it, but a bit) http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e206/Goldnyght/DSCF0033.jpg

And here's a bird to cage ratio http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e206/Goldnyght/DSCF0035.jpg


Sorry, I did mean half inch. Just tired tonight. We had extensive playtimes and two baths this evening. (the bird and I)

[shylevon]

I'm not seeing where the corners are wider. It doesn't look like a bird could escape from that cage, but where there is a will, there is a way.

[Janie]

If the zip-ties have any kind of wiring in them (to make them flexible) they are not safe. A curious bird will chew any and everything including those ties. I use stainless steel quick links that I bought at a bird specialty store and you can also find them in hardware stores.

My older bird was escaping through his food/water dish openings. He used his beak to lift up the little door and was out before I could blink. The quick links put a stop to that.

[Z28Taxman]

My older bird was escaping through his food/water dish openings. He used his beak to lift up the little door and was out before I could blink. The quick links put a stop to that.

I did the quick link thing on the food doors too with Ditto's old cage. It took him all of a few hours to figure out how to undo them. :eek: No matter how tight they were, I'd have to check them several times a day to tighten them again. That's one reason I bought his mansion. He can't get out of that one (yet!).

[Janie]

Dave, I don't think we are talking about the same type of clips/links if Ditto can undo them. These are not the same type that screw on to hang a toy, they are a hard clip and while a larger parrot might be able to open one, a lovebird would not have the strength no matter how smart or curious he is.

[goldnyght]

oh no, these are pure plastic. You know the ties electricians use to hook a bunch of wires together? It's like those. (sighs) They're going to have to be cut off if they ever come off.

He's a very determined birdy. Very very very evilly determined (as I try to pry him out of my hair)

[Z28Taxman]

Dave, I don't think we are talking about the same type of clips/links if Ditto can undo them. These are not the same type that screw on to hang a toy, they are a hard clip and while a larger parrot might be able to open one, a lovebird would not have the strength no matter how smart or curious he is.

Nope, these are the screw types. Large ones like would be used to hang toys for a grey.

But give him time and he'd probably build some kind of hydrolic thing to undo the clips you have too. Never underestimate a lovie. :p

[Janie]

I figured it must be the screw type. Heck, they are all way to smart for that! :D

[shylevon]

And the little buggers don't have one opposable thumb, they have two.

How the heck are we supposed to compete with that????

[Whatsername]

my lovebird has escaped all my master plans, but finally I started "grounding" him and he doesn't escape any more.

[shylevon]

The ever present threat of being duct taped to the bottom perch in the cage.:x