Puffy at bottom of cage

[DeepLikeNin]

I mentioned this in my other post, but I'll make it a separate thread ... Mercuri (peach faced, 1+1/2 years old, female) has been sitting at the bottom of her cage, underneath her ladder. She's done this a lot recently. She's not down there shivering or anything, but she's puffed up. She still plays with her bell toys (no worries, safe bells, had a close bout when she was only 4 months), loves to be played with, loves to come out, loves to fly around ... so I don't *think* this would indicate sickness. Also like I said she's pretty "horny" ...... is this some sort of nesting behavior, as well?

[linda040899]

Cerissa,
Since Mercuri is a mature female, I suspect that she may be going into egg laying mode. This is very easy to check. Gently pick her up and check the width between her pelvic bones. Several days before you can see an egg, the pelvic bones of a female will spread to about the width of your index finger. The area will also feel puffy. Are her droppings becoming larger than normal?

[DeepLikeNin]

I hadn't noticed anything about the droppings ... there was one instance last week where I did notice a larger than normal dropping, but nothing too regular frequency-wise. I will keep an eye on it, and try to get baby to let me check her pelvic bones. But still -- when they're in egg laying mode (she's never laid one before) does it take a long time? meaning ... it's been like a month since she's been acting this way. Thanks so much for the advice Linda