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The Safest?

Clue

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I've recently adopted a male budgerigar. In the process of bird-proofing the room, I had to move out some houseplants, because I'm not sure if they're toxic or not. My mom really wants either new plants, or to figure out if the plants are toxic or not. Would anyone here know what are safe and dangerous ones?

The ones that I did move out were a Chlorophytum cosmosum (Spider plant), a NOID Anthurium, and some sort of straggly Philodendron. Now, the plants probably have to fit some categories: Fast growing, minimal effort, low to moderate light.

Thanks!
 
Try "parakeet" pal some of us have to wikipedia "budgerigar" ! :D


Are you going to keep it in a fully planted jungle vivarium type avian enclosure? That would be cool!

I have a book on Toxic & Poisonous Plants so if you tell me what species you want me to look up I can give you the info I have on them, if they aren't in the book it doesn't mean they aren't poisonous I suppose but at least if it's in there you'll know.
 
Try "parakeet" pal some of us have to wikipedia "budgerigar" ! :D


Are you going to keep it in a fully planted jungle vivarium type enclosure? That would be cool!

Not quite, the bird will just have to live with lots of free flight time in the room, which is why I had to bird-proof it (which I've heard is like child-proofing an area).

And the correct term is actually budgeriagar, but most just call them parakeets. Parakeets refer to any long-tailed parrot species. :p
 
I think he wants to let his bird out to play for exercise. Is the bird hand raised? It would be cool to have a parakeet that would land on you.

Get rid of pothos, thats all I know of other then that. Also, unless you are not on the first floor, a closed door is a MUST.
 
A hazelnut tree. :-O
 
LOL It's like the sign I saw "Cavy Show today" I had to stop and find out what the hell a "Cavy" was!

That's good that he'll have free flight in the house. Aside from stains that's what I would want if I had birds, I hate to see an animal in a "jail".

When I was a kid a lady in the neighborhood behind mine had a house full of exotic birds we used to go help her feed her birds once in a while after school. She had huge cages all over the house but the birds were usually ontop of them or elsewhere in the house they just "slept" in them she said.

My uncle had two scarlet macaws for a year or so but they were really loud during the day and at night their previous owner had taught them to whisper so it freaked out my uncles family to hear whispering at night! lol
His wife eventually said "It's either me or the damn birds" so the birds went back to their previous owner.
 
"look! its an animal gifted with the freedom of flight! let me trap it in a tiny cage and stare at it!"

Seriously though, if the bird can fly around a room and is always feed and given water then I see no problem with having a bird. Especially small species.
 
I feel the same way about people keeping huge fish and reptiles in aquariums just big enough for them to fit in.

A friend of mine kept his veiled Chameleon in a fake ficus tree in the corner of his living room. It never went anywhere other than over to the window to sun himself then back to his basking perch in the tree behind the recliner. Plus if it ever did make a break for it you'd have to be in a coma not to be able to catch it! lol
 
Spider plants are safe. Eucalyptus species are safe, but you might need a few to rotate outside. There are some good guides out there - when I got my budgie I just looked on Google. Check multiple lists, though, because there are some that are less correct than others. If you search you can find ones specifically for budgies, but the first ones I came across were usually for parrots or other broad groups of birds - a few even appeared to be copy-paste jobs from pet store safe plant lists (as in, for any kind of small animal in general.)
Budgies are great - I think they're one of the best pets possible. I would suggest starting your bird on fresh foods as soon as possible, and be prepared for frustration. I've had my bird Beaker for three years or so, and I only recently got him to try salad vegetables. The brand of seed mix I have him on changed their formula and he doesn't like that some certain nut is now dyed green or something, so I've been giving him an extra day between changing the seed to try to get him to try the new stuff. He still doesn't like the green seeds, but I discovered that when he's feeling hungry he'll nibble on any plant-looking thing. (Including my Paphiopedilium.) :/ Since then I've gotten him to eat various types of lettuce and shaved carrots. He takes an interest in toast and other sorts of bread, but only seems to lick them without biting.
Also, once you've got yours finger-trained, it's useful to get them comfortable being held and restrained. It's much easier to do in the dark; birdproof a small space like a bathroom or walk-in closet, and do your handling routine in the dark or with very dim light, like a shaded flashlight.
Have you seen Victor the Budgie?
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I first found these in like 2002/2003. The "translations" have progressively become more political and religious in nature since then; I fear Victor's keeper is gradually coming unglued. But I'm utterly convinced that bird was talking, with at least the competency of a toddler.
My bird talks a little, but I'm not sure he knows about constructing sentences. He says greetings appropriate for various times of day, and can also tell me when he wants new seed or water. He knows my name, his name and nicknames, and I think he's learning pronouns. Hard to say about pronouns, since the phases he first mimicked had them before he started mixing up his own statements. When he wants attention or otherwise feels urgency, he adds emphasis to certain words. He knows the sound and significance of my alarm clock and sometimes chides me for running late. Everything he says is in a repetitive, singing/rhyming manner, though, so it's hard to determine what he's trying to say with the stuff in between the words he stresses.
I highly encourage you to talk to your bird, rather than singing or whistling to him. Chirping and whistling is much easier than talking, and if your bird learns to get your attention with those types of sounds, those are the ones he will learn to repeat. If you teach him to listen to human speech, he'll pay attention to the sounds of human speech, and you'll have a much better chance at him learning to talk. Not all birds will go as far with it as others; some are more interested in talking or learning other things than others. But at the very least, your bird will feel more a part of the group in your home if you talk to him. If you only communicate with your bird by whistling, then the sound of the flock is whistling; if you talk to him, the sound of the flock is talking, and he'll feel included when you converse with the rest of your family. My bird goes nuts when I have friends over, and even laughs when conversation gets intense. I'm not totally sure he understands laughter as a response to comedy - he screeches at things I think he finds funny - but he seems to interject with it like some sort of uncomfortable laugh track.
Haha... can you tell I'm a pet owner?
~Joe
 
  • #10
I had a parakeet as an early teen. I vividly remember it being quite the profuse pooper! You need to take a good look at any birdcage and pay attention to the amount of excrement coating everything. Then ask yourself, "would I really want to sleep in there?". "Do I want to turn my room into a similar environment?".
Free-flying critters in your room are a romantic idea straight outa Disney, but it in reality means free-flying poo, and possibly destroyed plants when one wants to exercise it's beak.
 
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