I have a hamster and there are also ALOT of unsafe products out there. Like Pine and cedar, small cages, mesh wheels and small wheels, scented or dyed sands, etc.
I have an aviary cage about the size of a walk in closet with 5 budgies, and they had and loved one those huge cotton rope hanging toys. A few months ago one of the cotton threads looped around Bunny's neck, effectively hanging her. I assume she started thrashing because the other budgies, bless the little bastards, started shrieking an alarm call (wildly different from their usual chatter) that I heard all the way from downstairs. I went up and saw her hanging, motionless at that point, and had to hold her up in my hands while shouting for someone to get me scissors. Took us 3 minutes to cut her free. She was incredibly weak, but thanks to her flockmates she made it. 1000% remove these toys from your cage- they had that toy for 5 years without prior incident. The accident will be random and without any warning. Don't be an idiot like me!
I never got a mirror, but my budgie is alone (no budgie friends, I constantly interact with him though) and without my knowing actually slowly and subtly became mirror obsessed anyway. When I thought he was sunbathing at my window, he was actually interacting with his reflection in the glass. When I smiled at how he would land on my head while I was changing, he was actually trying to catch himself in my wardrobe mirror. When I thought he was visiting me while I was working on my laptop and playing in the keys, he was actually interested in the black reflective rim bordering the screen. When I let him wander around the floor, instead of playing with the toys he was actually talking to himself with my chrome trashcan. When I thought my budgie was roaming around the top of his cage, he was playing with his reflection in the reflective rim of my TV. I realized that when he started getting more aggressive, interacting with me less and less and wouldn't even eat bc he was too busy playing with what I thought were harmless items. I've tried so hard to train him, get him a big cage that I clean routinely, change out the layout and toys, but he never was interested in the multiple cage layouts and toys which really fucking discouraged me because I worked for hours over months doing all my research and working so hard, and he still wound up like this anyway. I had a mental breakdown when I realized it. I tried covering everything with paper towels, and not only does it make my room look trashy but he actually tries to climb the paper towels to catch glimpses of himself anyway and I have to pry him away and stuff him in his cage to get him to stop.. it's just devastating. I just want him to be happy and I want my room to not look like a sty. I'm gonna get him a new budgie friend asap, so wish me luck.... *Edit:* Thank you for your interest! I got two more budgies last month, and while my original bird still seeks out mirrors, he is also better than he was and will interact with all of his real flockmates, myself included. He's even taken to giving me occasional "kisses" where he'll press his beak against my cheek or below my nose and make kissing sounds. I worry for one of the new birds, because his breeder keeps insisting that he's okay even though I see him fluffed up much of the day, but I make sure he's fed and that his weight is consistent and check for other illness signs, and he is otherwise doing OK so far. I still have to make my room look trashy when I let my birds fly, but I've gotten used to it and will put him back in his cage with his friends if I really want things to look neat. They enjoy bi-weekly baths, invading my food when I'm trying to eat, tearing apart rattan and wood toys, and socializing on top of my curtain rods.
You are doing the right thing. Introduce them slowly if he’s never seen another bird! We showed our hand-raised (I’m against hand-raising now) one and he lost his marbles and got very sick. Luckily he survived and had a new cage mate after that but it was scary! I am 100% for 2 or more budgies at all times. 😉 (I now have 6 somehow 🤣)
On the cotton rope note, be careful about what kind of blankets you use to cover your cage. We used cotton blankets and our budgies would chew it up. One of them got their leg tangled in the strands. We had to rush her to the vet because the circulation was cut off and her leg was turning colors. Fortunately, she didn't lose the leg. Lost a couple of toes though.
I had a cotton blanket over my budgies' cage, but they never chewed on it. So it really depends on if the birds are chewers or not. Also, I heard a lot that you shouldn't cover bird cages up, but I didn't have any other choice during summer, the sun never goes down during summer, so the birds didn't know when it was day or night and woke me up during the night because of that XD
Another thing about the happy Hut is that in some cases they're made out of fake fur fake Furs essentially just plastic which if your bird goes to tear apart at it they are releasing little plastic fibers which is not only dangerous for them but is dangerous for you
The issues with cotton rope isnt talked about enough. Seriously guys, sisal, coconut, hemp, etc. all of those are safer to ingest if they have no oils and such. You can always take the cotton rope off the rope perches and toys and replace it with safer stuff.
The thing with the mirrors sounds like something from a horror novel. I can easily picture a “The Bird Trapped In A Mirror” short horror story... someone should make that. It’s really a horrible thing for a bird to go through, but describing it as then being obsessed with the mirror sounds a lot like a horror novel.
right?? it just sounds so much like an obsession or they're in a trance forever lol it's scary sounding :( i feel bad for the birds that have had mirrors
Though that could leave some dust, so make sure to have the birds somewhere else if you do this and clean up afterwards (metal dust can't be good for them)
I didn't know about this mirror thing :( my bird spend almost all day in front of the mirror in my room bc I thought that he liked it... I feel so bad now :( never gonna let him live like that again
My bird has multiple mirrors, and taking them away would probably very upset her. She’s had them for years, and having this info now I guess I won’t do mirrors if I get new birds. She does have a fake parakeet doll in her cage she can interact with it, and she likes it with the mirror as well. I tried to remove the mirror after seeing this but ended up feeling super bad and put it back. So what I take from this is if your getting a bird, better to not use mirrors, but if it’s too late, it’s not gonna kill the bird and the bird will be ok I guess. My bird is slowly getting less aggressive and my grandma had birds that were just fine and had mirrors. Hopefully mine can get just as tame as the bird my grandma had. She’s been with me for so long and she’s always had her mirrors, she would likely be lost without it. Although I’m glad I haven’t used the other toys in this vid. I know to make sure and stay away from those now if I get another bird.
I use to have two love birds. They sang to me. I was in love with them. They already were 20 years old when I got them. They passed a day a part from old age. The female laid eggs a week before she passed. They also were passed on to several owners before I took them in. I wanted to give them the best life ever before they got older. I will never forget them. Their names were Boo-boo and Babs Bunny. I use to wake up at 3 am to beautiful bird music and drink tea while playing with them. I am a early riser so I loved having their company in the morning. I never left them alone. They were traumatized from being passed around so they needed peace and love. My mom's dog even respected them he never went into the room and he waited for me to come out. My mom was an animal lover and trained our dog. I think she passed he animal training skills onto me. I have always been good around animals. 👍❤️
I feel an important video she should make would be one touching up on letting people know how bad cuddling and body touches can be on birds. I feel that it seems harmless, so too many people do it, but a friendly reminder should be good
The mom of my boyfriend has a really terrible budgie cage It's way too small and they get to eat millet all the time and there's plastic toys and of course there has to be a mirror... They are kept in the kitchen which can be very dangerous to several reasons Ohh and they also own cats :)))) So it's basically a hell for budgies
Used to have a rescue homer. Had a mirror and a cotton toy. So glad nothing ever happened. Bought the mirror at a pet store because an employee recommended it for birds (they were always baffled when I asked for pigeon supplies lol) but he never even looked at it. I don't believe pigeons are in any danger from them since they can self recognize but it's good to know all the same. Pulled the cotton out on my own after a week once I had read up on it.
I'm not sure how good of a suggestion this is but you might be able to cut some of the vet tape up to fit around the lock so that it's not showing the reflection :0
It is honestly pretty annoying when you go to the pet store and find a great toy for your bird but it has a mirror on it. I wished birds store didn't include a mirror in most of the bird toys.
@@pinkcatkit4847 I heard someone else removed the mirror itself and the birds just used it as a secondary perch. I don't buy bird toys, I make my own so I'm not sure exactly what you have to do
idk if this would work, but for the lock reflection problem you could try attacking it with sandpaper to scratch it up and dull the reflective surface? idk how clear his reflection has to be for him to interact with it tho You could also try a patterned transfer like the sort you can get for house keys, but idk if they'd be able to chip that off
I still have a mirror toy in my budgie cage only after I peeled the mirror stickers off (it wasn't actual glass, which I was grateful for lol) because one of my budgies really liked to sleep on top of it for some reason. I didn't want to take away his bed, so I took away the only real problem with it lmao
For the reflective lock, you might try some method to rough it up. Whether it's aluminium oxide sandpaper or using a steel brush, it shouldn't be reflective enough to see a reflection if it isn't smooth.
@@bakedgoldfish45 Petco isn't even bad. It's just a stereotype given thanks to hypocritical peta. Sure they have bad items but I've noticed that they do get rid of items both in store and online if they're personally told they're bad. Like all of mine got rid of friskies and meow mix. I haven't seen a happy hut in a while either.
@@IMakePeopleSaltyApparently Well my Petco has alot of mirrors and tiny cadges and they have like 30 budgies on 1 small treeish dowl perch and have all the animals in small cages
@@IMakePeopleSaltyApparently they treat their animals badly, just because they removed whatever items you were talking about, they treat other animals such as birds, reptiles, fish, and small mammals badly.
For the shiny lock problem: You could grab a rough gritty sandpaper and try scratching it up till it has a matte finish? I don't imagine the lock is made of a very hard metal.
Mirrors are a thing because when owners don't want to buy two birds but at the same time they don't really want their birds to be lonely they just put a mirror in their cage.
~ I have two Budgies. Sky and Luna. ~ *MIRRORS:* We have the type of metal type mirror that has a bell at the bottom, Me and my Mother got it. They don't pay attention to the mirror and the bell. They dont care about the mirror though. *THE ROPE THINGY-?:* We dont have a rope so skip this one-😀 *HAPPY HUTS:* I have a green one. The birds dont even touch it. I will take it out after this video. thanks for the help Soda! *WOOD POPCICLE STICKS:* Uh i dont have any but we have these little tube shaped things for the birds to sit on(They normally sit on it) I hope that is fine with them :D Thank you for the help Soda! I watched your videos when i was just little kid! Im so happy i stayed with your channel because you helped me out so much! Thank you for helping me and all your subscribers with these bird products we should/shouldn't use!
I love learning more about toy and cage safety because I can then give that information to pet parents I sell pet products too. In my country choke collars, prong collars, bark/zap collars, .5 and 1 gallon bowls. I always steer people away from those and explain the risks and how, even though we sell them, they are cruel and dangerous.
I have multiple perches for my bird but she only uses one of them. Like she hasn’t used any of the other ones in months and even when I give her out of her cage time, she just sits on her perch despite sitting on it for 20 hours every day🧍
i wish i had been warned about mirrors sooner, my budgie who we rescued came with a cage that had a mirror and nothing in the books etc i had read said dont give them a mirror so i assumed it was good for him to have because he was a single lone budgie and had no bird friends. he was a nightmare to look after, hated people, would talk to the mirror non stop and attack it. as well as the fake plastic bird in his cage. Once someone toldme to remove those, hes a totally different bird. why do pet stores even sell these things seriously.
@@xsunshinex4033 I have tried but my parents don’t want to get another bunny and there isn’t any bunnies for adoption in my area, I heard its okay to just have one bun as long as you give them a lot of love and attention so they don’t feel lonely so I try to be with him as long as I can.
my friend is getting a cockatiel and i recommended her your channel because she pulled out this tiny ass cage and I did not want her cockatiel to live a sad life she hasn't gotten him yet but I hope he will be happy and healthy :)
oh my- thank you so much for this video Soda! Threw out my bird's mirror and cotton rope toys as they came up. Going to the pet supply store this weekend in order to get him some natural perches and new (safe) toys as well. I had no clue how dangerous these things were for him, and I am really grateful that I now know to avoid them.
interesting thing about the mirror actually- he had an old mirror a while back that would spin, with a clear bead track around the edge- he would spin it a lot and have good fun watching the beads. after a while it broke, so we got him a new mirror with beads, but it didn't spin, and he had zero interest in it whatsoever-- If the issue with mirrors is them thinking it's another bird, then Is he just asocial or something? I have no clue what could be up with this but at least I'm thankful he never became mirror-obsessed.
Hey! I had the same problem with my cockatiel, obsessing over his stainless steel bowls. I luckily found some stainless steel bowls with a wooden print on the outside. So the inside is still stainless steel but there is some sticker on the outside. Those really helped! Before I found those I just put sticker with a print on them myself, but I had to redo those once in a while cuz they came off. But it was still a really good solution. Hope you can figure something out!
thank you so much. i work at a vet clinic and i had no idea about the mirror/reflection issue. Now i can share that info with so many new bird owners! "crop stasis" is usually what its called if a bird can't process what it eats because of whatever reason.
That does make sense, one of the ways mated pairs strengthen their bond is by copying the other's movements. It's a common behavior in many species of birds.
You could maybe buy a steel brush and scratch up your stainless steel so there isn’t much reflection. sandpaper with the right grit could also work. Just an idea!
About the lock reflection - you can rub coconut oil on reflective surfaces to blur the reflected image. It doesn't completely cover it, but you can blur it out quite a lot
Thanks for telling me this information! The first time when I saw my bird eating rope, I thought it was cute. But when I saw my bird eating some rope for the second time, I took the toy out because of this video. Thanks a lot!
You can sand the lock of the cage with sandpaper so it isnt as reflective! It will help tofu get over his obsession with reflections and be able to communicate with the other birds more often :)
Oh no..my Nana has a happy hut, and has for YEARS in the same cage (all her pets besides the cats are neglected, their Husky and two birds! But I can’t help them, I’ve tried..the dog is also in her cage ALL day, if she’s not she’s on the deck) she never takes the birds out, I think there’s a mirror, the birds don’t really like each other but they are right next to each other. I feel bad but I literally can’t help, they don’t listen :(
you could use baby nibbling paint for the lock. it's safe for babies to nibble on and doesn't have any toxic stuff in it. i used a clear one to make my wooden hamster cage safe from moisture, but i think there are also colorful options that could cover the reflecting material.
About ideas to cover the locks to make them non-reflective, there's a couple products offered for painting bird cages that are bird safe so if you could get your hands on one of those that may work!
The best inexpensive toys I really recomend is sea grass mats they're cheap and safe as long as you get the untreated kind. They love tearing them to pieces!
I have a suggestion for you and his reflection! I read one time that if a toy has a mirror on it, you can use some sand paper and scratch the surface of the mirror... you could maybe do this with your bowls or locks, but I’m not sure how it is going to go when you sand stainless steel... let me know do it goes if you try it out!
My sister had a budgie that had a really small cage and I panicked but it was just for sleeping he also loved mirrors and would drag a mirror that he had detached from the cage to my sister and happily show her his reflection which was strange.
A couple options for the lock - Maybe a flour and water paste? Wheat isn't nutritionally meaningful to birds, but it should really mess up the reflection without being harmful. Alternatively, you could wrap it in the vet tape, same as the perch.
I'm more of a young bird owner so I have to go to school a lot, but the mirror helps him a lot, It hasn't been in there for too long and we're planning to take it out when we get another bird, which is very soon. We haven't been able to get a new one for a while because my mom and dad are very busy, sometimes I don't get to see my mother in the morning, (or dad) but thank you for the help I appreciate it!
PREFACING THIS WITH I KNOW LITTLE ABOUT BIRDS, BUT SOME ABOUT MAKING THINGS Have you tried scuffing up the lock and the stainless steel bowls with something like a wire brush? Adding in lots of small scratches that way (esp if you can get them dense enough) might help with breaking up the reflection to where the bird can't identify it *as* looking like a bird
I have about 4 right rope perches in my pearly conures cage. I always make sure to watch her and make sure she’s not eating it. I think she won’t eat it as it’s been 7 months and she hasn’t touched her beak to them once. That just proves that it really depends on the bird!! Awesome vid btw :D
Omg, I found you again my sister and I would always love all your mlp videos and we would wait for the next episode, we checked your channel daily. I'm now I'm 19 and my sister is 16 thank you for being a part of our childhood ❤
My bird has multiple mirrors, and taking them away would probably very upset her. She’s had them for years, and having this info now I guess I won’t do mirrors if I get new birds. She does have a fake parakeet doll in her cage she can interact with it, and she likes it with the mirror as well. I tried to remove the mirror after seeing this but ended up feeling super bad and put it back. So what I take from this is if your getting a bird, better to not use mirrors, but if it’s too late, it’s not gonna kill the bird and the bird will be ok I guess. My bird is slowly getting less aggressive and my grandma had birds that were just fine and had mirrors. Hopefully mine can get just as tame as the bird my grandma had. She’s been with me for so long and she’s always had her mirrors, she would likely be lost without it. Although I’m glad I haven’t used the other toys in this vid. I know to make sure and stay away from those now if I get another bird.
I’m so glad I did research after getting my green cheek conure, when I first got him I was doing *so* many things wrong, (diet, cotton/dowel perches), he is so much happier now ❤️ it’s so sad how misinformed pet stores are :(
Sand perches are fine if they are smooth on the top and rough on the edges, and if you have a variety of other natural wood perches, and ladders, and platform perches...
Great video! I would also add the substrate issue. So many people use substrates that are dusty, which can really damage a bird's respiratory system. Please use magazines or dust-free substrate (I use one made out of recycled paper by vitakraft)!
Thanks for the advice about the mirror thing I originally got a mirror for my parakeet because she lost her mate about a month ago so I decided to get her a mirror until I can find a way to make it so she’s not lonely anymore and seeing the bit about Mirrors made me wanna take it out as soon as I get home because if I find another parakeet to help she would just focus on the mirror instead of the other bird So thanks for the advice
Thank you for existing . I remember it used to be yum soda but now its soda pets . You were part of my childhood back when i had my mlp phase I remember coming home after school to watch ur vids . One of my fav series from my memory was the rainbow factory ksksksks thank u and ily sm yum soda
thanks for this video. There is so much misinformation about pet bird care out there which cause people to make mistakes and get problems with their birds, particularly parrots and parrot like species. Giving them sprouted seeds, premium diets, nest boxes, vitamins and minerals, etc too much... so that the birds go into breeding conditions and hormones start to rage. This makes the birds frustrated they can't breed and leads to behavioural problems like aggression, constant egg laying, humping their owners arms, biting, and the mental frustration can make the birds start to self half, like plucking out their feathers or chewing their feet till they bleed. Pet, non breeding birds, need a basic but good quality simple maintenance diet, NO nest boxes or snuggle tubes etc and not be petted on their backs too much (which make them think they are being mated with).
I just unscrewed the lock and took sandpaper to it, it will make it not so shiny, also you can do that to anything that is shiny to stop the mirror obsession
I really enjoyed this video! If you ever wanted to do a follow up, I'd be super interested in hearing about your favourite toys/enrichment items for birds!!
My aunt makes her own bird toys for her birds so they will be safe and warm (yes she makes blankets) but sadly she does not sell but I do recommend trying to make a safe toy for you bird.
Sand the lock. Do it when you don't have the birds in the room. A rough surface does not reflect. Use a finishing grit sand paper on the outside. It shouldn't mess with the mechanism. From your friendly earbud painter
I have a hamster and there are also ALOT of unsafe products out there. Like Pine and cedar, small cages, mesh wheels and small wheels, scented or dyed sands, etc.
I don't have a hamster so this may seem like a silly question, but what exactly is wrong with scented or dyed sands? :0
@@ev.anflynn It will cause respitory infections in hamsters
Omg I remember when u were one of the first people who commented on my video
@@camillak9321 Yayyyy!!!
What's the issue with pine and cedar? I don't have any pets but in the future, I am thinking about using naturalish/large cages.
I have an aviary cage about the size of a walk in closet with 5 budgies, and they had and loved one those huge cotton rope hanging toys. A few months ago one of the cotton threads looped around Bunny's neck, effectively hanging her. I assume she started thrashing because the other budgies, bless the little bastards, started shrieking an alarm call (wildly different from their usual chatter) that I heard all the way from downstairs. I went up and saw her hanging, motionless at that point, and had to hold her up in my hands while shouting for someone to get me scissors. Took us 3 minutes to cut her free. She was incredibly weak, but thanks to her flockmates she made it. 1000% remove these toys from your cage- they had that toy for 5 years without prior incident. The accident will be random and without any warning. Don't be an idiot like me!
Your not a idiot, you just didn't know.
glad to hear she made it, its okay you didnt know!
Happy that she made it
omg I'm so glad she was okay!
I never got a mirror, but my budgie is alone (no budgie friends, I constantly interact with him though) and without my knowing actually slowly and subtly became mirror obsessed anyway. When I thought he was sunbathing at my window, he was actually interacting with his reflection in the glass. When I smiled at how he would land on my head while I was changing, he was actually trying to catch himself in my wardrobe mirror. When I thought he was visiting me while I was working on my laptop and playing in the keys, he was actually interested in the black reflective rim bordering the screen. When I let him wander around the floor, instead of playing with the toys he was actually talking to himself with my chrome trashcan. When I thought my budgie was roaming around the top of his cage, he was playing with his reflection in the reflective rim of my TV. I realized that when he started getting more aggressive, interacting with me less and less and wouldn't even eat bc he was too busy playing with what I thought were harmless items. I've tried so hard to train him, get him a big cage that I clean routinely, change out the layout and toys, but he never was interested in the multiple cage layouts and toys which really fucking discouraged me because I worked for hours over months doing all my research and working so hard, and he still wound up like this anyway. I had a mental breakdown when I realized it. I tried covering everything with paper towels, and not only does it make my room look trashy but he actually tries to climb the paper towels to catch glimpses of himself anyway and I have to pry him away and stuff him in his cage to get him to stop.. it's just devastating. I just want him to be happy and I want my room to not look like a sty. I'm gonna get him a new budgie friend asap, so wish me luck....
*Edit:* Thank you for your interest! I got two more budgies last month, and while my original bird still seeks out mirrors, he is also better than he was and will interact with all of his real flockmates, myself included. He's even taken to giving me occasional "kisses" where he'll press his beak against my cheek or below my nose and make kissing sounds. I worry for one of the new birds, because his breeder keeps insisting that he's okay even though I see him fluffed up much of the day, but I make sure he's fed and that his weight is consistent and check for other illness signs, and he is otherwise doing OK so far. I still have to make my room look trashy when I let my birds fly, but I've gotten used to it and will put him back in his cage with his friends if I really want things to look neat. They enjoy bi-weekly baths, invading my food when I'm trying to eat, tearing apart rattan and wood toys, and socializing on top of my curtain rods.
You are doing the right thing. Introduce them slowly if he’s never seen another bird! We showed our hand-raised (I’m against hand-raising now) one and he lost his marbles and got very sick. Luckily he survived and had a new cage mate after that but it was scary! I am 100% for 2 or more budgies at all times. 😉 (I now have 6 somehow 🤣)
Have you gotten the new budgie? :D
Please update! I want to know if you got the new budgie!
Same problem but I couldn’t buy another parrot:(((
this happened to my budgie, he now has a friend he was a bit curious up first but then he became friends
On the cotton rope note, be careful about what kind of blankets you use to cover your cage. We used cotton blankets and our budgies would chew it up. One of them got their leg tangled in the strands. We had to rush her to the vet because the circulation was cut off and her leg was turning colors. Fortunately, she didn't lose the leg. Lost a couple of toes though.
Glad she was okay! Yes thats definitely true.
Try ceramic bowl maybe and can you use sand paper on the lock to take away reflection
Poor bird :((
Wow
SO IF IF U SEE THAT THE COTTON ROPE IS FRAYING
TAKE
IT
OUT!!
I had a cotton blanket over my budgies' cage, but they never chewed on it. So it really depends on if the birds are chewers or not. Also, I heard a lot that you shouldn't cover bird cages up, but I didn't have any other choice during summer, the sun never goes down during summer, so the birds didn't know when it was day or night and woke me up during the night because of that XD
Another thing about the happy Hut is that in some cases they're made out of fake fur fake Furs essentially just plastic which if your bird goes to tear apart at it they are releasing little plastic fibers which is not only dangerous for them but is dangerous for you
wow I didn't know that! 💕 ,you speak of wisdom
@@maiahardie2640 Np...?
@@pawsnclaws6814 she was thanking you.
@@nightfox4693 oh OK I couldn't tell if they were being sarcastic or not
Oop I didn't know this due to fursuits being worn with no issues
The issues with cotton rope isnt talked about enough. Seriously guys, sisal, coconut, hemp, etc. all of those are safer to ingest if they have no oils and such. You can always take the cotton rope off the rope perches and toys and replace it with safer stuff.
The thing with the mirrors sounds like something from a horror novel. I can easily picture a “The Bird Trapped In A Mirror” short horror story... someone should make that.
It’s really a horrible thing for a bird to go through, but describing it as then being obsessed with the mirror sounds a lot like a horror novel.
right?? it just sounds so much like an obsession or they're in a trance forever lol it's scary sounding :( i feel bad for the birds that have had mirrors
For the locks, you could always get a metal file and really scuff up the shiny part with it, then sand paper it down to make it matte :)
Though that could leave some dust, so make sure to have the birds somewhere else if you do this and clean up afterwards (metal dust can't be good for them)
Just a light roughing up with sand paper makes the reflection go away without producing any dust since it's just scratching.
that is the best bird advice I have ever heard
I didn't know about this mirror thing :( my bird spend almost all day in front of the mirror in my room bc I thought that he liked it... I feel so bad now :( never gonna let him live like that again
Dont worry my bird had a mirror too! I feel as horrible as you do but you're not the only one out there
I had never ever heard about mirrors being so bad until now! Don't feel bad I don't think a lot of people knew
It is ok you didn’t know.
My bird did the same before I took it out when I noticed he was being aggressive with his mate :(! Mirrors truly suck.
My bird has multiple mirrors, and taking them away would probably very upset her. She’s had them for years, and having this info now I guess I won’t do mirrors if I get new birds. She does have a fake parakeet doll in her cage she can interact with it, and she likes it with the mirror as well. I tried to remove the mirror after seeing this but ended up feeling super bad and put it back. So what I take from this is if your getting a bird, better to not use mirrors, but if it’s too late, it’s not gonna kill the bird and the bird will be ok I guess. My bird is slowly getting less aggressive and my grandma had birds that were just fine and had mirrors. Hopefully mine can get just as tame as the bird my grandma had. She’s been with me for so long and she’s always had her mirrors, she would likely be lost without it. Although I’m glad I haven’t used the other toys in this vid. I know to make sure and stay away from those now if I get another bird.
I use to have two love birds. They sang to me. I was in love with them. They already were 20 years old when I got them. They passed a day a part from old age. The female laid eggs a week before she passed. They also were passed on to several owners before I took them in. I wanted to give them the best life ever before they got older. I will never forget them. Their names were Boo-boo and Babs Bunny. I use to wake up at 3 am to beautiful bird music and drink tea while playing with them. I am a early riser so I loved having their company in the morning. I never left them alone. They were traumatized from being passed around so they needed peace and love. My mom's dog even respected them he never went into the room and he waited for me to come out. My mom was an animal lover and trained our dog. I think she passed he animal training skills onto me. I have always been good around animals. 👍❤️
Love your informational yet very entertaining videos!!!!
Hello Chui, how are you?
Chui Hai I'm a fan
@@弓波 hi*
Same!
@@LURANT1S jeez its just a missspell
I recommend covering your lock in vet tape! It won’t be reflective and your beautiful cockatiel won’t be able to obsess over itself.
I feel an important video she should make would be one touching up on letting people know how bad cuddling and body touches can be on birds. I feel that it seems harmless, so too many people do it, but a friendly reminder should be good
Oh dang, I used to have a mirror toy for my two cockatiels.
I had one for my canary
i got a rope toy for my cockatiel, needless to say, im taking it out and replacing it 😃
The mom of my boyfriend has a really terrible budgie cage
It's way too small and they get to eat millet all the time and there's plastic toys and of course there has to be a mirror...
They are kept in the kitchen which can be very dangerous to several reasons
Ohh and they also own cats :))))
So it's basically a hell for budgies
Used to have a rescue homer. Had a mirror and a cotton toy. So glad nothing ever happened. Bought the mirror at a pet store because an employee recommended it for birds (they were always baffled when I asked for pigeon supplies lol) but he never even looked at it. I don't believe pigeons are in any danger from them since they can self recognize but it's good to know all the same. Pulled the cotton out on my own after a week once I had read up on it.
Yes, a lot of things that are sold for pets actually aren't good for them and I feel like not enough people talk about it.
to change the Lock you could try sanding it and scratching it up so he can't see his reflection in it
Off topic, but I like your shirt :3 It’s cute
Right!! It's so floofy and cozy!
Sand the lock! Sand paper will disturb the reflection.
I'm not sure how good of a suggestion this is but you might be able to cut some of the vet tape up to fit around the lock so that it's not showing the reflection :0
It is honestly pretty annoying when you go to the pet store and find a great toy for your bird but it has a mirror on it. I wished birds store didn't include a mirror in most of the bird toys.
Can you not just remove it?
@@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776 Most of the time not because they place it in between wood/plastic.
@@pinkcatkit4847 I heard someone else removed the mirror itself and the birds just used it as a secondary perch. I don't buy bird toys, I make my own so I'm not sure exactly what you have to do
idk if this would work, but for the lock reflection problem you could try attacking it with sandpaper to scratch it up and dull the reflective surface? idk how clear his reflection has to be for him to interact with it tho
You could also try a patterned transfer like the sort you can get for house keys, but idk if they'd be able to chip that off
I still have a mirror toy in my budgie cage only after I peeled the mirror stickers off (it wasn't actual glass, which I was grateful for lol) because one of my budgies really liked to sleep on top of it for some reason. I didn't want to take away his bed, so I took away the only real problem with it lmao
Me imagining a bird looking at mirror like: "bloody marry, bloody marry, bloody marry!"
*m a r r y*
Ahahahaha
For the reflective lock, you might try some method to rough it up. Whether it's aluminium oxide sandpaper or using a steel brush, it shouldn't be reflective enough to see a reflection if it isn't smooth.
6:22 What a cute yawn!
The one dislike is petsmart :)
There's another one
It's Petco
@@bakedgoldfish45 Petco isn't even bad. It's just a stereotype given thanks to hypocritical peta. Sure they have bad items but I've noticed that they do get rid of items both in store and online if they're personally told they're bad. Like all of mine got rid of friskies and meow mix. I haven't seen a happy hut in a while either.
@@IMakePeopleSaltyApparently Well my Petco has alot of mirrors and tiny cadges and they have like 30 budgies on 1 small treeish dowl perch and have all the animals in small cages
Or people who are mad that these items are sold in stores
@@IMakePeopleSaltyApparently they treat their animals badly, just because they removed whatever items you were talking about, they treat other animals such as birds, reptiles, fish, and small mammals badly.
For the shiny lock problem: You could grab a rough gritty sandpaper and try scratching it up till it has a matte finish? I don't imagine the lock is made of a very hard metal.
Me trying to watch the video
My cockatiel:I am going to sing, talk and scream so you can’t hear😈
I love my baby❤️
Your hair matches Yuki (Thank you people in the replies)
Yuki, if my memory serves me correctly.
It’s yuki :D
@@dazaithecat8470 she spelled it right 😅
@@dazaithecat8470 unless she edited it 😃
@@monka-monk5118 they edited it. And based off their pfp they’re non binary and most likely go by they/them.
Mirrors are a thing because when owners don't want to buy two birds but at the same time they don't really want their birds to be lonely they just put a mirror in their cage.
Omg girl I never though that mirrors would be bad for my bird oml thanks girl now I will be more carefull
I had no idea about the mirrors, cotton ropes, and fabric hides. Not a bird owner, but still very informative to watch such an enjoyable video!
OML YOU POSTED ON MY BIRTHDAY ILY
Happy Birthday🎂🎉
@@vinxos Ty :D
@Starry Wolf Ty :D
~ I have two Budgies. Sky and Luna. ~
*MIRRORS:*
We have the type of metal type mirror that has a bell at the bottom, Me and my Mother got it. They don't pay attention to the mirror and the bell. They dont care about the mirror though.
*THE ROPE THINGY-?:*
We dont have a rope so skip this one-😀
*HAPPY HUTS:*
I have a green one. The birds dont even touch it. I will take it out after this video. thanks for the help Soda!
*WOOD POPCICLE STICKS:*
Uh i dont have any but we have these little tube shaped things for the birds to sit on(They normally sit on it) I hope that is fine with them :D
Thank you for the help Soda! I watched your videos when i was just little kid! Im so happy i stayed with your channel because you helped me out so much! Thank you for helping me and all your subscribers with these bird products we should/shouldn't use!
I love learning more about toy and cage safety because I can then give that information to pet parents I sell pet products too.
In my country choke collars, prong collars, bark/zap collars, .5 and 1 gallon bowls. I always steer people away from those and explain the risks and how, even though we sell them, they are cruel and dangerous.
I have multiple perches for my bird but she only uses one of them. Like she hasn’t used any of the other ones in months and even when I give her out of her cage time, she just sits on her perch despite sitting on it for 20 hours every day🧍
i wish i had been warned about mirrors sooner, my budgie who we rescued came with a cage that had a mirror and nothing in the books etc i had read said dont give them a mirror so i assumed it was good for him to have because he was a single lone budgie and had no bird friends. he was a nightmare to look after, hated people, would talk to the mirror non stop and attack it. as well as the fake plastic bird in his cage. Once someone toldme to remove those, hes a totally different bird. why do pet stores even sell these things seriously.
I want to get a mirror for my rabbit but I’m scared the same thing will happen because they also think they’re reflection is another rabbit :/
Bunnies don't care about mirrors, they won't care if you give them one either. You should rather get them a friend.
@@xsunshinex4033 I have tried but my parents don’t want to get another bunny and there isn’t any bunnies for adoption in my area, I heard its okay to just have one bun as long as you give them a lot of love and attention so they don’t feel lonely so I try to be with him as long as I can.
my friend is getting a cockatiel and i recommended her your channel because she pulled out this tiny ass cage and I did not want her cockatiel to live a sad life she hasn't gotten him yet but I hope he will be happy and healthy :)
oh my- thank you so much for this video Soda! Threw out my bird's mirror and cotton rope toys as they came up. Going to the pet supply store this weekend in order to get him some natural perches and new (safe) toys as well. I had no clue how dangerous these things were for him, and I am really grateful that I now know to avoid them.
interesting thing about the mirror actually- he had an old mirror a while back that would spin, with a clear bead track around the edge- he would spin it a lot and have good fun watching the beads. after a while it broke, so we got him a new mirror with beads, but it didn't spin, and he had zero interest in it whatsoever-- If the issue with mirrors is them thinking it's another bird, then Is he just asocial or something? I have no clue what could be up with this but at least I'm thankful he never became mirror-obsessed.
Hey! I had the same problem with my cockatiel, obsessing over his stainless steel bowls. I luckily found some stainless steel bowls with a wooden print on the outside. So the inside is still stainless steel but there is some sticker on the outside. Those really helped! Before I found those I just put sticker with a print on them myself, but I had to redo those once in a while cuz they came off. But it was still a really good solution.
Hope you can figure something out!
thank you so much. i work at a vet clinic and i had no idea about the mirror/reflection issue. Now i can share that info with so many new bird owners!
"crop stasis" is usually what its called if a bird can't process what it eats because of whatever reason.
The reflective part you could use sand paper or something and scratch it up so it won’t be reflective
You can use paint for toddler toys, it's completely save
That does make sense, one of the ways mated pairs strengthen their bond is by copying the other's movements. It's a common behavior in many species of birds.
my friend got a mirror for her parakeet's cage after his other bird friends died, and he would try to feed the reflection
You could maybe buy a steel brush and scratch up your stainless steel so there isn’t much reflection. sandpaper with the right grit could also work. Just an idea!
About the lock reflection - you can rub coconut oil on reflective surfaces to blur the reflected image. It doesn't completely cover it, but you can blur it out quite a lot
Thanks for telling me this information! The first time when I saw my bird eating rope, I thought it was cute. But when I saw my bird eating some rope for the second time, I took the toy out because of this video. Thanks a lot!
maybe you could scratch it up with a really fine sand paper so its too foggy to see a reflection?
You can sand the lock of the cage with sandpaper so it isnt as reflective! It will help tofu get over his obsession with reflections and be able to communicate with the other birds more often :)
me: trying to focus on video so i dont make any dangerous mistakes
also me: dancing to animal crossing music
Its too true T-T
I don't even have birds i just find your videos soothing lol
TO COVER THE LOCKS - use a large grit sandpaper, make it so it cant be used as a mirror anymore
Oh no..my Nana has a happy hut, and has for YEARS in the same cage (all her pets besides the cats are neglected, their Husky and two birds! But I can’t help them, I’ve tried..the dog is also in her cage ALL day, if she’s not she’s on the deck) she never takes the birds out, I think there’s a mirror, the birds don’t really like each other but they are right next to each other. I feel bad but I literally can’t help, they don’t listen :(
You can heat the stainless steel and it will turn black, but it will need hot flame to do it. tons of vids on youtube on how.
you could use baby nibbling paint for the lock. it's safe for babies to nibble on and doesn't have any toxic stuff in it. i used a clear one to make my wooden hamster cage safe from moisture, but i think there are also colorful options that could cover the reflecting material.
My least fave are the happy huts. They promote hormonal behaviour, are downright dangerous and just not needed!
The rest are bad too though!
About ideas to cover the locks to make them non-reflective, there's a couple products offered for painting bird cages that are bird safe so if you could get your hands on one of those that may work!
I can never get enough of your birds! They’re so lovely!😊
Try covering the cage lock with coconut oil, and also try ceramic bowls, they're actually better than stainless steel because they can't rust
If you think about it to find out what safe for a bird some birds would have to have died of it
The best inexpensive toys I really recomend is sea grass mats they're cheap and safe as long as you get the untreated kind. They love tearing them to pieces!
i love the way soda talks and actually gives evidence to prove things
I got twine balls for my bird to chew from Amazon and I have no idea what the color was made of but it gave my cockatiel diarrhea so that was fun
Omg i love her bird!
I have a suggestion for you and his reflection!
I read one time that if a toy has a mirror on it, you can use some sand paper and scratch the surface of the mirror... you could maybe do this with your bowls or locks, but I’m not sure how it is going to go when you sand stainless steel... let me know do it goes if you try it out!
My bird is going crazy hearing your birds! He is talking to them nonstop!
My sister had a budgie that had a really small cage and I panicked but it was just for sleeping he also loved mirrors and would drag a mirror that he had detached from the cage to my sister and happily show her his reflection which was strange.
The mirror thing is what she explained. They get obsessed.
@@blizzard_potato1225 I know I did forget to mention that he wasn't focusing on the mirror that much more my sister than anything
A couple options for the lock - Maybe a flour and water paste? Wheat isn't nutritionally meaningful to birds, but it should really mess up the reflection without being harmful. Alternatively, you could wrap it in the vet tape, same as the perch.
I'm more of a young bird owner so I have to go to school a lot, but the mirror helps him a lot, It hasn't been in there for too long and we're planning to take it out when we get another bird, which is very soon. We haven't been able to get a new one for a while because my mom and dad are very busy, sometimes I don't get to see my mother in the morning, (or dad) but thank you for the help I appreciate it!
PREFACING THIS WITH I KNOW LITTLE ABOUT BIRDS, BUT SOME ABOUT MAKING THINGS
Have you tried scuffing up the lock and the stainless steel bowls with something like a wire brush? Adding in lots of small scratches that way (esp if you can get them dense enough) might help with breaking up the reflection to where the bird can't identify it *as* looking like a bird
Cockatiels with mirrors are literally just narcissus of Greek myth
I have about 4 right rope perches in my pearly conures cage. I always make sure to watch her and make sure she’s not eating it. I think she won’t eat it as it’s been 7 months and she hasn’t touched her beak to them once. That just proves that it really depends on the bird!! Awesome vid btw :D
Omg, I found you again my sister and I would always love all your mlp videos and we would wait for the next episode, we checked your channel daily. I'm now I'm 19 and my sister is 16 thank you for being a part of our childhood ❤
My bird has multiple mirrors, and taking them away would probably very upset her. She’s had them for years, and having this info now I guess I won’t do mirrors if I get new birds. She does have a fake parakeet doll in her cage she can interact with it, and she likes it with the mirror as well. I tried to remove the mirror after seeing this but ended up feeling super bad and put it back. So what I take from this is if your getting a bird, better to not use mirrors, but if it’s too late, it’s not gonna kill the bird and the bird will be ok I guess. My bird is slowly getting less aggressive and my grandma had birds that were just fine and had mirrors. Hopefully mine can get just as tame as the bird my grandma had. She’s been with me for so long and she’s always had her mirrors, she would likely be lost without it. Although I’m glad I haven’t used the other toys in this vid. I know to make sure and stay away from those now if I get another bird.
you can use something abrasive to scratch up the surface of the bowl and lock so they're no longer reflective
I’m so glad I did research after getting my green cheek conure, when I first got him I was doing *so* many things wrong, (diet, cotton/dowel perches), he is so much happier now ❤️ it’s so sad how misinformed pet stores are :(
Sand perches are fine if they are smooth on the top and rough on the edges, and if you have a variety of other natural wood perches, and ladders, and platform perches...
You could try scratching the lock with the sandpaper so that it won't be reflective.
If you want to fix the reflectiveness of the cages lock give it a scrub with some steel wool, should dull it down a bit.
Great video! I would also add the substrate issue. So many people use substrates that are dusty, which can really damage a bird's respiratory system. Please use magazines or dust-free substrate (I use one made out of recycled paper by vitakraft)!
We used to have a little budgie and before she died her favorite toy of all time was her mirror bell
You could slightly sand the lock so it’s more opaque and reflects lees
Thanks for the advice about the mirror thing I originally got a mirror for my parakeet because she lost her mate about a month ago so I decided to get her a mirror until I can find a way to make it so she’s not lonely anymore and seeing the bit about Mirrors made me wanna take it out as soon as I get home because if I find another parakeet to help she would just focus on the mirror instead of the other bird
So thanks for the advice
Thank you for existing . I remember it used to be yum soda but now its soda pets . You were part of my childhood back when i had my mlp phase I remember coming home after school to watch ur vids . One of my fav series from my memory was the rainbow factory ksksksks thank u and ily sm yum soda
thanks for this video. There is so much misinformation about pet bird care out there which cause people to make mistakes and get problems with their birds, particularly parrots and parrot like species. Giving them sprouted seeds, premium diets, nest boxes, vitamins and minerals, etc too much... so that the birds go into breeding conditions and hormones start to rage. This makes the birds frustrated they can't breed and leads to behavioural problems like aggression, constant egg laying, humping their owners arms, biting, and the mental frustration can make the birds start to self half, like plucking out their feathers or chewing their feet till they bleed. Pet, non breeding birds, need a basic but good quality simple maintenance diet, NO nest boxes or snuggle tubes etc and not be petted on their backs too much (which make them think they are being mated with).
Tofu: WHOOOOOOOO IS THAT BIRD IIIIIIIIIII SEEEEEEEEEE--
I just unscrewed the lock and took sandpaper to it, it will make it not so shiny, also you can do that to anything that is shiny to stop the mirror obsession
Me who is watching carefully so I don’t make any mistakes
Me who doesn’t even have or plan to get a bird
if you want, you can try to scratch up the surface of anything reflective so that it's not as/reflective at all. hope this helped!
For the lock, you could sandpaper it to scratch up the reflection? idk maybe?
I really enjoyed this video! If you ever wanted to do a follow up, I'd be super interested in hearing about your favourite toys/enrichment items for birds!!
My aunt makes her own bird toys for her birds so they will be safe and warm (yes she makes blankets) but sadly she does not sell but I do recommend trying to make a safe toy for you bird.
Birds can also get arthiritis from the round smooth perches
Sand the lock. Do it when you don't have the birds in the room. A rough surface does not reflect.
Use a finishing grit sand paper on the outside. It shouldn't mess with the mechanism.
From your friendly earbud painter
To help cover the lock you could sand it and make it all scratched up
If you don’t wanna waste dowel purches you can use a knife to give it texture