So what new addition did you get lately?

I bought some more malawis this weekend. Will place pictures asap.

And at another PS (or so they call themselfs) resqued 4 teddiebear hamsters. The people wanted to uthenise them because nobody wanted to buy them because they bite so I took all 4 for R10. We took them home and gave them all a bath(like I say to get the petshop smell off them). OMW they all have bites and lookes not very nice, the one male's eye is badly swollen and flenters. And to our surprise the one female gave birth the next day to 3 babys but only 1 survived. And since we bathed them not one of them even tried to bite me. My hubby's sisters children played with them with no injuries.

 

A photo of one of the hamsters.

 

awwww nunus !!!! when they are fully recovered you gonna have your hands full!!! I bought my daughter a pair and we ended up having like 22 !!!!!!

 

They are so stunning little creatures. I couldn't let them be killed. Ill be keeping an eye on them while they recover. Washed them first with some luke salt water and then with a medical shampoo for the einas. Jip, they breed like mad, but Im just gona have to controle them.

 

I have wriggler Pearlscale Peruvian Angels... I'm so chuffed as the male is actually blind... He's been trying to do his bit but mom is having to hunt down all the little ones that keep getting off the tile that they are on & put them back...

 

@F1refly, congrats on the bargain... Good luck trying to get the Eclectus to stop plucking/picking, it is almost impossible to stop once it's started... What colour is it? Not sure if you know but, the female is red and the male is green in this species. I think that it's the only species to have such different colour morphs on sexes...

@amandar, well done on the rescue. I would have done the same thing if I'd found out they were going to "murder" the little Hammies. I used to have a little Teddy-Bear female with the longest fur when, I was younger. I used to love brushing her, but I don't think she enjoyed it quite as much... Let us know how the lone survivor baby does now it & mom are being properly cared for...

 

Well then, considering that the bird is over 14 years old, that won't stop anytime soon then. It's a female as her head is a nice red colour

 

@F1refly, Yes, unfortunately it seems like the plucking/picking will continue indefinitely. You can try to put loads of toys in for her to play with, including rope type toys that she can try "preening" instead of plucking on herself. Please post a pic of this new birdy, I'm keen to see what she looks like... I gather from what you are saying that she was hand reared? The whole body of the Eclectus female is a beautiful dark red, & the male is an amazing green from head to tail.

 

I'm a bit embarrased of how raggedy she looks but there's nothing I can really do at the moment I guess. I'll see what sorta photo I can get. Well the lady we got her from said she found her in a tree on a farm, presumably someones escaped pet. Could in fact be older than 14 years, maybe even up to 20

 

Hi mate. Congrats on the parrot. Yes plucking is a behavior that birds learn for some reason when they are not properly socialized when they are young. They become board and start plucking or screening. Have you taken it to an avian vet to check if there are any medical conditions that could be causing this problem? I have some experience with birds and will be more then happy to try and help you if I can. Just pop me a pm and your phone number nd a good time to chat. Thx

 

Hey, sounds good. We don't actually live anywhere near a suitable avian vet, but we may try and take her to the vet in Zastron or when he comes here once a week. I shall PM you now with details and stuff.

 

Hey! Re parrot, I was at Onderstepoort the other day with an emergency (went well thank goodness!) and there was a parrot there with plucked feathers, and the people there were saying, as if this is an established fact, that plucking is caused by too much sunflower seed. I had never heard of this before and always thought it was a psychological issue, but if you could get your parrot to eat a mix without any sunflower seed (this seems to be what they recommend, although I do still give my parrot some sunflower seed) you could see what happens and just maybe it'll work! Sorry for excessively wordy reply, I'm half asleep

 

There is also a dreaded disease that could also account for her losing/plucking her feathers out, but I won't scare you with the details as I was a long time ago. I think the avian vet that you might be referring to is Dr. Tommy Blunden, he is one of the best in the country. We take our birds to him if we have any problems or if our birds need check-ups.

 

I'm currently studying to become an animal behaviourist and have completed my bird course. There are a huge amount of reasons why a parrot could be plucking its feathers. Anything from diet, stress, learnt behaviour, medical condition to psychological problems.

But try to cover your bases, check her diet, setup a proper routine, optimize her living conditions aka cage, if possible get her to a vet.
Does the cockatiel also pluck?

You can drop me a pm and I'll be happy to help.

 

My LFS had neons for R6 each, thought that was a good price so grabbed 10.

 

@Coldcat: Not bad we pay between R12 and R15 for a fish here.

 

Yeah they range from R13 to R20 most places here.

 

I now have a veil Ancistrus spawn, just hoping that the eggs are all fertile and hatch. I also have a new Dantum X Peruvian Angel spawn, I just hope that they take care of the eggs, and they seem to be doing so at the moment, so hold thumbs...

That is an awesome price for Neons, trust me I know just how expensive they have become.

 

Neons in bloem are about 25...

 

Pet Stops Neon have been R9 since I know