This is a personal choice. Some people remove the grate, some leave it in place. I leave my fids' trays in place because I just don't want to take the chance of them suddenly deciding to go foraging in their poo. I am retired so I clean my fids' cages every evening and cleaning often is not a burden for me. Pga7602 why don't you introduce yourself in the Welcome/Introduction Room so everyone can say Hi.
Today is the 1st anniversary of my becoming a member of the Grey Forums. I really just wanted to thank everyone for helping me learn how to care for my sweet Ana Grey. Everyone has been just great with sharing their knowledge and opinions about our greys. For that I am eternally grateful. Thank you all for making me feel so welcome as a member of this great Grey Family! Janet
Well Ana Grey is a great tracker, she can locate me in whichever room I'm in: the kitchen, bedroom, living room .... she can seek and find me anywhere. So she would be good at search and rescue.
I agree, Rebel probably thought you were ending the game and didn't want you to leave. So you did the right thing. Did you also tell her no bite before you closed up the cage? So she knows what she did wrong. Ana Grey use to call after me when I left the room. I got into the habit of telling her "I'll be back" and she now waits patiently for my return. Perhaps that will work for you too.
Ana Grey has her quieter than usual days too. Just a thought, pehaps Koko saw something or heard something on your walk that she was quietly trying to process and once she worked it out, she was back to her normal self. They are so intelligent so why not???
I hope Skittles can forgive you soon. It is hard to know what is always right for our fids. We can only do the best we can for the ones we love. Don't worry all will be alright.