itsjustnikki

I've always wanted to get one of these for Tango to see what he does during the day when I am not home. I imagine that he doesn't alter his routine too much, but sometimes I wonder if he taunts the dogs when I am at work.

The fur kids enjoying (mostly) the snow from last night Wrex loves snow by itsxjustxnikki, on Flickr Where'd he go? by itsxjustxnikki, on Flickr Dyno by itsxjustxnikki, on Flickr

ZooMed did confirm that it is 5% UVB. But now I have found some other things that say it might be too much UVB for birds. I want to investigate this further because it has piqued my interest. I only asked the vet that I work at (who has birds but isn't boarded). I take Tango to a board certified Avian vet so I am going to talk with her about the different bulbs. I have used the ZooMed for 3 years without a problem, but I don't know if I continue to use it long term will it have a negative effect. I never asked her about specific brands of bulbs, I just kind of went out and bought one.

I got the 20w featherbrite bulb from Bird Paradise in New Jersey. I checked with my vet and she said that the ZooMed 5.0 UVB is the same as 0.05% UVB in the featherbrite bulb, they just state it differently. I tried to email ZooMed to confirm this (mainly because I want to know why there would be such a huge difference.), but I haven't gotten a response.

I ended up getting a featherbrite bulb this time instead of the ZooMed this time. This bulb is way brighter than the ZooMed one and a few dollars cheaper!

I've been teaching him to pick out the color key I say. Not the best pic, it was one handed. _DSC0182.jpg by itsxjustxnikki, on Flickr _DSC0166.jpg by itsxjustxnikki, on Flickr _DSC0164.jpg by itsxjustxnikki, on Flickr

I have a kings cage travel cage. I have the larger of their aluminum ones and Tango does well in it. I use it for when I go on vacation as well so that I don't have to worry about moving his large cage if he is going to stay with someone else while I am away.

Thanks Jayd! Well maybe he should learn to clean the rest of his nest aka my house because he seems to leave a mess everywhere he goes. I didn't realize that was what he was doing. I wonder why he hasn't done it before in front of people. I didn't think it was anything medical because he is acting fine, it was just so weird.

Until tonight I don't think that I have ever seen Tango dig. Does anyone else's Grey do this? He went to the bottom of his cage started ripping the paper and digging at the same time. (I don't have a grate at the bottom) He did this for like 10 minutes and then stopped when my boyfriend started talking to him. I just find it strange that I haven't seen him do this ever before.

I think I got mine on clearance or something I don't remember it being super expensive. No complaints either.

It is time for me to replace the bulb which is why I am asking. I am happy with the lamp stand, it has held up to Tango's abuses. If I happen to accidentally leave it too close to his cage and he can reach it he likes to try to grab it and try to climb on it or let it slam against the wall. So far it hasn't failed, so I don't want to fix what's not broken. So basically I am looking for another CFL bulb to put in there. **I should mention that I have the old style lamp stand that I thought for sure was going to break after like 5 minutes. If you look at the reviews on amazon it gets like 1 star. Maybe I got the 1 out of 100 that isn't going to break, but I have to say I am satisfied!

I was just wondering what brands of full spectrum lighting everyone uses. I currently use the Avian Sun bulb with the floor lamp setup they sell. I am happy with it, but I did notice that there are other options out there so I wanted to get peoples opinions. Thanks.

Glad to hear Timber is not "mad" at you any more. Tango does the same thing to me any time we have to do something he doesn't like.

:DTango needs to make sure that his food is up to par before it makes it to his cage. Plus he likes to "help" with the preparation. And by help I mean take everything and throw it across the kitchen. I swear I need to hire someone to clean up after my bird. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8047/8358962430_df0e87473b_c.jpg' alt='8358962430_df0e87473b_c.jpg'> _DSC0005 by itsxjustxnikki, on Flickr[/img]

I thought the same thing... I can say from experience, just keep positive and keep doing the same thing that you normally do. At first my feelings were hurt that Tango chose my bf, and Tango definitely knew and was aggressive with me. Since I accepted it he has stopped being a "jerk" towards me and lets me pet his head sometimes and cuddle when John isn't home. He prefers John, but will still hang out with me if he has to. lol.

Since I got Tango from petsmart when they used to sell large birds and I worked there he went to work with me all the time so I can take him into a store and not really have to worry. He is fully flighted now, so I don't really take him outside without his cage just in case something does spook him.

I know how frustrating this can be because I experienced something kind of similar with my bird Tango, except I had Tango ever since he was 2 months old and and my boyfriend only came into the picture more recently. I was crushed because Tango was my bird and it really hurt my feelings. For a while he wouldn't let me touch him if John (my boyfriend) was anywhere near him. I couldn't reach into his cage to change his water without him biting me, which was not like him at all. Just so you know, I could do pretty much to him without him biting me before John came in the picture. I decided to let thing run their course after reading other people's stories on here and talking to my veterinarian. I kept going about things normally and dodging bites whenever possible and eventually he stopped being mean to me. It is clear that he still prefers John, but I can't change who my bird wants to bond with.

The first time I took Tango with me overnight some where he paced the whole time. He was used to being in a carrier and going places because he would go to work with me, but this was the first time I had taken him overnight and in an overnight cage. He was all over the place all night and I didn't sleep either. I now have a king's travel cage that is similar to Tango's regular cage for travel and he loves it. (The first cage was a small cage I got from a petstore I used to work at in college.) I started getting him used to by making it a sleeping cage at home in the bedroom so that he didn't associate it with me leaving him somewhere or us going somewhere unfamiliar. Maybe trying this would work for you.

I can't really say whether the panting is from the heart murmur or not because I don't know your bird and I'm not a veterinarian (I'm a veterinary technician) but I would try to limit his exercise as much as possible. Hopefully your vet can work something out with you as far as the financial end is concerned. I know without the echo, there isn't much more they can do because that will give you a better answer. Good luck, I will definitely keep you in my thoughts.

I'm a vet tech and I would definitely recommend getting his wings clipped any at least until you can get further diagnostics done. I don't know how well they explained what exactly a heart murmur is to you, but it could just be a thickening of the valves causing blood to flow in the opposite direction making the murmur sound, or it could be a sign or something more significant. This is why they are recommending an echocardiogram. They probably graded the murmur by loudness, (but loud doesn't always mean bad and quiet doesn't always mean good) Don't get too worked up and think the worst until you can see a cardiologist, it might not as bad as you think. I'm not sure if the practice you go to offers something called Care Credit, its like a credit card but only accepted at places like veterinarians and doctors. They offer 0% interest and extended payment plans for larger bills. It might be something to look into to help.

How adorable!!!!

Tango is next to a window, but also has the AvianSun light. Windows block out most of the helpful UV rays that African Greys need to absorb calcium. I found this out the hard way when Tango had bloodwork done and his calcium was low despite being placed next to a window. If you can take yours outside in warm weather 15 minutes in the sun is equivalent to having the light on all day. Tango loves sitting outside in his "travel condo" as I call it! If you get the Avian Sun light make sure to change the bulb every 6-12 months depending on how frequently you use it. Good luck. EDIT: I forgot to mention, sometimes Tango doesn't like when I add new things to the house. We recently got a new rug for the living room. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but it was. Any time I took him out of the cage he would freak out as we started to walk over the rug. Just a funny side note.

Hello and welcome!

Tango gets nutri-berries, avi-cakes, roudy bush, fresh veggies, some fruits, I will also give him some of what we are having for dinner depending on what it is. He is also addicted to almonds and pine nuts. He gets quite the mix of stuff.

December 28th by itsxjustxnikki, on Flickr