I finally joined a facebook group for mouse owners/breeders. I’m enjoying the extra outlet for infodumping, lol. And I LOVE answering questions about mouse care.
One thing bothers me though… I’ve noticed a number of people with newly purchased pet mice asking very basic care questions, and people who have intentionally gotten their mouse pregnant asking questions about how to take care of the babies. I find this incredibly irresponsible. The first step to owning a pet is researching about their care– BEFORE you so much as set foot in a pet store with the intention of buying the animal. And the first step to breeding is learning about caring for babies, and having necessary supplies in case something goes wrong, long before you put your male and female together.
I feel like if someone posted on a dog group that they walked into a puppy store on a whim and came out with a dog and had NO idea how to care for it, they would probably be chastised for their impulsivity and negligence. Am I wrong on this?
I’m not saying that people can’t ask questions or that they have to be experts on an animal before owning one– much of the knowledge I have about mice is from owning them, not from reading it online– nor am I saying that mistakes are unforgivable. But mice and other small animals are NOT impulse buys, nor are they merely baby factories, and they deserve to be treated as complex creatures needing a level of knowledge of care comparable to dogs and cats.
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“to sentence them to a slow death of starvation, sickness, infection, or exposure; or a quick one of hazards they cannot possibly comprehend or know to avoid; all the while being terrified, confused, and alone”
would a drop of sense, a drop of thought beyond your own selfish feelgoods be too much to ask
Hey! Thank you so much for your response to my post about my aunts cockatiel, you were very helpful/informative! I was just so scared because he was so trusting of me, and he was getting human contact for the first time in forever; I was afraid that when I put him back and he became withdrawn I destroyed all that :( his cage is actually pretty large but he's so ALONE. I'm the only one that takes time out to talk and (try to) play with him. Do you have anymore advice on how to help take him?
Aah, sorry this took me a while to get back to!
-- I don’t know how much you can do, honestly. If your aunt doesn’t understand, then there might not be much. You can socialize with him as much as you can, and let him out as much as possible -- if it’s possible, maybe get him some toys to switch in and out, or new perches, so at least he has some stimulation when he is locked in his cage?
I don’t know how big the cage is, but you might be able to talk your aunt into getting him a flight cage, which would be a lot better for him -- but those take up a lot of space and are quite expensive (plus maintenance, and everything), so that might not be an option.
Food, too -- if he’s on an all- or mostly-seed diet, you can try to get him some peppers, or broccoli; any of the fruits and veg on this list (I don’t know why they have meat on there -- while cockatiels technically can eat meat, it’s really not great for them and not a part of their diet in the wild). This might not help with taming, but it’ll help with his health & nutrition.
Like I said, I don’t know what your situation is like; don’t feel bad if you can’t do all of these (or can’t do them often). He isn’t your bird (although honestly it seems like he should be; poor little guy), and there’s only so much you can do. If you can improve his quality of life even a little, that’s still an improvement. :)
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What you see online does not portray what animal ownership is really like
Pet ownership online is extremely glorified, every time you see a goofy little pet your initial instinct is to scream "I want one!" because it's cute and doesn't seem that difficult to care for.
What is posted on Tumblr and other networks does not accurately display what it's like really working with these animals on a daily basis.
Here's a few personal examples:
Online: "All the birds online do this, it must be a common behaviour, they all must love it! I want a bird so I can do this!"
Reality: Months of refusing human contact, seldom wanting to be around people, every moment of my free time spent training and working to create a positive bond where she would then allow me to do this, not all birds like being touched, there's never a guarantee they would learn to like it
Online: "Wow this is neat, I want a bird so I can do this, I would look really cool!"
Reality: Years of setting up a good diet, years of basic training, years of trust building, her refusing to cooperate, lack of training interest, struggling to get her back on track, months of learning the concept, making sure the right muscles develop properly, feeding a diet to help muscle development, training her so she flies correctly without harming herself, gaining her confidence so she takes off on her own,
Online: "I want a bird so I can take it out for walks and show off!"
Reality: Months of getting used to the harness, learning to put on the harness, learning to be comfortable with the harness on, getting her used to the outdoors, climate adjustments, watching her behaviours, making sure every outdoor experience is a good one, months of recall training and trust building so if something goes wrong there's a better chance of her coming back.
Online: "Aw they're so cute I want them!"
Reality: Introducing them properly, making every encounter positive, weeks of quarantine, making sure they get used to each-other over the course of a few months, setting up multiple food bowls, eliminating aggression that occurred, spending a lot of time trying to figure out what they're fighting over, solving the problems, there's no guarantee two birds will ever get along
Online: "wow what a pretty blue! I want a blue bird, it's such a cool colour!"
Reality: Trying to set up a proper diet, refusing to eat vegetables, developing fatty liver disease, feather pigmentation faded, spent several months trying to convert her on to a fresh food diet, running out of ways to serve foods so she'll eat it, finally converting her, struggling to convert her on to pellets, spending every single present day working to feed this picky eater, spending hours preparing meals just so she will be healthy
Online: "wow those feather sure are pretty! I want a bird to be flighted so it can fly to me on command!"
Reality: Years of proper training, setting her up on the right path, making sure to exercise certain muscles so she can control her flight, bird proofing the entire house, having loads of safety precautions put in place, doing training to exercise her brain so the reactions develop properly, putting obstacles in the way so she learns to maneuver, flight training so she has the strength to fly against winds if she ever escapes, recall training in case anything goes wrong, working to build confidence in her flight abilities, daily flight sessions so she continues to build muscle.
That doesn't even include all the cage cleaning, expenses, socialization, stimulation and day to day care these little birds need.
Almost everything online is glorified to some extent, if you see something you think is cute or that you would like one in the future please research it! Get hands on experience and learn about them, there's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes that you may think.
Birds are often discredited for being small and unpopular pets, but most people don’t realize they can be just as interactive as dogs. My nuggets will chirp for food, fly to me from across the room if they’re lonely, climb all over me whilst begging for scratches, and hang out on my shoulders or on the couch simply because they enjoy my presence. They have huge personalities that you simply can’t ignore.