HCA: Hermit Crab Association

aussieJJDude wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 29, 2019 5:16 pm

The worst thing you can do is rush things IMO. Its really one step forward, two steps back kinda thing.

If you raise your hands near the cage, does he freak out?

Answer: No, he doesn't freak out or fly out of control, he just usually looks at my hand and then goes back to his bird stuff. He is growing to trust me more than anybody else in the household.

Whats the location of the cage? (How high up is it?)

Answer: The bird cage is on a stand in front of my window. ( I am also wondering if the window makes him scared in any way? Like maybe he feels like he isn't safe because something could sneak up behind him? I will move the cage if you think that this might be affecting him in any way ) The stand that the cage is on is 2 ft. 6 inches tall.

Is the cage large enough (size of cage)?

Answer: The length of the cage is 2 ft. 6 inches, and the height is 1 ft. 6 inches, and the width is 1ft. 6 inches as well. He is the only bird in the cage .

Any pictures of said cage (does it offer him good places to treat if needed)?

Answer: ***I will attach pictures through Tapatalk***

Is his wings clipped?

***Answer: Yes his wings are sadly clipped, all of the birds from the store were out in open containers so the store clipped their wings so they couldn't get loose. I do not ever plan on clipping his wings after they grow back from the pet store clipping.

Has he ever gone out of his cage for a free roam? How did that go?

***Answer: Yes. He has been out of his cage before a few times actually, a few of the times he allowed me to take him out so he could sit on my shoulder (this doesn't happen very often.) He has also flown out of the cage a few times (or drifted out rather, since his wings are clipped) by himself. Usually when he comes out, he just tries to fly and he makes a loud noise that parakeets make when they are trying to call another. There have been a few times that he didn't seem to mind being out of his cage, but he sure was ready to go back in once I carried him back to it.

The best thing you can do is associate your hands with food. Food is comforting, and offers protection. So have you found anything that he salivates over?

Answer: When I do feed him treats millet seems to be my go to, because he usually freaks out about new foods. (Especially if they are in my hand)

Grass seed heads (mine loved grass seed heads and grass), fruit (they would never say no to melons!), sunflowers (be wary, too much sunflowers can contribute to obesity!), millet sprays ect

Thats is going to become your treat. If you have a small bell or one of those dog clicker training items, it would be handy. You can also use your voice, but I ultimately think its better to use something that your voice cant easily replicate incase that sound you use by accident around the house, and the bird doesn't get rewarded.

If your not familiar with clicker training, you're going to get the bird associating the sound with food. So ring the bell (or whatever you have) and you're just going to offer a small trest every time you do so. The cage is closed, and your just going to push it through the bars, since for a bird, the cage is their safe haven.

Over time, (dont rush), begin to open it up. When exactly should you move forward? When the bird is highly receptive of the bell (basically you want the bird to beg for the treat). Gradually you're going to reward the treat closer and closer to your hand up to the point where the bird is a couple of inches away from the hand. At this time, you want to keep all movements slow and steady, and in the general viewing area of the bird. Dont come in from behind, or try to touch it. You're letting the bird do the work here.

Graduate by leaving the food reward right by your finger tips, so he has to come in and grab it. If he is comfortable with that, begin bringing it closer and closer to the middle where the bird would ultimately begin to perch on it. Once he is comfortable with that, allow him out.

Most likely, when he is first out, he will likely fly away. Dont panic and do what I did, where I was 'chasing' it around, as it set me back. Just hold out the treat, ring the bell and see if he comes to you. Most likely he will, as he will would associate you with food. If he doesn't, dont fret. Continue to ring the bell, with the food or leave his cage open, so he can retreat to a safe haven - his cage is his safe haven, and most of my budgies would just fly back to it without any training. You can reward that behaviour if needed.


Once he is flying to you, you can being to associate that with the word come (or a hand signal)


I also dont believe in clipping in wings, as I think its a cruel practise and for birds like budgies, which are prone to obesity, should ultimately be discouraged.

And some may say its beneficial to remove food so he is a little hungry, and he will train faster. I also dont like to do this, but you could prefer to train early in the morning when he is likely not to have eaten or just before you change out his food....


Scuttlecrusty22: I wonder if maybe he is also a little bit skiddish because of the open tank/pen he (and all of the other parakeets as well) were kept in at the petstore. Lots of little kids are always trying to play with the animals, and it annoys me so bad! It makes things a lot harder for the owners of the animals trying to tame them...

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scuttlecrusty22 wrote:The bird cage is on a stand in front of my window. ( I am also wondering if the window makes him scared in any way? Like maybe he feels like he isn't safe because something could sneak up behind him? I will move the cage if you think that this might be affecting him in any way ) The stand that the cage is on is 2 ft. 6 inches tall.

The length of the cage is 2 ft. 6 inches, and the height is 1 ft. 6 inches, and the width is 1ft. 6 inches as well. He is the only bird in the cage .

I will attach pictures through Tapatalk***

Yes his wings are sadly clipped, all of the birds from the store were out in open containers so the store clipped their wings so they couldn't get loose. I do not ever plan on clipping his wings after they grow back from the pet store clipping.

Yes. He has been out of his cage before a few times actually, a few of the times he allowed me to take him out so he could sit on my shoulder (this doesn't happen very often.) He has also flown out of the cage a few times (or drifted out rather, since his wings are clipped) by himself. Usually when he comes out, he just tries to fly and he makes a loud noise that parakeets make when they are trying to call another. There have been a few times that he didn't seem to mind being out of his cage, but he sure was ready to go back in once I carried him back to it.

When I do feed him treats millet seems to be my go to, because he usually freaks out about new foods. (Especially if they are in my hand)

I wonder if maybe he is also a little bit skiddish because of the open tank/pen he (and all of the other parakeets as well) were kept in at the petstore. Lots of little kids are always trying to play with the animals, and it annoys me so bad! It makes things a lot harder for the owners of the animals trying to tame them...

aussieJJDude wrote: One thing I've learnt from books and having kept them. Birds like corners, or a wall. So yes, being open from all sides can be a little stressful - and I agree spot on with what your saying. Consider adding something to cover at least a side and half of the back? In the process, it also founds a good 'hiding area'...

The stand is a appropriate height.... having a bird thats not somewhat elevated can be stressful, since in the wild, to get away from a predator, they'll go up high.

(I'll see if I can add some pics of their environment, so you can see what I'm talking about. While its rather lush, the loose scrub offers them good protection. Keep in mind, they on the bottom of the foodchain, so go them... your a big predator.)

Ahh good. Sometimes cramped quarters can be stressful. that should be fine.
Looks good.
Some things to keep in mind:
The perches:
- Consider orientating the perches from front to back. Doing so, it increases the amount of excise the budgie has, since they have to excert a lot more energy to move from perch to perch.

- consider replacing the perches with natural alternatives. Wooden dowel, while gret to clean, arent good for birds feet since they are only one thickness. Natural perches has texture, and vary in thickness. Good natural perches:
- aussie natives (if you can source them!)
- birch
- elm
- beech
- oak

You want something around a broom stick, but varying in sizesis certainly beneficial. The (thick) rope perches also make good options as well! But over time, it can wear down and expose loose fibres. So keep an eye on it and replace wheb necessary.


- Vertial perches also are a good idea. They enjoy climbing around, and your cage bars are in the wrong orientation to keep then happy. A vertial perch also helps increase/maintain muscle mass, since they will be actively using muscles in their foot/leg region.

But, IMO. The cage looks awesome!
Imo, its a good thing to let them grow back. I know that clipping wings are a controversial topic, but the added option for a bird to escape without issue is a good thing. Plus budgies are little fatties, they gain the pounds quickly and can quickly become obese. Not clipping the wings will make sure he burns off his energy - they fly in large numbers quite a fair distance at a time.....

Of course, the concerns mentioned above are valid. I personally had great success teaching mine that windows are a thing - and that they are solid objects. So windows were never an issue unless its open.

(Some people have glass front cages, and the birds do well in them once they learn, they good to go.

Thats pretty good! Already good progress, further than what I was thinking. He's already come quite far, and if you keep it up

Dont be afraid to experiment a little. A varied diet is good for them, and ensures it maintains healthy bird! they can be a bit picky, but they'll eventual crack....
I remember how stubborn mine were!
Prehaps. But he has been in your care for so long that I doubt its still much of an issue. I may be - most likely - wrong...

But i know what you mean. Seems ti be popular in the US, aussie stores dont clip nor do they keep them in the open pen.

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The Crab Maid wrote:Budgies are buttholes.

Wing clipping can be a temporary thing done during the taming process, you don't have to keep them clipped down the line if you don't want to. It really depends on how comfortable you are with him. But it can be dangerous to have an unclipped bird while taming. Unclipped actually makes them more "dominant" (not sure if that's the right word) which makes them harder to tame.

Birds are fickle. We had one parakeet that took 6 months to tame, and another one that took two weeks. They each have their own personality. They take time to bond. So I know you said 3 months, but you still could have a few more months of work ahead of you easily. Spend time with him, only give him his favorite treats when he sits with you, make sure he has plenty of stimulation (my own conure watches a lot of TV, she likes House because things beep a lot).

That being said, depending on his age the older they are when you get them from a petstore the harder they are to tame as well. This is because they're not given a lot of social time with people, just one another, so they get used to not being handled. Breeders tend to handle their birds a lot from hatching making them a bit easier to deal with.

wodesorel wrote:Please consider keeping his wings clipped! It sounds cruel, but having to chase him around the house if he ever escaped is worse. They can smack into windows and mirrors and kill themselves. We always have so many escaped birds reported to our shelter and to the local pet atore, because they are fast and nimble and shoot right out an open door before their owners even realize they've gotten out of their cage. Birds that have escaped outdoors are almost never recovered.