anxioustimes
New member
Hello all,
I'm a full time student in college, I work full time and I'm a mommy of three boys under 6. I've always wanted a macaw and my father and I had talked about getting one when I was in high school. However, it never happened as my father was a single father and passed away before he had the chance to own one. I was online one day recently and found Rio. Right now wasn't the best time to find a new family member as my schedule is very tight, however, I couldn't resist him. He was being given up due to "housing conditions." I thought for sure when I was on my way to get him that he had to have something wrong with him as it was too good to be true, however, when I pulled up he was well behaved and let me hold him immediately. The owners had his cage outside and said they had just got done washing it (thought nothing of it as I know cages can get dirty especially if not taken care of). When we got home we set up his cage and let him get adapted but it was late at night so we all went to bed. When we got up the next morning the cage was COVERED in cockaroaches!!!! I know these guys can be the devil to get rid of! I cried, I couldn't help it.... We immediately took the cage outside drilled holes in all the hollow bars and spent two in a half hours spraying it with water running air through it with a air compressor and laid down boric acid and bait traps and thought it would be ok. We called an exterminator but couldn't get them out for a week in a half...... the next morning we got up and there were more, we took the cage to a car wash wrapped it in pallet wrap and bombed it not knowing that pesticides were harmful. We spent another two hours at the car wash washing the cage then brought it home and I literally wiped every bar down with vinegar and lemon water and then wiped it down to dry it..... laid down boric acid around the cage and more bait traps and the exterminator has since come out..... Luckily he advised me that pesticides can be harmful to them and that he would take care of them. He believes that there won't be any issues after he came in but we are going to have him come out one more time.....
I took Rio to the vet he is healthy and fine and we hope the additional residents will be gone very soon. Has anyone else had any problems with bugs and their cages? I've started feeding Rio in the morning before work and then I clean his cage EVERY night.... has anyone had something like this happen and been able to get rid of them all? I have little kids and know they can cause health issues with children.
Also, I'm looking at trying sprouting.... would like some advice/insight.... I have a BLACK thumb and I'm worried I won't be able to pull it off... Has anyone used the sprouting companies and is it really worth it?
Rio LOVES my children, I was so worried that he was going to bite them and that I was going to have to watch him, however, he's been excellent and tries to regurgitate for them all the time ( I will be honest, he's exhausting because I have so much going on but he's so fun to have and my kids love him! He's been a great addition to our home minus the "friends" that came with him.
I'm a full time student in college, I work full time and I'm a mommy of three boys under 6. I've always wanted a macaw and my father and I had talked about getting one when I was in high school. However, it never happened as my father was a single father and passed away before he had the chance to own one. I was online one day recently and found Rio. Right now wasn't the best time to find a new family member as my schedule is very tight, however, I couldn't resist him. He was being given up due to "housing conditions." I thought for sure when I was on my way to get him that he had to have something wrong with him as it was too good to be true, however, when I pulled up he was well behaved and let me hold him immediately. The owners had his cage outside and said they had just got done washing it (thought nothing of it as I know cages can get dirty especially if not taken care of). When we got home we set up his cage and let him get adapted but it was late at night so we all went to bed. When we got up the next morning the cage was COVERED in cockaroaches!!!! I know these guys can be the devil to get rid of! I cried, I couldn't help it.... We immediately took the cage outside drilled holes in all the hollow bars and spent two in a half hours spraying it with water running air through it with a air compressor and laid down boric acid and bait traps and thought it would be ok. We called an exterminator but couldn't get them out for a week in a half...... the next morning we got up and there were more, we took the cage to a car wash wrapped it in pallet wrap and bombed it not knowing that pesticides were harmful. We spent another two hours at the car wash washing the cage then brought it home and I literally wiped every bar down with vinegar and lemon water and then wiped it down to dry it..... laid down boric acid around the cage and more bait traps and the exterminator has since come out..... Luckily he advised me that pesticides can be harmful to them and that he would take care of them. He believes that there won't be any issues after he came in but we are going to have him come out one more time.....
I took Rio to the vet he is healthy and fine and we hope the additional residents will be gone very soon. Has anyone else had any problems with bugs and their cages? I've started feeding Rio in the morning before work and then I clean his cage EVERY night.... has anyone had something like this happen and been able to get rid of them all? I have little kids and know they can cause health issues with children.
Also, I'm looking at trying sprouting.... would like some advice/insight.... I have a BLACK thumb and I'm worried I won't be able to pull it off... Has anyone used the sprouting companies and is it really worth it?
Rio LOVES my children, I was so worried that he was going to bite them and that I was going to have to watch him, however, he's been excellent and tries to regurgitate for them all the time ( I will be honest, he's exhausting because I have so much going on but he's so fun to have and my kids love him! He's been a great addition to our home minus the "friends" that came with him.