Sassy Pepper

[ToadMan]

Now I've never owned any kind of bird before Pepper, the male electus. He came from a horrible pet shop that only kept him in a cage so small that I would only consider keeping finches in. When my girlfriend saw him, she was both sad about his condition, and in love with how much he payed attention to her, so we got him.

I don't know if this is normal behavior, but we have had him for over a year now, and he throws tantrums quite often, For example, when we started to keep the peanuts locked up, because he figured out where we kept them, and would help himself to a midnight snack, and make a mess in the kitchen, he took a metal bowl into our bedroom, and started slamming it around at 3am. Is this normal behavior for this species of bird, or does he just have a great personality? Ether way, we love him, and his attitude.

[Dragonlady2]

I have an eclectus and yes he may throw the odd screaming fit if I take his bells away. He is quite hormonal and he “loves” his bells. They are so intelligent that it doesn’t take long for them to figure things out.
Is there any reason why he isn’t in a cage at night? Does he have a regular routine?

[ToadMan]

Well we allow him access to the whole house, since he is potty rained, and generally well behaved. He mostly sleeps in his cage, until about 5AM, then he does his normal thing where he coos to himself in the living room mirror, until I get up and make coffee. From there he is on his perch watching me play video games or watch TV, he really enjoys anime for some reason, and criminal minds.

[Dragonlady2]

He sounds like a wonderful bird. It might just be about changing things around to change the tantrums. For example, with the peanuts, start a routine that he gets a peanut at a certain time of day and a second peanut later in the day. After a while, he will learn that those are the only two times when he gets a peanut. My birds get a piece of birdy cookie every morning at around 11 am. They are already sitting on their perches at that time waiting. They know that is the only time they get one and don’t scream for more.
With regard to the peanuts, could they be replaced with an almond or piece of walnut? I only say this because peanuts have issues with too much fat and the possibility of mold which could lead to aspergillosis. I wasn’t sure if you were aware of this? I worry with my own flock so we don’t have peanuts. We use almonds, walnuts and popcorn that I season with chili powder and cayenne pepper.

[ToadMan]

Do you think he will take walnuts or almonds? He is very picky, he doesn't like any fruits, and only two vegetables. The first being spinach, and the second is baby carrots, and the only way he eats this is with us sticking it in the bars of his enclosure.

[Dragonlady2]

All my birds get almonds and walnuts, or pieces, and they really like them. My eclectus lives for his walnuts. Have you tried giving Pepper kale leaves. My eclectus gets a large bowl of mixed chopped veggies and fruit daily. I sprinkle sprouts and pumpkin seeds on top. Getting him to try other foods may just be about exposure to them. Another thing my birds like are sweet potato fries. They don’t get them often but they really enjoy them.