Hello ( From Ohio, USA )

[BmDubb]

Hello,
My name is Matt. I recently got my first Indian Ringneck ( Blue ). He is 2 years old. The people I got him from didn't give him the proper attention, but he's got a friendly personality and I think he will be easily trained. I'm not experienced when it comes to birds, though I have lots of experience in reptiles ( from small corn snakes up to 18ft Reticulated pythons ), Sugar Gliders, and other exotics. I once fostered a McCaw that was pure evil, but thats the extent of my bird experience ( And, I hunt Morning Dove and Waterfowl, and Upland birds like pheasant lol ).. Anyways, I am in love with this guy ( Yes, male w/ fresh ring ). And Im hoping to spend a long time with him. I am in the process of converting my 4ft (wide) x 3ft (deep) 8ft ( high ) closet into a habitat for him.

Well.. Hope to talk soon

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Matt

Welcome to the forum.

The closet conversion sounds interesting... would love to see pics of it when it's done. Will the bird get enough light in there?

Ellie.

[BmDubb]

I have lighting in the closet. 1 fluorescent tube recessed in the ceiling and 2 caged lamps attached to the sides ( 1 on each side ). It is VERY well light. ( At night time I will run a black light bulb to imitate moonlight ( like I do for my reptiles.. but I do it for them for heat )

[ellieelectrons]

I'm not an expert on this... but I thought natural light would be important? ... but maybe I'm wrong. What do others think?

Ellie.

[BmDubb]

He will have natural light when hes out in our bay window or in the cage outside when its warm enough. But, other than that it will be my lighting.

A lot of animals and reptiles ( my expertise ) need the suns UV light for different reasons. This can be imitated ( though no duplicated ) through a UV( A / B ) bulb. I've been raising and breeding reptiles for years and have always done this. I can't wait for it to start warming up again outside so he can chill in the backyard in the cage I built for my Iguana ( 6 ft high x 5ft wide and 5ft deep, all screen and PVC )

[pinkdevil]

Hi Matt, welcome aboard.

[daniele]

I'm not an expert on this... but I thought natural light would be important? ... but maybe I'm wrong. What do others think?

Ellie.

I know! I read that and I was like.. a closet.. what the.. ? No. I'm not down with that at all.

I've only had my birds for a couple of weeks and I'm a total novice who definitely is not here to judge but hopefully learn as much as I can.. but.. I wouldn't take the knowledge I had learnt raising reptiles and then apply that to my bird. That's whack!

I'm sure there are people out there who manage it successfully but my first thought was wouldn't it smell really bad?? When we first got our birds home I left the box that they travelled in sitting in the lounge room overnight and when I walked out the next morning the whole house stunk and that was from just one little box!

I agree with Ellie but you know.. maybe it's really cold where you are and you need to house your IRN indoors so that the precious little thing can stay warm and that's all good too. Personally, I want my birds to enjoy the same things in life that I do which is plenty of fresh air and sunshine.. but I do live in Perth where we have both those things in abundance so I'm lucky!

[BmDubb]

Yeah, this time of year it's a no go for any outside time lol. Right now its about 30 degrees and in a couple weeks it will start getting down into the teens. So, I'm sure he'd rather be indoors, warm with artificial light than freezing to death under the sun lol.

[kyria]

Welcome to the family .

I am trying to imagine how the closet thing will work ..

cleaning difficulties - all parrots make a total mess when they eat, as most parrots have predominantly fresh fruit and vegis, and seeds secondary, there will be alot of drop and shake, and alot of poop

smells
ventilation - a big issue I would think
light
accessibility
lack of climb area ie: the birds love to climb and hang from their cage bars
the enclosed feeling the bird will have, not having 360 views ?
places to hang or string play toys and equipment (which they all like in their cages) and food bowls

just to name a few things i can think of off hand, to consider.

Definatly, if you try it, post pics and please feed back how you get along, if its not ideal it won't take much to go out and get a cage anyway

Cheers !

[BmDubb]

The closet is vented ( It was going to be setup for my large Iguana ). I put tile down on the bottom, and I put Puppy Pads ( for puppies to use the potty on ) down on the ground. Its doing a great job catching 100% of the mess that falls on the ground. I simply throw the pad away every couple days and put in a new one.. Its very clean in there. He stays occupied from all the climbing toys. fake plants and perches I've installed. He loves it.. since I moved him in there, he has become WAY more vocal and meows and says hello. He seems way happier than he was in his little bird cage lol. Ill post pics soon

[ellieelectrons]

From what you are saying, it sounds like it's really good... I think we all have pictures in our mind of what it's like... but we haven't actually seen it.... so our opinions may be wrong... It sounds really interesting, love to see the pics!

Ellie.

[BmDubb]

My cell phone stopped working today, and Im going to pick up a new one at the Sprint store tomorrow, and I will get pictures.

[kyria]

Cant wait to see them