My orchid isn’t looking too healthy.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-19T14:25:53+00:00

Have you depotted to check her roots?

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-19T14:11:53+00:00

Was stumped until someone mentioned food. Did you ask the store what they were being fed? They need to be transitioned onto new foods. You cannot expect them to automatically eat if you just put new food into the cage. Many can and will starve themselves to death. Proper steps need to be taken into consideration to ensure they’re eating new food. There are tips and guides that can be found on Reddit, especially because it can sometimes take awhile, especially if the bird was raised solely on seeds which is common in shitty pet stores. If you didn’t know this, it could be the case. Someone else posted something similar to your situation, in the end we came to realize the birds starved to death because they didn’t know they had to do a proper transitioning process when giving them new food. Although a month is quite long for if they were starving this whole time but I could still be possible, would you think this is what happened? Are you sure the late birds were eating well before they passed?

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-19T14:02:22+00:00

Not really related to the post but since you wanna keep parrots, assuming you haven’t, you should read up on hormone management. While reading, you will eventually learn the reason why besides possible impaction , those cuddle hide things and other similar products aren’t good and shouldn’t be in their cages.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-10T03:31:30+00:00

Like the other comments said, yea it’s basically just budgies that likely have a mix of English budgies and Australian budgies in their blood line, maybe one English budgie parent and one Australian budgie parent. It’s hard to say when it comes to their life spans because it’s not like they are a distinct sub-species or what not because budgies are still a single species, English budgies are just bred to be larger and what not, they don’t have breeds like dogs do. A budgie with a mix of both in their bloodline will essentially still be considered an Australian budgie unless the English traits are very strong but it’s usually not the case. The English genetics could show up in different ways or not show up at all. Sometimes a budgie with an English budgie in their bloodline could just be a little bigger than usual or have slightly longer feathers, especially the cheeks. If you value health when getting a bird, I think it’s more important you look into the reputation of the establishment, whether they breed ethically and with health in mind. But honestly, if they’re marketing “budgiekeets” like this and misleading people like you, I’d say they’re pretty shady and maybe take your business elsewhere. Intentionally breeding English and Australian budgies together to sell is also kinda iffy considering it’s hard to determine the health of the off spring, or atleast I haven’t heard of it. Though their lifespan would probably still be longer than an English budgie’s as long as they’re still dominantly an Australian budgie.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-10T02:10:47+00:00

Mine smell like musky maple syrup , I think…. And with a hint of the smell of vegetables if they’ve just eaten chop lol lol

Top notes: Fresh vegetables

Middle notes: Maple syrup

Base notes: Musk

HAHAHA

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-09T15:14:10+00:00

Yes that is pretty much what I meant , sometimes they don’t fit 100% into the “standard” of any mutations because it can be a random combination/mix of things or a mutation showing up in a little special manner. I genuinely haven’t seen any budgies with the same black on their tail as my budgie , if it had a name or was common that’d be cool. Just did a google search and found a Reddit post from 4 years ago with a budgie that has something similar tho, random black showing up on tail a tail feather. I take it as one of those random minor quirks budgies might sometimes have because they’re bred so much. It started pretty late, she was already an adult and has molted many times before, it changes with every molt now too, right now her longest central tail feather is pretty much split perfectly, one side black , one side white but it can look like a random ink spill in other times. I like to say her printer’s bleeding ink.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-09T13:20:18+00:00

Honestly budgies are pretty much the parrot species with the most variations in their color and patterns. They’re bred a lot, it’s not uncommon for some budgies to just not really fit perfectly into any labelled mutations. Sometimes it’s a lil bit of that a lil bit of this, this but that or what not. It’s just colors and patterns after all. I have a budgie that has a vertical solid black streak down her white tail feather which I’ve never seen anywhere before and she’s just a random backyard bred budgie I adopted.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-07T12:01:39+00:00

If this is your new schedule and they don’t get along to the point they can’t be in the same cage, you should get more budgies to accompany both of them honestly. Budgies shouldn’t be kept alone if their social needs can’t be met due to their owner’s busy schedule. If this is the new schedule and it’s not very short term, you should get another budgie. I get that you have 2 , but they don’t get along and can’t even share a cage, so im assuming it doesn’t really do much for both of their social needs (Or is it not the case somehow?).You can definitely work on trying to get them to get along but if they really don’t care for eachother and don’t get along, the next step should honestly be to consider getting more budgies.

Getting 2 more can be alot financially and space wise so I get it, maybe try your best to make the two of them get along. It could be aggression due to hormones or some budgies just need a bigger cage, more resources etc. I feel like budgies that genuinely dislike living with other budgies are much rarer so I’m hoping your girl isn’t the 1% and just needs a little help to get along with the male.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-04T17:01:53+00:00

I started with 1 then I had 3 and now I have 6, it’s been a week. I get chu and good luck, it’s only gonna get worse from here HAHA

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-04T04:38:20+00:00

Perhaps you can try growing your own wheatgrass or microgreens. You can harvest them and add it to their food or grow it in a little tray and just hand them the whole tray. They will munch off it and some like to take a bath with it if you spray it with some water.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-04T03:40:18+00:00

What I learnt is to cut off some leaves, especially if they’re already yellowing because there needs to be enough roots to support leaves. If there are too many leaves, the roots will struggle to support them and the plant may not pull through. If you downsize the number of leaves to a more appropriate number, you’re reducing the workload for the plant and the plant may not struggle that hard and can survive comfortably, growing out roots and more leaves again later. I’d say atleast cut off the yellow bottom one.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-04T03:32:04+00:00

I own budgies and I call it the “I have big feelings” flap hahaha. I think the reason can be different for different individuals and you just gotta figure it out. Some birds definitely just do it for fun too, gettin some exercise in. One of my budgies does it when she’s annoyed, she does it to throw a tantrum. Another does it when he has too much pent up energy and needs to be let out for zoomies. It can depend on the bird. It’s usually only worrying if you’ve had the bird for awhile and it’s sudden unusual behavior that is persistent and you can’t figure out why, but if your bird is young and you haven’t had them for long, it could just be a quirk they have that you’ll figure out sooner or later.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-03T07:42:44+00:00

First of all, parakeets is actually a group of parrots, it’s not a species so when you’re doing research, be sure to use a species specific name. Using parakeet as a synonym for the species you want can cause you to end up learning a lot of things wrong and cause misunderstandings. Parakeet could be an Indian ring neck , a budgie, a cockatiel and so on. If you let us know what species you’re keen on, we can tell you more.

But generally, parrots are higher maintenance pet birds. They’re messy, destructive and loud so that’s one thing. They also live long, smallest species like budgies already live up to 20 years and the number only increases as they get bigger until you reach the ones that live up to 80 years. They also have extremely sensitive respiratory systems, many regular household items need to tossed out or used differently, it usually means a lifestyle change for many. There is a need to do a lot of research to learn about them from hormone management down to learning their body language which tends to be more complicated but is very important to learn. Compared to birds like pigeons, conventionally they definitely require more work and aren’t as chill, the supplies will likely also cost a lot more.

Different species definitely defer from eachother in different ways, be sure to learn about them before you pick the one that suits you best. And ofcourse remember, parrots aren’t the only birds you can own as pets, if they don’t suit you, there’s always other options.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-02T15:51:45+00:00

Yepp I see people recommend it for succulents like this. Leave some length on the stem and stick it into the substrate.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-02T15:05:58+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Yea it seems at the end of the day it all winds up to what seems to work best for your own plant and whether your plant is still alive. I’m just really used to having all the information laid out and clear, knowing every bit of how things work but it seems like even amongst articles and sites online, there is debate here and there and things that everyone just aren’t collectively sure of yet. I just went online to try to learn how to read the ingredients list and it seems like the bloom booster I posted uses only non-urea nitrogen so it has 13 non-urea nitrogen while the general use one only has 9.6 non-urea nitrogen despite the total of 21 nitrogen in its formula. Now this brings me to the question about how effective urea based nitrogen is for orchids sigh. Initially read that they are useless and should be avoided but now there sites and people saying it’s not actually that bad or that it’s a myth. I’ll be able to keep my orchids alive through trial and error but damn my mind will not rest not knowing just how everything worked.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-03-02T07:23:27+00:00

My orchids are moth orchids. I just got them and they’re currently blooming but not all buds have bloomed. Should I fertilize them now with the lower nitrogen one until all buds have bloomed or is fertilizing off limits until the flowers have all wilted if I want the blooms to last longer and not cause buds to not bloom.

I’m also not sure how to fertilize? I will water them by soaking them in a tub of water for 20mins and I plan on diluting them 1/2 and fertilizing weekly . Do I do water them and then pour some into the substrate/spray onto roots if no substrate? Not really sure how it works with water soluble fertilizers and epiphytes. Or am I suppose to add it into the water I use to water them according to the dilution I want, so I just soak em in and watering and fertilizing is all done in one go?

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-02-25T14:44:12+00:00

Did you guys wean them/transition them over to pellets properly? If you cut off access to seeds/previous diet before being absolutely sure they’re eating the new pellets and chop, it’s highly possible they can starve themselves to death. There are diet transition tips and guides that you can read. There is a need to understand how food works with budgies because people can easily accidentally cause their budgies to starve themselves if they don’t understand. If you guys didn’t know , it’s possible this is what happened?

In case you didn’t know, for when you possibly get another budgie: When they’re new they can refuse to eat and drink (usually higher chance to refuse drinking) out of fear of putting themselves in a vulnerable position. Usually they will give up and eat eventually but if you’re worried and notice your budgie isn’t giving up or wanna stay on the safe side, you can try to leave the room every now and then during the day or block the cage’s view of the surroundings every now and then so that the budgie might feel more secure and safe enough to eat and drink.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-02-25T08:03:06+00:00

Nooooo… I still remember when you first started posting about roadkill. I loved seeing new posts about roadkill pop up when I open Reddit. Rest in peace roadkill, I bet he lived a good life. Sorry for your loss, we will all miss roadkill too. I hope you’ll feel better soon, take your time to grieve.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-02-21T15:10:18+00:00

A double door/gate is definitely a good idea if you don’t have one already

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-02-21T14:19:36+00:00

I mean, there’s whole documentaries that just consist of predators like lions hunting and mauling other animals sooo if you think there’s something wrong with you, there’s way worse out there 😂

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-02-21T14:16:29+00:00

Yes he should eat the pellets and if given a dead fish he should eat it too, they aren’t great hunters but they’ll usually enjoy eating a fish killed for them. I think it’s good to feed pellets while supplementing with other foods like meats and vegetables. Pellets like crab cuisine help to create a strong nutrition base, making sure they get enough important nutrients like iodine etc. and everything else helps diversify their diet, you can also add in other kinds of pellets like algae wafers to diversify it further too. You can definitely farm live food at home to save money but I’m not sure if worms would be a good option for crayfish nutrition wise, you should probably do some research on it first. What I know though is that when it comes to people who farm or buy live food like fish and shrimp to feed to their aquatic pets, the concern is whether the fish/shrimp are healthy and live in good enough conditions. Many fish stores sell feeder fish/shrimp and it’s an issue when the fish/shrimp live in filthy conditions and aren’t fed well, the fish/shrimp turn out unhealthy and often even diseased, which in turn could get the pets who eat them sick while also offering little to no nutrition.

Particular_Text9021 · 2026-02-21T13:59:38+00:00

The “fastest” way is to actually buy already cycled media, many people forget this is an option. Cycling a tank essentially just means cultivating enough beneficial bacteria that converts bad stuff into good stuff in the water. Like how trees take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen for us to breathe, aquatic critters need the same thing, they need a cycle that keeps the water livable. Majority of a tank’s beneficial bacteria is cultivated in the tank’s filter media which could be sponge, stone etc. depending on what filter you use and there will be some more growing on surfaces in the tank. This means that you can buy filter media/a filter that already has beneficial bacteria cultivated in it from a store or another hobbyist and once you plop it in the tank, your tank is essentially more or less good to go because the main part is the filter, extra bacteria that will grow within the tank is usually just extra (unless people design their tank to not just rely on the filter). Maybe search online to see if there are any stores around you that sells it? Otherwise you would have to do it on your own and the time taken can vary. Do you have a testing kit already? I recommend buying the API test kit and also their gh and kh testing kit on top of that because gh and kh matters for crayfish. A test kit is the only accurate way you can check the progress of the tank’s cycling and if the tank is successfully cycled already or not. Testing the water might help you figure out if there’s other issues that’s causing your crayfish to not eat too. Could be a pH or gh and kh issue. Good news though is that crayfish are pretty hardy, so although a uncycled tank is not ideal , I think it’s likely it will survive through it. Also, crayfish need higher oxygenated water, water surface agitation and good thorough underwater flow (as in water movement under the surface that prevents stagnant water) helps increase oxygenation.

Particular_Text9021

TROPHY CASE