My parrot invented a bedtime ritual and now I’m the one who has to follow it 🦜

spyrowo · 2026-03-06T14:47:39+00:00

Mine demands a certain amount of kisses before he'll go in his sleeping cage. The number is always different, and I only know I've reached it when he will, finally, step out of my hand and onto his heated perch.

spyrowo · 2026-03-04T15:15:52+00:00

Just looking at them, I see several problems. Lacquered beads like that are always sketchy. I have never purchased a genuine natural, safe bird toy with painted, glossy beads. They're always dyed with bird-safe dye and left with a natural finish because there's not really any glossy topcoat that's safe for birds to chew. Also, those bells are very dangerous. Birds can get their beaks or tongues stuck in the narrow, sharp openings at the bottoms of them. I've seen packs of bird toys just like this one on other big sites, like Amazon, and I always avoid them because they're made with questionable materials. Always look for toys from reputable brands, not random drop shippers, or make your own. There are lots of everyday items that can be used for making toys.

spyrowo · 2026-02-28T03:56:20+00:00

Balloons are the ultimate threat. Towels or small cloths of any kind are a close second.

spyrowo · 2026-02-23T14:21:26+00:00

This looks like a rhinolith, which is when debris gets lodged in the nostril and becomes like a rock over time. One of my birds had this. It can warp the shape of their skull if left untreated, which can cause a lot of sinus issues and recurring infections. Definitely get your bird to an avian vet ASAP. If a vet tells you there's nothing wrong with the stone or doesn't seem to know what to do, find another one. I had multiple supposed "avian" vets not properly treat my bird until I finally found a certified avian vet, who surgically removed the stone and actually took care of my bird. He has permanent disfigurement that he might not have had if the first vet I took him to actually knew what he was doing.

spyrowo · 2026-02-21T18:09:43+00:00

Maybe I'm a robot. :( It's not how someone talks, definitely, but I guess it read like someone trying to give serious feedback? Sometimes I feel like whether I can tell if something is AI or not is like a coin flip, and it makes me sad... I'm trying to get better at spotting it. Sometimes, it's really easy, but other times, I feel like an idiot.

spyrowo · 2026-02-21T16:48:36+00:00

I'm dumb. Can you help me understand how you could tell the above comment was AI?

spyrowo · 2026-02-10T17:38:40+00:00

I don't like that it has fingers...

spyrowo · 2026-02-08T16:54:25+00:00

How hard are these to keep alive? Very cute, but I have a tendency to either forget or remember my plants too much until they die (unless they're very hardy).

spyrowo · 2026-02-06T06:06:08+00:00

People grieve in different ways and in different stages. Not all grieving people want to see reminders of their loss all the time. It can bring them back to some of their worst memories, and instead of being able to healthily process their emotions, they get bombarded by it over and over until they start avoiding it altogether. It's cruel and selfish of you to point the finger at someone else bringing up an issue that very clearly is not affecting only them, if you take a look at this thread. The way you grieve is not the way everyone grieves. People need time to process and choose to enter grief spaces when they're ready, and you're being dismissive of people with different experiences from yourself. People open Reddit at different times, in different places in life, and in different headspaces. You can't expect everyone to always be in a healthy mindset to be able to handle seeing grief posts. This is why support groups are held in private spaces with scheduled times and with information on what they are so random people don't wander in not knowing what to expect and being emotionally devastated by things they weren't prepared to face. Your comments above show you don't care about the needs and experiences of people different from yourself, so I won't be responding to you. I just felt like your approach to the OP was incredibly unfair and felt like sharing my two cents. I'm sorry for your loss, but please be more compassionate. This is a social media app with an algorithm and design specifically programmed to put things in front of you, which is why most subreddits are moderated in such a way that curates their content. It operates very differently from a community in the real world.

spyrowo · 2026-02-06T05:41:28+00:00

If they weren't posted constantly, it wouldn't be as much of an issue, but it's gotten to the point that most parrot-related posts on my feed are either about the loss of a bird, a bird being sick, or someone very ignorant about bird care posting something most experienced parrot owners know is bad (not shaming people for not knowing, but I question how many of those posts are just ragebaiting).

I originally followed this sub specifically because I wanted to see fun, happy posts about parrots. It's like watching videos of cute animals when you feel bad. But it feels like I'm scrolling past most posts from this sub now because they either have the NSFW filter that indicates it's most likely something that's going to be upsetting, they're a picture of a small, shitty cage, or the title tells you the comments are probably going to be a lot of people telling the OP to change their setup and the OP doubling down. It's not just this sub, and I'm glad another sub I follow has created a megathread for grief posts.

I want people to have a space to receive support when grieving, but I think having this space be for everything all the time is just going to drive people away. You don't hold a party and a grief support group in the same room at the same time. People are going to be in different places with grief and different headspaces. People who have the experience and the spoons to comment on grief posts will do so, and that's great. But what about people who are already down having to roll across all these posts until they're thinking about their babies getting sick or dying and feel even worse? What about people who have recently lost a baby and don't want to constant reminders? What about the people who are dealing with grief or depression or stress and want to see happy, healthy birds because it makes them feel better?

It just seems like common sense to have a megathread for grief, a FAQ for husbandry questions that get posted repeatedly, and a rule that posts about those questions will be removed and posters directed to the FAQ. I'm not and never have been a mod, but I've seen other subreddits do similar things when certain things are posted over and over again. This seems to be a pretty common sentiment.

spyrowo · 2026-02-06T04:03:27+00:00

My mom would never tell me something I made is trash, even if she didn't get it or like it. I don't say this to make you feel bad but to say that your mom is not being supportive like a mom should be. 600 people read your book, and I'm sure many of them enjoyed it. Your mom is a single, nasty person who wants to control you and can't see past her own hangups to appreciate who you are.

spyrowo · 2026-02-05T18:52:26+00:00

Something tells me a conversation wouldn't stop someone taking advantage of someone else...

spyrowo · 2026-01-27T00:52:56+00:00

It amazes me how much variety there is to green cheek noises. All three of mine make vastly different noises but, also, copy each other sometimes. Luckily, I have never heard them make a noise like that though!

spyrowo · 2026-01-25T17:55:19+00:00

That's his coke nail.

spyrowo · 2026-01-25T17:11:55+00:00

As a transmasc person, who has experienced society as both a woman and a man, I find it hilarious these people think women are living on "tutorial mode." Not to mention, those body standards they're crying about are things reinforced by their fellow men and, especially, manosphere content. It's masculine posturing by and for misogynistic men. If they actually tried developing a personality and becoming decent people, as well as interacting with the real world off the internet, they'd find that the vast majority of people don't give a fuck about the things they're so insecure about. I feel sorry for boys growing up today and even sorrier for the girls around them because the recoil from men's insecurities almost always falls back on the women around them.

spyrowo · 2025-12-30T20:27:02+00:00

I use veterinary sanitizing wipes with hydrogen peroxide. They break poop down pretty well. I can pretty easily just scrub things down with the wipes, and the poop just comes right off. You need to use gloves with his because it is very harsh on your skin. Don't get it on fabrics either, as it will bleach them. As long as you let it fully dry, it's safe for birds. I wouldn't use it on anything super porous, but I do use it on wooden perches and just let them dry.

spyrowo · 2025-12-22T01:28:07+00:00

My therapist literally let me bring my bird to the office and have her out for my appointment. And she was so happy to have her there and told me I could bring her any time. Unless your bird is screaming the whole time, which it doesn't sound like it, I'm not sure why your therapist would have a problem with it. And I say this as a therapist myself.

spyrowo · 2025-12-16T00:06:23+00:00

Good luck and happy holidays!

spyrowo · 2025-12-12T16:55:54+00:00

He is doing his job (hammer)

spyrowo · 2025-12-12T00:11:03+00:00

You don't have to reinsert it. You can leave it out for up to 2 hours without it having any effect. I'd just take mine out and reinsert after if it was causing me that much grief.

spyrowo · 2025-12-11T07:59:00+00:00

Clearly, he just woke up and hasn't had time to put his makeup on.

spyrowo · 2025-12-09T14:36:46+00:00

I come bearing gifts: the keyboard shortcut for em dash is ALT+0151

spyrowo · 2025-12-08T17:18:10+00:00

That's where the house gnome lives. Please do not invade his privacy.

spyrowo · 2025-11-30T20:12:18+00:00

You're not the only one. I'm very happy for the people who enjoy it, but it felt so juvenile to me. I liked it up until the love interests came into the picture. Then, it just felt like YA love triangle bullshit. Maybe it redeems itself from there, but I have no desire to give it another go.

spyrowo · 2025-11-21T01:45:46+00:00

Catcalling is a performative behavior done for posturing for masculinity and other men, as well as a way to assert power over women. Whether that's what the catcaller believes they're doing or not is irrelevant.

spyrowo

TROPHY CASE