Oliver seems much less afraid lately! I've been using some advice given here on the forums, and now he doesnt seem so afraid of me.
In the past, whenever I would open his cage door, Oliver would cower and find some place to hide. I would walk in to look at him, and he would stop what he was doing and watch me. I was so afraid I was doing something wrong, because it seemed like he just didnt like me. Turns out, I just wasn't socializing him right!
Today I started actually noticing huge improvements! When I opened his cage door, instead of cowering, he straightened up attentively, as if he was looking to see if I had food. When I was cleaning poo off his leaves, he just keeps watching my hand. Not running away. Given I wasn't cleaning too close to him, but compared to before, this is a huge step! A minute or two later, I put in his crickets, and while me tapping on the dusting cup to get them out scared him a little, he didn't run away at all. And afterwards, he went straight to his cup to eat! He didn't seem to mind me being there at all.
Here's what I've been doing:
*Everyday at 8:45 am, I mist him w/warm water (he seems to like that), and put his dripper on, which drips for about 30-60 minutes.
* At 9:30am I give him his crickets (sometimes in a feeding cup, sometimes free ranged)
* At 2:30pm, I try hand feeding him with his favorite treat (mealworms)
(He hasn't actually eaten out of my hand, but I can tell he is starting to associate the mealworms with my hand. After about 5-6 minutes of holding the worm, I just put it and 1 more in his feeding cup.)
* at 5:30pm I then mist him down again, and set his dripper for a shorter time.
Hope this helps anyone having trouble socializing! I found having a set schedule helped a lot also. If you have and tips for how I can improve, I would love to hear them!
In the past, whenever I would open his cage door, Oliver would cower and find some place to hide. I would walk in to look at him, and he would stop what he was doing and watch me. I was so afraid I was doing something wrong, because it seemed like he just didnt like me. Turns out, I just wasn't socializing him right!
Today I started actually noticing huge improvements! When I opened his cage door, instead of cowering, he straightened up attentively, as if he was looking to see if I had food. When I was cleaning poo off his leaves, he just keeps watching my hand. Not running away. Given I wasn't cleaning too close to him, but compared to before, this is a huge step! A minute or two later, I put in his crickets, and while me tapping on the dusting cup to get them out scared him a little, he didn't run away at all. And afterwards, he went straight to his cup to eat! He didn't seem to mind me being there at all.
Here's what I've been doing:
*Everyday at 8:45 am, I mist him w/warm water (he seems to like that), and put his dripper on, which drips for about 30-60 minutes.
* At 9:30am I give him his crickets (sometimes in a feeding cup, sometimes free ranged)
* At 2:30pm, I try hand feeding him with his favorite treat (mealworms)
(He hasn't actually eaten out of my hand, but I can tell he is starting to associate the mealworms with my hand. After about 5-6 minutes of holding the worm, I just put it and 1 more in his feeding cup.)
* at 5:30pm I then mist him down again, and set his dripper for a shorter time.
Hope this helps anyone having trouble socializing! I found having a set schedule helped a lot also. If you have and tips for how I can improve, I would love to hear them!
