Will being in the same house as snakes cause problems for the bird? NO! Snakes can carry salmonella as I am sure you know this "can" be harmful to birds but as long as you use basic washing, husbandry practices it will not be a problem, that being said if your snakes are loose depending on if they are large snakes or small they can kill or injure a bird (again I am sure you know this)

Will the bird need a companion? A bird is less likely to tame to handling with a companion unless it was already tame in the first place.

Will 30 minutes a day be adequate for a wild bird or would I be better just buying a tame one from a breeder? This will differ from bird to bird but I don't know that it would be enough time. If you can divide up the day and give him several small work times a day it might. If you are planning on just one thirty minute session "most" days it will probably not work well.

Is the fact he will eat apples out of my hand a good indication that I can tame him? It is easier to tame a bird that will take treats by hand but it is no guarantee that it will be easy to tame him or that you will be able to tame him.

I’ve also been getting mixed signals from the internet. Half the articles I read say these birds aren’t good for apartments, the other half says they won’t get me evicted. Okay here goes my opinion. I have worked with quite a few IRNs in fact I currently have two. "some" can be quiet but this seems to be more of a special case then a normal occurance. Even my calm quiet IRNs will at times decide to do a car alarm siren and yes too many of them could get you into trouble with neighbors. I have one male who is the sweetest you could hope for that will just at some random time do the loudest scream to rival with my macaws.

Also, these articles say the birds are messy. All birds are going to be messy it just depends on how much of a mess you can handle and how long you can spend cleaning. They will throw their food they will get poop outside the cage even if you think it impossible, they will make a mess. That being said if you have a seed catcher and can allot at least a small amount of time a day to run a quick vaccuum and change papers you should be good.

Based on what I’ve typed, is this bird an exception to the rule, or are his problems getting lost in the noise and mess of the other birds? I am going to guess it could be a bit of each. One bird amongst many birds will many times seem quieter or better behaved and may or may not continue this when away from the others.

Is this even a good bird species for a first time bird owner? Well taking into consideration some things you have said I am not sure I would suggest it. You admitted to a lack of patience and time and you will need both to work with a wild possibly loud bird. Even if the bird is not noisy it will need work daily multiple times to get used to people, to come out of the cage and get used to being played with but in the end the decision has to be yours not a strangers over the internet, but I would be happy to hear what you decide

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