Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 3 1/2 year old umbrella seems to live for biting a hole in everything he comes in contact with. He leans out as far as he can just to puncture anything he can reach as we walk by a curtain, wall.I really dont think it is boredom as I furnish him with homemade toys as well as store bought. There are never less than 6 in his cage at a time. All textures and colors. we have ropes to preen. Bells to ring, 2x4"s to chew, little cages full of all sorts of thing to pull out and destroy. I I make grab bags for him out of brown bags full of ribbons,foot toys etc. He even loves to destroy ice cream cones. He spends around 4 hours each day out of his cage, snuggling with me or playing with various toys on my kitchen counter. He has brothers & sisters,33 yr old yellow nape amazon,parakeets,love birds,dog and cat to watch and keep him company...Any suggestions?

You could possibly try distraction. If there is a certain time or a cerain area where he is more likely to grab and bite objects try to keep him distracted with a treat or foot toy. If he realizes he gets something fun when he is not chewing this may curb some of it. You can try telling him firmly no and setting him on the floor when he does this kind of like suggested when they bite or nip which may at least make him think before chewing the next time.

As far as completely stopping him from being destructive I would say that is impossible. Cockatoos love chewing up stuff, ripping it up etc. It does not have to be from boredom but just for the pure enjoyment of being destructive. It makes it even more enjoyable if you pitch a fit, holler, dance around trying to get him away from the object he is destroying etc. On the otherhand no more attention paid then a firm no and setting him down may make it less enjoyable.

THANK YOU!