FINCHforum

Hey guys, I never thought I would actually look to rehome any of my animals, as almost all of them are rescues or adoptions from other people who needed to rehome. However, I hope there is a compassionate heart here who will welcome my male zebra finch Petruchio.

His mate, Roquelaire, was killed yesterday in the most unlikely way. Let me explain the situation. The finches have been living in their own room, adjoined to the bedroom by a door. My bearded dragon lives in our bedroom. I took the top off my bearded dragon's tank to feed him. I didn't put the top back on because my dragon often roams around and I really didn't think much of it. My boyfriend, not thinking much of the tank being open, opened the door to the room where the finches live and let them fly around the bedroom. It is normal for them to fly around the bedroom sometimes. Roquelaire was a sweet and completely oblivious little finch with absolutely no survival instinct. She flew inside the tank with my dragon, even going right up to him, and he grabbed her and tried to eat her. He snapped her neck almost immediately. I heard my boyfriend yelling and ran into the room only to see my precious bird halfway down my dragon's throat, her legs twitching.

I am very distraught. Petruchio would never have gone near the dragon, but Roquelaire, of course, did. I loved that little bird. I previously worked at a Banfield pet hospital where we treated the animals for sale in PetSmart (we were stationed within the store). Banfield employees would often adopt animals from PetSmart who were deemed unfit for sale. Roquelaire had been picked on by the other finches and was missing feathers, so I adopted her. I was so charmed by her little "meep meep" noises...she was my first bird ever. I asked one of the veterinarians I was friends with, a gentleman much older than myself, "She'll live forever, right Doctor? Finches are immortal? TELL ME SHE'LL LIVE FOREVER." And he joked back "Oh yes, they live for forty or fifty years. *wink*" I got Petruchio just for her, because I could tell she wanted another finch for company.

I can't handle Petruchio vocalising alone. As we all know, he can't be alone long-term, and I don't feel comfortable having finches or other small birds in my house anymore. Roquelaire was once caught by my cat who was then a kitten. She just never reacted to anything... Since that brush with death we were extremely diligent about making sure the finch door was ALWAYS shut and checking for cats upon entering and exiting. I never thought she would be killed by a lizard.

I love Petruchio. He is used to living in his own room with a window and a fake tree wherein he built multiple nests. He is not used to living in a tiny cage. I really would love if someone with a finch aviary could take him. I understand this is a lot of rambling, but I am pretty distraught. I'm imagining no finches in that room going "meep meep", not seeing them cuddled together in their nest at night, etc., but if I bring another finch into the house I will be once again committing to them, and I am just too afraid now that I know my bearded dragon, along with the cats, is a danger.

I'm really sorry for rambling, I'm just really upset. She was so sweet and special. I can still hear her little noises in my head. I just wanted to give her a happy life, a way happier life than she had at PetSmart. I understand that my bird's death was in a way my fault, but I honestly never imagined that a bearded dragon would go for a bird, or that either of the birds would go inside the tank with him.

I know finches are just seen as these dime a dozen birds, and that's why I'm afraid of surrendering him to a rescue or something, he's just not going to go to the right place. I want him to go to a finch person. Anyone in or near New Jersey would be good...we can drive a bit to get him to the right place. Attached I have a picture of Petruchio and Roquelaire together, and my favourite picture of Roquelaire. ;^;

So sorry you lost your little girl, I can understand your pain. I hope you find a good home for your little boy, you are correct that he would not do well alone, finches need companions.

PhelanVelvel

Yikes! What a horrible thing to have happened.

Have you considered getting a large flight to house your boy and getting him a friend to hang out with?

Something like... It would offer lots of flying room for two small Zebras and room for fake plants, nest building etc.

PhelanVelvel

I'm sorry about you losing that sweet hen.

I think your boy would be happiest with you and all that space.

Maybe move the reptile cage to another room?

And get that fella a nice new gal. Would be fun to watch him show her "around town".

I certainly understand if you have to give him away.

I agree you should keep your finch and get him a new pair.
All you should do is either getting them a big enough cage to live comfortably without being let out, or if you insist on letting them out, keeping your lizard tank covered whenever you do.
Neither is really hard.

Hey, sorry I didn't respond to you guys yet. I thought I had found someone for him, but I now realise I am not going to find the perfect person I wanted. One person who called me seemed really excited about him, but when I asked for serious confirmation that he would have a mate, plenty of flying time, and space, the person skirted the question with a vague "don't worry, we'll take care of him". They then neglected to contact me on the day they said would work for them to meet, which was my last test as to whether I'd consider giving them Petruchio. I now feel freaked out and like I dodged a bullet. Good thing I didn't go meet them the first day and that they said something came up.

It's not that I want to get rid of Petruchio, just that I would have been happy to see him live in an aviary with a loving caregiver, someone like you guys. Then I could know he would be very happy and I would never have to worry about cats or lizards around tiny finches again. Now that I've kind of calmed down and thought about it, I realise I just have to be careful now that I know my lizard is a danger. I was just mortified when I posted this and was so afraid of allowing it to happen again.

Question is, is there any way of getting him a female without going to a pet store? I don't see any adoptions in New Jersey on Petfinder or Craigslist for a female zebra finch. Anyone know of a breeder in New Jersey? Kind of having a hard time. Maybe one of you here knows someone in NJ or nearby PA?

PhelanVelvel

I'm so glad you decided to keep him! Accidents happen and I know it upset you, but you sound like a great finch owner. Now you're armed with new knowledge. When he get's his new mate, tell us all about the antics and the excitement of introducing the new hen to the wide open.
Not so bad going to a pet store. Compared to the little cages some of them have, your place will be heaven. She will feel like she's been set free.

Babs wrote: PhelanVelvel

I'm so glad you decided to keep him! Accidents happen and I know it upset you, but you sound like a great finch owner. Now you're armed with new knowledge. When he get's his new mate, tell us all about the antics and the excitement of introducing the new hen to the wide open.
Not so bad going to a pet store. Compared to the little cages some of them have, your place will be heaven. She will feel like she's been set free.

I really should have known that I would end up keeping him. I once tried to find a home for a stray cat whom I was taking care of...he ended up staying with me as well. My standards for where I will let my animals go are just sky-high.

I got Petruchio from a pet store, but I'm not too keen on them in general. There is one I can think of I might be okay with, but it's like an hour away. Was sort of hoping there were specialty finch people around or something.

Have you tried hoobly.com or birdbreeders.com. It shouldn't be hard to find a female zebra. Happy to hear you're keeping him.

Try Hoobly.com . There are finch breeders on there.

Can you put a screen door on your finch room? Like having a storm door on your house's front door? If you have the screen door on the inside of the bird room, and the solid door on the outside (so you open solid door, then screen door to get in) then it allows you to see and hear your finches while keeping them safely inside that room, as well as serving as a reminder that, before you open the screen door, you check for hazards like is the lizard covered and has the cat gotten into the room.

We put screen doors on two of our bedrooms in order to keep our cats out of those rooms, without having to keep the doors closed all the time. Works great.

Gracie85

Excellent strategy! ;)

I haven't been able to find any finch breeders in New Jersey...at least not for zebra finches. It's okay. I'll probably just suck it up and get one from a pet store. I'll compromise with myself and go to one of the privately owned bird stores. Lol.

Thanks for the screen idea. I have thought of that, just not sure if I'm going to do the room long-term. Eventually, I think I'd like an aviary/flight of sorts which I could even take outdoors and let them fly out and back again at times, the way I've seen some people do. The mess two finches make in the room is bearable, but if they breed and have offspring I'll definitely want to do something more bird-specific.

What part of New Jersey are you in--north, central, south, coastal or inland? There are a couple finch ads in NJ on hoobly, a whole bunch more in NY, and some in PA as well.