I have an aviary cage about the size of a walk in closet with 5 budgies, and they had and loved one those huge cotton rope hanging toys. A few months ago one of the cotton threads looped around Bunny's neck, effectively hanging her. I assume she started thrashing because the other budgies, bless the little bastards, started shrieking an alarm call (wildly different from their usual chatter) that I heard all the way from downstairs. I went up and saw her hanging, motionless at that point, and had to hold her up in my hands while shouting for someone to get me scissors. Took us 3 minutes to cut her free. She was incredibly weak, but thanks to her flockmates she made it. 1000% remove these toys from your cage- they had that toy for 5 years without prior incident. The accident will be random and without any warning. Don't be an idiot like me!

On the cotton rope note, be careful about what kind of blankets you use to cover your cage. We used cotton blankets and our budgies would chew it up. One of them got their leg tangled in the strands. We had to rush her to the vet because the circulation was cut off and her leg was turning colors. Fortunately, she didn't lose the leg. Lost a couple of toes though.

I have a hamster and there are also ALOT of unsafe products out there. Like Pine and cedar, small cages, mesh wheels and small wheels, scented or dyed sands, etc.

I never got a mirror, but my budgie is alone (no budgie friends, I constantly interact with him though) and without my knowing actually slowly and subtly became mirror obsessed anyway. When I thought he was sunbathing at my window, he was actually interacting with his reflection in the glass. When I smiled at how he would land on my head while I was changing, he was actually trying to catch himself in my wardrobe mirror. When I thought he was visiting me while I was working on my laptop and playing in the keys, he was actually interested in the black reflective rim bordering the screen. When I let him wander around the floor, instead of playing with the toys he was actually talking to himself with my chrome trashcan. When I thought my budgie was roaming around the top of his cage, he was playing with his reflection in the reflective rim of my TV. I realized that when he started getting more aggressive, interacting with me less and less and wouldn't even eat bc he was too busy playing with what I thought were harmless items. I've tried so hard to train him, get him a big cage that I clean routinely, change out the layout and toys, but he never was interested in the multiple cage layouts and toys which really fucking discouraged me because I worked for hours over months doing all my research and working so hard, and he still wound up like this anyway. I had a mental breakdown when I realized it. I tried covering everything with paper towels, and not only does it make my room look trashy but he actually tries to climb the paper towels to catch glimpses of himself anyway and I have to pry him away and stuff him in his cage to get him to stop.. it's just devastating. I just want him to be happy and I want my room to not look like a sty. I'm gonna get him a new budgie friend asap, so wish me luck.... *Edit:* Thank you for your interest! I got two more budgies last month, and while my original bird still seeks out mirrors, he is also better than he was and will interact with all of his real flockmates, myself included. He's even taken to giving me occasional "kisses" where he'll press his beak against my cheek or below my nose and make kissing sounds. I worry for one of the new birds, because his breeder keeps insisting that he's okay even though I see him fluffed up much of the day, but I make sure he's fed and that his weight is consistent and check for other illness signs, and he is otherwise doing OK so far. I still have to make my room look trashy when I let my birds fly, but I've gotten used to it and will put him back in his cage with his friends if I really want things to look neat. They enjoy bi-weekly baths, invading my food when I'm trying to eat, tearing apart rattan and wood toys, and socializing on top of my curtain rods.

The issues with cotton rope isnt talked about enough. Seriously guys, sisal, coconut, hemp, etc. all of those are safer to ingest if they have no oils and such. You can always take the cotton rope off the rope perches and toys and replace it with safer stuff.

The thing with the mirrors sounds like something from a horror novel. I can easily picture a “The Bird Trapped In A Mirror” short horror story... someone should make that. It’s really a horrible thing for a bird to go through, but describing it as then being obsessed with the mirror sounds a lot like a horror novel.

For the locks, you could always get a metal file and really scuff up the shiny part with it, then sand paper it down to make it matte :)

Another thing about the happy Hut is that in some cases they're made out of fake fur fake Furs essentially just plastic which if your bird goes to tear apart at it they are releasing little plastic fibers which is not only dangerous for them but is dangerous for you

I use to have two love birds. They sang to me. I was in love with them. They already were 20 years old when I got them. They passed a day a part from old age. The female laid eggs a week before she passed. They also were passed on to several owners before I took them in. I wanted to give them the best life ever before they got older. I will never forget them. Their names were Boo-boo and Babs Bunny. I use to wake up at 3 am to beautiful bird music and drink tea while playing with them. I am a early riser so I loved having their company in the morning. I never left them alone. They were traumatized from being passed around so they needed peace and love. My mom's dog even respected them he never went into the room and he waited for me to come out. My mom was an animal lover and trained our dog. I think she passed he animal training skills onto me. I have always been good around animals. 👍❤️

I didn't know about this mirror thing :( my bird spend almost all day in front of the mirror in my room bc I thought that he liked it... I feel so bad now :( never gonna let him live like that again

It is honestly pretty annoying when you go to the pet store and find a great toy for your bird but it has a mirror on it. I wished birds store didn't include a mirror in most of the bird toys.

I feel an important video she should make would be one touching up on letting people know how bad cuddling and body touches can be on birds. I feel that it seems harmless, so too many people do it, but a friendly reminder should be good

I recommend covering your lock in vet tape! It won’t be reflective and your beautiful cockatiel won’t be able to obsess over itself.

Mirrors are a thing because when owners don't want to buy two birds but at the same time they don't really want their birds to be lonely they just put a mirror in their cage.

The one dislike is petsmart :)

Oh dang, I used to have a mirror toy for my two cockatiels.

The mom of my boyfriend has a really terrible budgie cage It's way too small and they get to eat millet all the time and there's plastic toys and of course there has to be a mirror... They are kept in the kitchen which can be very dangerous to several reasons Ohh and they also own cats :)))) So it's basically a hell for budgies

Yes, a lot of things that are sold for pets actually aren't good for them and I feel like not enough people talk about it.

Love your informational yet very entertaining videos!!!!

idk if this would work, but for the lock reflection problem you could try attacking it with sandpaper to scratch it up and dull the reflective surface? idk how clear his reflection has to be for him to interact with it tho You could also try a patterned transfer like the sort you can get for house keys, but idk if they'd be able to chip that off

to change the Lock you could try sanding it and scratching it up so he can't see his reflection in it

I'm not sure how good of a suggestion this is but you might be able to cut some of the vet tape up to fit around the lock so that it's not showing the reflection :0

Used to have a rescue homer. Had a mirror and a cotton toy. So glad nothing ever happened. Bought the mirror at a pet store because an employee recommended it for birds (they were always baffled when I asked for pigeon supplies lol) but he never even looked at it. I don't believe pigeons are in any danger from them since they can self recognize but it's good to know all the same. Pulled the cotton out on my own after a week once I had read up on it.

Off topic, but I like your shirt :3 It’s cute

Me imagining a bird looking at mirror like: "bloody marry, bloody marry, bloody marry!"

Your hair matches Yuki (Thank you people in the replies)

For the reflective lock, you might try some method to rough it up. Whether it's aluminium oxide sandpaper or using a steel brush, it shouldn't be reflective enough to see a reflection if it isn't smooth.

For the shiny lock problem: You could grab a rough gritty sandpaper and try scratching it up till it has a matte finish? I don't imagine the lock is made of a very hard metal.

I still have a mirror toy in my budgie cage only after I peeled the mirror stickers off (it wasn't actual glass, which I was grateful for lol) because one of my budgies really liked to sleep on top of it for some reason. I didn't want to take away his bed, so I took away the only real problem with it lmao

~ I have two Budgies. Sky and Luna. ~ *MIRRORS:* We have the type of metal type mirror that has a bell at the bottom, Me and my Mother got it. They don't pay attention to the mirror and the bell. They dont care about the mirror though. *THE ROPE THINGY-?:* We dont have a rope so skip this one-😀 *HAPPY HUTS:* I have a green one. The birds dont even touch it. I will take it out after this video. thanks for the help Soda! *WOOD POPCICLE STICKS:* Uh i dont have any but we have these little tube shaped things for the birds to sit on(They normally sit on it) I hope that is fine with them :D Thank you for the help Soda! I watched your videos when i was just little kid! Im so happy i stayed with your channel because you helped me out so much! Thank you for helping me and all your subscribers with these bird products we should/shouldn't use!

OML YOU POSTED ON MY BIRTHDAY ILY

i wish i had been warned about mirrors sooner, my budgie who we rescued came with a cage that had a mirror and nothing in the books etc i had read said dont give them a mirror so i assumed it was good for him to have because he was a single lone budgie and had no bird friends. he was a nightmare to look after, hated people, would talk to the mirror non stop and attack it. as well as the fake plastic bird in his cage. Once someone toldme to remove those, hes a totally different bird. why do pet stores even sell these things seriously.

I want to get a mirror for my rabbit but I’m scared the same thing will happen because they also think they’re reflection is another rabbit :/

Omg girl I never though that mirrors would be bad for my bird oml thanks girl now I will be more carefull

Me trying to watch the video My cockatiel:I am going to sing, talk and scream so you can’t hear😈 I love my baby❤️

6:22 What a cute yawn!

my birds went crazy when they heard your bird-

I love learning more about toy and cage safety because I can then give that information to pet parents I sell pet products too. In my country choke collars, prong collars, bark/zap collars, .5 and 1 gallon bowls. I always steer people away from those and explain the risks and how, even though we sell them, they are cruel and dangerous.

i have been w ur channel since i was 9 or 10 years old and i’m 17 now. that’s crazy

Me who is watching carefully so I don’t make any mistakes Me who doesn’t even have or plan to get a bird

I have multiple perches for my bird but she only uses one of them. Like she hasn’t used any of the other ones in months and even when I give her out of her cage time, she just sits on her perch despite sitting on it for 20 hours every day🧍

I don't even have birds i just find your videos soothing lol

Hey! I had the same problem with my cockatiel, obsessing over his stainless steel bowls. I luckily found some stainless steel bowls with a wooden print on the outside. So the inside is still stainless steel but there is some sticker on the outside. Those really helped! Before I found those I just put sticker with a print on them myself, but I had to redo those once in a while cuz they came off. But it was still a really good solution. Hope you can figure something out!

Sand the lock! Sand paper will disturb the reflection.

Tofu: WHOOOOOOOO IS THAT BIRD IIIIIIIIIII SEEEEEEEEEE--

thank you so much. i work at a vet clinic and i had no idea about the mirror/reflection issue. Now i can share that info with so many new bird owners! "crop stasis" is usually what its called if a bird can't process what it eats because of whatever reason.

You can sand the lock of the cage with sandpaper so it isnt as reflective! It will help tofu get over his obsession with reflections and be able to communicate with the other birds more often :)

If you think about it to find out what safe for a bird some birds would have to have died of it

Thanks for telling me this information! The first time when I saw my bird eating rope, I thought it was cute. But when I saw my bird eating some rope for the second time, I took the toy out because of this video. Thanks a lot!

my friend got a mirror for her parakeet's cage after his other bird friends died, and he would try to feed the reflection

You could maybe buy a steel brush and scratch up your stainless steel so there isn’t much reflection. sandpaper with the right grit could also work. Just an idea!

Your hair matches the bird, (forgot his name 😭)

Omg i love her bird!

As soon as I got worried about the goldfish, the disclaimer came

oh my- thank you so much for this video Soda! Threw out my bird's mirror and cotton rope toys as they came up. Going to the pet supply store this weekend in order to get him some natural perches and new (safe) toys as well. I had no clue how dangerous these things were for him, and I am really grateful that I now know to avoid them.

me: trying to focus on video so i dont make any dangerous mistakes also me: dancing to animal crossing music

I had no idea about the mirrors, cotton ropes, and fabric hides. Not a bird owner, but still very informative to watch such an enjoyable video!

Oh no..my Nana has a happy hut, and has for YEARS in the same cage (all her pets besides the cats are neglected, their Husky and two birds! But I can’t help them, I’ve tried..the dog is also in her cage ALL day, if she’s not she’s on the deck) she never takes the birds out, I think there’s a mirror, the birds don’t really like each other but they are right next to each other. I feel bad but I literally can’t help, they don’t listen :(

my friend is getting a cockatiel and i recommended her your channel because she pulled out this tiny ass cage and I did not want her cockatiel to live a sad life she hasn't gotten him yet but I hope he will be happy and healthy :)

My least fave are the happy huts. They promote hormonal behaviour, are downright dangerous and just not needed! The rest are bad too though!

That does make sense, one of the ways mated pairs strengthen their bond is by copying the other's movements. It's a common behavior in many species of birds.

1:33 ACTIVATE YOUR BIRDS SOUL

I have a suggestion for you and his reflection! I read one time that if a toy has a mirror on it, you can use some sand paper and scratch the surface of the mirror... you could maybe do this with your bowls or locks, but I’m not sure how it is going to go when you sand stainless steel... let me know do it goes if you try it out!

You can use paint for toddler toys, it's completely save

Cockatiels with mirrors are literally just narcissus of Greek myth

My bird is going crazy hearing your birds! He is talking to them nonstop!

you can use sand paper to buff out the metal and make the reflection unclear

Try covering the cage lock with coconut oil, and also try ceramic bowls, they're actually better than stainless steel because they can't rust

My bird has multiple mirrors, and taking them away would probably very upset her. She’s had them for years, and having this info now I guess I won’t do mirrors if I get new birds. She does have a fake parakeet doll in her cage she can interact with it, and she likes it with the mirror as well. I tried to remove the mirror after seeing this but ended up feeling super bad and put it back. So what I take from this is if your getting a bird, better to not use mirrors, but if it’s too late, it’s not gonna kill the bird and the bird will be ok I guess. My bird is slowly getting less aggressive and my grandma had birds that were just fine and had mirrors. Hopefully mine can get just as tame as the bird my grandma had. She’s been with me for so long and she’s always had her mirrors, she would likely be lost without it. Although I’m glad I haven’t used the other toys in this vid. I know to make sure and stay away from those now if I get another bird.

My bird has absolutely no interest in chewing his rope perches, I check them and they’re fine every time

A couple options for the lock - Maybe a flour and water paste? Wheat isn't nutritionally meaningful to birds, but it should really mess up the reflection without being harmful. Alternatively, you could wrap it in the vet tape, same as the perch.

Bird mirrors are just tacky, and always remind me of the mirror 'toys' you can buy for betta fish. Obviously it's not good for them, birds get lonely by themselves and they can become obsessive about their reflection as a mate, or be constantly stressed and aggressive with having a strange bird watching them. Same thing to betta fish, it's just not a good idea to stress your fish out by making them irritated and think that there's another large male in the tank with them, they like to be alone.

I got twine balls for my bird to chew from Amazon and I have no idea what the color was made of but it gave my cockatiel diarrhea so that was fun

I can never get enough of your birds! They’re so lovely!😊

i love the way soda talks and actually gives evidence to prove things

SodaPets: [Casually explaining how various common bird items can kill them.] Birds: [Happiness] Edit: Forgot to write “items”, so it just said “various common birds”.

You can always cut the bit of floof if you see your bird chewing on it instead of preening it Cotton perches are fine as long as your bird isn't interested in chewing on it. They really like to sleep on it...

thanks for this video. There is so much misinformation about pet bird care out there which cause people to make mistakes and get problems with their birds, particularly parrots and parrot like species. Giving them sprouted seeds, premium diets, nest boxes, vitamins and minerals, etc too much... so that the birds go into breeding conditions and hormones start to rage. This makes the birds frustrated they can't breed and leads to behavioural problems like aggression, constant egg laying, humping their owners arms, biting, and the mental frustration can make the birds start to self half, like plucking out their feathers or chewing their feet till they bleed. Pet, non breeding birds, need a basic but good quality simple maintenance diet, NO nest boxes or snuggle tubes etc and not be petted on their backs too much (which make them think they are being mated with).

Omg, I found you again my sister and I would always love all your mlp videos and we would wait for the next episode, we checked your channel daily. I'm now I'm 19 and my sister is 16 thank you for being a part of our childhood ❤

With those mirrors I’m surprised the bird doesn’t realize their reflection never talks back to them.

The best inexpensive toys I really recomend is sea grass mats they're cheap and safe as long as you get the untreated kind. They love tearing them to pieces!

I really enjoyed this video! If you ever wanted to do a follow up, I'd be super interested in hearing about your favourite toys/enrichment items for birds!!

Your so inspiring! Thank you so much :D

maybe you could scratch it up with a really fine sand paper so its too foggy to see a reflection?

I have about 4 right rope perches in my pearly conures cage. I always make sure to watch her and make sure she’s not eating it. I think she won’t eat it as it’s been 7 months and she hasn’t touched her beak to them once. That just proves that it really depends on the bird!! Awesome vid btw :D

The reflective part you could use sand paper or something and scratch it up so it won’t be reflective

i was always told the mirrors were fun for them so i let one of my budgies get attached to them. when i took him to the vet after he regurgitated on the mirror was when i was told mirrors were bad lol. now he tries to find himself in everything and it’s quite the chore to remove him from those places, considering he will even go so far as to make out with my slugs and my isopods enclosures. 😅

Thank you for existing . I remember it used to be yum soda but now its soda pets . You were part of my childhood back when i had my mlp phase I remember coming home after school to watch ur vids . One of my fav series from my memory was the rainbow factory ksksksks thank u and ily sm yum soda

About the lock reflection - you can rub coconut oil on reflective surfaces to blur the reflected image. It doesn't completely cover it, but you can blur it out quite a lot

PREFACING THIS WITH I KNOW LITTLE ABOUT BIRDS, BUT SOME ABOUT MAKING THINGS Have you tried scuffing up the lock and the stainless steel bowls with something like a wire brush? Adding in lots of small scratches that way (esp if you can get them dense enough) might help with breaking up the reflection to where the bird can't identify it *as* looking like a bird

Oh that’s the reason you don’t use stainless steel bowls! Wish you told us before. Stainless steel grows bacteria slower than plastic, but it’s optional.

you could use baby nibbling paint for the lock. it's safe for babies to nibble on and doesn't have any toxic stuff in it. i used a clear one to make my wooden hamster cage safe from moisture, but i think there are also colorful options that could cover the reflecting material.

Now I know, mirror=killer

We will probably move really far away so I gotta figure out how to move my lepard gecko-

I’m so glad I did research after getting my green cheek conure, when I first got him I was doing *so* many things wrong, (diet, cotton/dowel perches), he is so much happier now ❤️ it’s so sad how misinformed pet stores are :(

My sister had a budgie that had a really small cage and I panicked but it was just for sleeping he also loved mirrors and would drag a mirror that he had detached from the cage to my sister and happily show her his reflection which was strange.

Thanks for the information.

Thanks so much this video is rly helpful!

My mom gives my bird branches from trees that can hold weight she cleans them gets rid of the bark on them and then quarantines them for around a week

Rope is just bad in general, my baby sadly got tangled in a rope toy and i woke up to uncover her and now im absolutely traumatized