My husband has had a Blue & Gold Macaw since 1978. He has a 4 foot by 4 foot cage that is 7 feet tall. We bought a second cage for our squirrel. We used wire shelving cut offs to make areas for him to play on inside of the cage. There is a long perch running across the cage, and a long shelf running across below that. We put the food bowl on that shelf, and use a hanging water bottle for him on one side.
From the time that he was a baby in the palm of my hand, I always used a dish towel for him to wee on. While young, they have to be touched to stimulate that function. Our cage has a wire bottom, with a full pullout pan underneath. We used ground up mail and papers for the filling in the pan. Some odorless cat litter absorbs the odor. We placed a dish towel in one lower corner of the cage when we first introduced him to it, and he would always go to his towel to tinkle. Later, we were able to take the towel away, yet he would do to that corner to tinkle, as he does to this day. We change the paper and spray down the pan with Lysol about once every 2 months. He is housebroken.
The 2 females were different. They both would "mark" their territory by tinkling. They did have to be cleaned up after. But for the other, they also just did it and let if fall into the pan. We have a hanging Hamster Bed that he sleeps in and we give him small towels to make his bedding out of.......along with used dryer sheets.
We have not been able to put up a xmas tree since 1996. The first year that we had the handicapped Squirrel, she would go over to the tree and bat the lowest ornaments with her hands. She would also come from around the tree with a huge mouthful of fluff to take back to her cage. Some things you just sacrifice for your pets.
All 3 of ours have essentially had the run of the house, but the safety of their cage. We only lock them up when we are away. The Macaw screams if the squirrel does something that it is not supposed to do, like climbing on the food cart to feed itself. The 2 of them, the bird and the squirrel, are a hoot. They tease each other but never hurt each other. They will climb on the other one's cage, even go inside, but they have never tried to attack each other.
Sorry for talking so much, but my squirrel is my life.
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