Pet of the Day

June 1, 1998

Today's Pet
Nominate Your Pet
Previous Pets
Pet Talk
Poll
Search
Why?
About Us
Fito, the Pet of the Day
Name: Fito
Age: Seven years old
Gender: Male
Kind: Blue-Crowned Conure
Home: Vermillion, South Dakota, USA
 
   Fito is special because he is very smart and very funny and he's cool to be around. He is so amusing. He speaks several words and phrases, and his favorite phrase is, What's your problem, huh? He always seems to say that just at the right time and always makes us laugh.

    Some of his other expressions include, Gimme kiss, hello, bad boy, mama, and papa. Some of these he picked up on his own (like what's your problem) and others we had to work at teaching him. He seems fairly intelligent, and blue-crown conures are rumored to be the most intelligent of the conure family.

    He lives on his cage - we keep his wings clipped so he can't fly, which allows him to live outside of his cage. He is free to go inside (where we put his food and water), but spends most of his time on top of the cage or on the plexiglass deck that Jackie built for him. In summer we put him out on the deck on a hanging stand when we are outside -- he enjoys seeing the other animals (except cats -- he starts screeching and has a fit when he sees a cat anywhere in the vicinity).

    In terms of comparisons to parakeets, I believe that conures are true parrots, only smaller. Their natural habitats, feeding habits, and bodily adaptations are much more parrot-like than parakeets, but they don't grow as large as parrots. Their life expectancies run about 15-35 years (while the large parrots may exceed 100 years of age).
 

Find out how your pet
could be Pet of the Day.