Neil - Owner, Paradise Pets Swindon 
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has run Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of watching which birds surge in popularity, and watching what happens in the months after that surge. Lovebirds are everywhere this summer — in enquiries, in online listings, in the conversations at this counter. So, if you … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold cage birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years that have included some significant British summers. The late June 2026 heatwave produced record-breaking temperatures not seen in England since the 1970s, three consecutive Red Warnings for Extreme Heat, and overnight … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has run Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years at the intersection of the budgerigar trade and budgerigar welfare. There are approximately one million budgerigars kept in UK homes in 2026. They are the most popular exotic pet in the country. They are also, in his … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold cage and aviary birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of watching UK pet bird community engagement with UK bird welfare research, guidance, and policy developments. The RSPB released substantially updated summer feeding rules for UK garden bird feeders … Read more
Updated 24 September 2026: Corrected daily bowl care and separated routine cleaning, disinfection and illness precautions. A useful cage-cleaning routine answers three questions: what needs doing today, what needs taking apart for a more thorough clean, and what changes if a bird becomes unwell. It should be easy for every carer to follow, rather than … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of thinking about what birds are, what they need, and the gap between a bird’s natural life and the life most pet birds actually live. The annual return of puffins to Lundy … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years at the same counter, in the same town, watching the same mistake appear in front of him with a consistency that he finds both frustrating and, at this point, entirely predictable. This … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has run Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of watching budgerigars communicate and watching their owners miss what is being communicated. The signs that a budgie is unwell are present well before the bird looks obviously sick. They are not dramatic. They are not obvious. … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold cage and aviary birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of watching UK pet birds respond to the specific temperature conditions in UK homes across every season, and observing which specific temperature ranges support welfare-appropriate thriving versus which specific … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold cage birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of watching owners make mistakes that cost their birds’ lives through no fault of their own, simply because nobody told them the right information at the right time. The houseplant question … Read more