Night Frights?

[laci5]

My budgie Milo has ocassionally woken me up around three in the morning, fluttering around his cage. When this happens, I go into the living room, turn on the light, and talk to him until he returns to his perch(he's usually hanging on the side of his cage). When I first brought him home, I would cover his cage with a light sheet, but it seemed like he was always waking up and freaking out when I did that, so I haven't been covering his cage with anything and the night frights have happened a lot less frequently.

Does anyone else's budgies experience night frights, and what else is recommended that I do to ease these frights for him? I've thought about buying a night light, but it seems that everyone says that birds need twelve hours of dark sleeping time. I also have a cockatiel in the same room with Milo, and she's never bothered or woken up by his fluttering. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Enna]

can you give him a night light. i have one for my birds untill i go to to bed. They seem to be ok with this and once im about to sleep it goes out. if anything happens i just turn it on and uncover it ( ha ha using a sock so its not to bright) . I really need this light for them because i can't having sonic having blood feather and die during the night now can i

[FeatherFan]

Mine occasionally have night frights too, not sure what to suggest. :S ...all I do is put a light on and talk to them softly until they calm down. This sometimes takes ages & they cling to the side of the cage with a panicked expression and breathing heavily. I hate seeing them so distressed but not sure what else to do.

Sometimes putting the TV on or quiet music reassures them, but its so worrying in case they hurt themselves during the panic.

[BUUZBEE]

from all i've heard about night frights, give them a night light. I would cover their cage at night, leaving the front open, with a darker material. leave the front open so milo can see the light.
good luck!

[zarrion101]

I think my Bobby had night frights when he arrived but he was ok after. I always find after I shut the door to go to bed both of my birds go to for a bite to eat. :)

[BUUZBEE]

its even worse when the budgies in the aviary get spooked! it doesnt happen that often thank goodness!

[Star]

Night frights can be very dangerous. Many birds injure themselves whent hey have these and it sometimes, at least from some horror stories I heard, can be fatal.



Yes!! Nightlights work wonders and a cover over the cage keeps them calm. Keep one part of the cage uncovered so they can see the light though and make sure the light is can be viewed from there..Good luck!

[Amy]

Billy once had a night fright, and the result was a cracked beak!

As Star said, it is very serious if your bird has night frights often. I leave a small light on as well.

Can you think of anything that could be spooking Milo? If so, do your very best to provent it.

Good Luck! :D

[Budgiekin]

I use a night light every night and I also use a baby monitor so I can hear right away when they have night frights. My budgie Apollo once had a night fright that resulted in a concussion....he was bleeding from his cere. We had taken him to the vet to make sure he was ok, which fortunately he was.....

Sometimes things like car lights or sudden noises can trigger night frights.

[Amy]

The baby monitor is a good idea! I'll try that soon, if only I'd have done that before, Billy woulndn't have cracked his beak!

[Enna]

Night frights are the worse. sonic cracked off all of his flight feathers that were just growing in. Makes me want to cry since i want to see him fly. Night lights help out alot. well thay do for me

[laci5]

Thanks for all of the great advice guys. It seems like the night light is the way to go. As to what could be causing these frights, I have no clue. It's never right after I go to bed, it's always hours after I(and I'm assuming the birds)have gone to sleep. My apartment is on a street that is somewhat busy during the day, but not so much at night so maybe the random car is spooking him from his sleep. But I'll try the blanket and the night light and see how that goes. I thought that it was just cockatiels that had night frights- I've never had any budgies that had them. And like I said, it's not every night... and it wakes me up every time so I get in there and turn the light on right away for him. Poor little guy... but thanks a lot, I'll try all of your suggestions.:)

[BUUZBEE]

yes, it could be as simple as a horn or car alarm scaring them. good luck, i hope the night light helps

[Amy]

Sounds like a good plan, Good Luck!

[ditto]

it happens to my bird sometimes, most of the times I can't decide what to do, opening the light will annoy him but if I dont he can get more frightened and can injure himself as you mentioned, besides I don't want him to be stressful even it lasts for a second.

So I try not to change the room or location of the cage very much, this helped me. He feels safe where everything is same around, also I dont put any big furnitures or things around the cage that can scare him in the dark.
Also I dont enter that room or I pay attention not to make a noise near that room.
Lamp is a very good idea but unfortunately I can't put a nightlamp in the room where he sleeps. So these are my methods.

[redgirl]

I have never heard of that, but thanks for info everyone.

[Angela]

With my budgie, his got really bad at one point. He would actually fly out of his cage in the dark if the door was open and bang into the walls of the room! I realized that the cage door always had to be closed at night. I would go in to see if he was alright, and let me tell you, I'd find him paralyzed with fear, almost like in a daze! I'd console him until he perked up a bit. I call them his "budgie seizures" because I once caught him in daylight right before a "freak out" and he got really disoriented and fell to the bottom of his cage! He was fine two minutes later. He's a strange one, I gotta say!:budgie: