Cage screaming

[ZoeS]

I have had my GCC for about 2 months now; she is about 4-5 months old. So far we are getting along wonderfully and have managed to avoid many of the behavioural problems I've read about. The one thing I can't manage to fix or even improve is when she screams in her cage.

She is out with me whenever I'm home - an hour in the morning when I get ready for work, and then all evening (6pm-11pm). She has a sleep cage in our bedroom and will sleep there, or at least be quiet, even if we go to bed later than she does. The sleep cage is new - her behaviour hasn't changed since the sleep cage.

The problem is her regular cage. If you're home and put her in there she screams like a crazy person, and she starts as soon as you put her in there. In the time it takes me to walk away from the cage and put on my coat to leave she is already screaming. I don't reward this by taking her out and try to give her attention when she's being quiet in her cage but it's rare that she's quiet and it's rare that she's in her cage while we're home.

When we leave the apartment or get home she doesn't scream. I just wish she could go to her cage for half an hour and eat, preen, play with her toys, whatever, while I'm using the oven or going in/out the door, or getting ready to head out for work.

Other than that she doesn't scream much.

HALP!!

 

[Crazy4Birds]

So she doesn't scream when you put her in the sleep cage? I'm thinking that you could try putting the sleep cage next to (or even in place of) her day cage and see what her behavior is like when you put her in the sleep cage during the day. If she doesn't scream, then maybe it has something to do with the cage, whether it be a toy she doesn't like or even the location of the cage. She may just be screaming because she wants to be with you but I think you should try to eliminate any other possible issues first. Hope this helps. Let me know if it works.

 

[ZoeS]

Nope, she doesn't scream in her sleep cage. I can't really replace her day cage because the sleep cage is about 1/20th the size (she has a BIG day cage and her sleep cage is quite small). I think she doesn't scream at night because I cover the sleep cage. If I cover the day cage while she is in she will not scream unless she can see me through a gap in the cover. But I don't want to cover the cage when I'm home.

She's definitely screaming to get my attention. It's like she can't handle being alone knowing I'm so close. Silly thing. I'll try moving some things around in the cage to see if maybe a minor change of scenery will help though. You never know...

 

[lene1949]

I'm wondering if she gets enough sleep... 12 hours straight...

I have Max out a lot, but I also give him cage time, because I don't want the behaviours you are talking about... When I watch TV, I bring his cage into the lounge room... He'll be out of cage for quite a while, and then I'll put him back, and he'll just start playing... He's still part of what's going on.

Max goes to bed around 630pm..

 

[ZoeS]

Re: sleep, I was wondering about that too. However she is awake before we are in the mornings. She's not loud but she sometimes wakes us up moving around. She is also never sleepy in the evenings even if we're lounging quietly on the couch. She gets about 8-10 hours straight every night and I'm sure she naps during the day. From what I had read and was told, naps contribute to their total sleep time. So a 10 hour sleep + 2 hour nap would be sufficient. That said, I'm not married to this schedule if I came to learn that she was getting enough sleep.

Her cage isn't really movable. It's in a central location, about 10 feet away from the couch (she can see me from her cage), but at 3 x 2 x 3 feet it's not practical to move it closer for hanging out.