HELP - Night frights

[reeisconfused]

Honey has been getting a lot of night frights these days. He will become terrified, fall off, flap his wings and SCREAM for me. I have to take him out to calm him down. This is the second night in the row this has happened. Even when I put him back, he prefers staying at the bottom of the cage rather than going back up again. I have a night light in the room and Max and Honey’s cages face each other and that part is uncovered.

Aside from this, I also have the bottom of the front part of the cage a bit uncovered so there’s enough light. But it still keeps happening. Their cages are not next to a window and there are no shadows passing by when this happens.

I’m afraid that he is going to hurt himself. If anyone has any ideas, please help me. Honey will not go to bed if cage is uncovered. Plus bed time is at 7pm for both birdies and it’s really hard for them to sleep if they see us moving about.

Thank you.

 

[noodles123]

How many days/months/weeks did he sleep in his covered cage without having night frights prior to the onset?
How many nights has this happened in a row?

What happened that first time?
Is it always around the same time each night?
Do you have a dark room with a nightlight that you could use as a sleep room? Are you sure he won't sleep uncovered when it is dark(ish) and quiet?

 

[reeisconfused]

How many days/months/weeks did he sleep in his covered cage without having night frights prior to the onset?

Ever since he came home with me!

How many nights has this happened in a row?

twice counting today....I put him to bed again two hours ago after he started screaming for me.

What happened that first time?

That’s the thing...nothing did. Both the birds cages are in the hall, where we spend most of our time (except for evenings - once they’re in bed, its lights out in the hall and we go to the TV room which is opposite to the hall). We were in the TV room as usual, when I heard Honey flapping his wings frantically and screaming. I immediately went in and he was on the cage floor, terrified. He was hissing and lunging towards me when I put my hand in and bit me a couple times but as soon as he came out of the cage and saw me, he became quiet and hopped onto my shoulder!

Is it always around the same time each night?

I think, roughly, yes. Usually starts an hour or later after Honey goes to bed.

Do you have a dark room with a nightlight that you could use as a sleep room?

The hall is completely dark and I do have a night light, specifically for them.

Are you sure he won't sleep uncovered when it is dark(ish) and quiet?

Oh yes, I’m sure. As long as cage is uncovered, it is play time for Honey. No matter how tired he is, he will not sleep until I cover his cage. He had this habit with the prev owners as well and he is pretty used to it.



One thing I did today after putting him back in was move the cover a bit from the top so there is enough light pouring in. He went back to the bottom of the cage and then I put him back up and he stayed there. I’m hoping (?) that this works for him but the nightlight is directly above their cages so I’m wondering if it’ll bother him?

 

[noodles123]

Hmm...how old is he and how long have you had him?
I know night-frights can be a big deal for cockatiels, so it is tricky.

I had a recent situation with my cockatoo and a toy falling within the cage while she was covered. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to cover her again because every time I tried that night, she would freak out and scream/hiss...it ended up not being an issue the following day (and that night, I just let her sleep uncovered -which I hadn't done before)...but I get how you feel, because it is a terrifying situation to be in.

It's sort of a tough call, because you don't want her slamming into stuff and getting injured, but at the same time, there is a the possibility that she knows you will come running and uncover her if she does this...I only say that because of the 2 nights in a row....Then again, maybe something really is spooking her.

Part of me wonders if a smaller sleep cage might help, but definitely wait for responses from other members. I haven't owned a tiel personally, but I know that they tend to fly into things and that is the biggest concern (obviously).

Sorry I am not much help...
My biggest thoughts would be:
A) you are right to be concerned because night-frights can be deadly.
B) make sure that your reaction isn't somehow reinforcing this behavior.
C) Try out different things with the nightlight and cover positioning and see if you can get back some semblance of normal. If he has one night of poor sleep, it won't be the end of the world, but hopefully you can break this cycle. Remember too, that they pick up on our anxiety, so if you are freaking out, it could definitely fuel his anxiety.

Last question/thought: Are you sure he won't sleep if uncovered (for you to verify, you would have to be in the room, and if you are in the room, he probably won't). I am certain that my bird (and yours) wouldn't sleep uncovered if they heard people moving around in the other room or if they could see people moving around, but if the lights are off and it is quiet (and he can't see any movement/people) are you sure yours she wouldn't settle down? I didn't think mine would ever be able to sleep uncovered either (as she always has been), but she did on the one occasion that she had to. I shut everything off and went to bed myself and she was quiet---I know she slept because at one point, I startled her in the night (got up to go to the bathroom) and she flapped around (which she only ever does when she has been asleep).

 

[EllenD]

That was going to be my exact suggestion, getting him a much smaller cage that is only meant for him to sleep in, and that has nothing in it at all except for a perch and a water dish, so that he has no toys or anything else to play with, and the only thing that he'll have to do is to sleep...

Sometimes putting them in a much smaller cage with nothing at all inside of it will stop the night frights completely, but what I would try first is putting him in the smaller sleep cage with nothing in it at all except for a perch and a water dish, and leave it uncovered in the dark room with the nightlight and then see if he'll go to sleep inside of it, where he'll have no toys at all to play with and nothing at all to do but to go to sleep. If that works and he'll go to sleep without the cover on over the sleep cage, then it should help to eliminate the night-frights. If he still won't go to sleep and is doing something like climbing all around the cage or chewing on the perch, or whatever else he can find to do with no toys or anything else to play with, then you could try covering the sleep cage and see how that goes. Sometimes just a much smaller cage will do the trick...

***Also, in the sleep cage (or in his main cage if you're going to try to stick with it), sometimes only having a single perch and making sure that it's as low in the cage and as close to the floor of the cage as possible will stop the night-frights, because a lot of the time they wake-up suddenly and lose their balance or feel like they are going ot fall off of the perch, and often they actually do fall off of a high perch and hurt themselves...That's what I think is going on with your bird, because he's comfortable sleeping in the bottom of the cage, and that's an indication that his night-frights are based around him falling off of the perch, or at least that's what is terrifying him when he first wakes up...So if you were to get him a much smaller sleeping cage and not put anything at all inside of it for him to play with (or to hurt himself on) except for a water dish and a single perch, and you put that single perch as close to the bottom of the cage as you can, that might do the trick...Also, if you do get him a sleeping cage, in ddition to putting the single perch as close to the floor of the cage as possible, sometimes if you pad the bottom of the cage with folded-up towels or one of those cheap little fleece blankets folded-up, and then put paper towels or newspaper overtop of them to collect the droppings, then this will eventually let the bird realize that not only does he not have far at all to fall, but if he does fall it's soft and padded, that will help tremendously...

 

[noodles123]

That was going to be my exact suggestion, getting him a much smaller cage that is only meant for him to sleep in, and that has nothing in it at all except for a perch and a water dish, so that he has no toys or anything else to play with, and the only thing that he'll have to do is to sleep...

Sometimes putting them in a much smaller cage with nothing at all inside of it will stop the night frights completely, but what I would try first is putting him in the smaller sleep cage with nothing in it at all except for a perch and a water dish, and leave it uncovered in the dark room with the nightlight and then see if he'll go to sleep inside of it, where he'll have no toys at all to play with and nothing at all to do but to go to sleep. If that works and he'll go to sleep without the cover on over the sleep cage, then it should help to eliminate the night-frights. If he still won't go to sleep and is doing something like climbing all around the cage or chewing on the perch, or whatever else he can find to do with no toys or anything else to play with, then you could try covering the sleep cage and see how that goes. Sometimes just a much smaller cage will do the trick...

***Also, in the sleep cage (or in his main cage if you're going to try to stick with it), sometimes only having a single perch and making sure that it's as low in the cage and as close to the floor of the cage as possible will stop the night-frights, because a lot of the time they wake-up suddenly and lose their balance or feel like they are going ot fall off of the perch, and often they actually do fall off of a high perch and hurt themselves...That's what I think is going on with your bird, because he's comfortable sleeping in the bottom of the cage, and that's an indication that his night-frights are based around him falling off of the perch, or at least that's what is terrifying him when he first wakes up...So if you were to get him a much smaller sleeping cage and not put anything at all inside of it for him to play with (or to hurt himself on) except for a water dish and a single perch, and you put that single perch as close to the bottom of the cage as you can, that might do the trick...Also, if you do get him a sleeping cage, in ddition to putting the single perch as close to the floor of the cage as possible, sometimes if you pad the bottom of the cage with folded-up towels or one of those cheap little fleece blankets folded-up, and then put paper towels or newspaper overtop of them to collect the droppings, then this will eventually let the bird realize that not only does he not have far at all to fall, but if he does fall it's soft and padded, that will help tremendously...

My concern with padding the cage bottom would be that, since this is already her bird's preferred sleeping location (due to fear), it could become a nesting/hormonal situation.

 

[ParrotGenie]

I find a night light with cage uncovered will usually help resolve night fright. My Fiesco use to have the issue and then put my multiple phone charger with also double as a very good night light in room and been 3 months and haven't had him freak out and fall anymore.

 

[LaManuka]

Our boy Fang, God love him, is the highly strung type who is quite prone to the night terrors. We cover the sides and back of his cage at night but leave the front uncovered and our bird room faces our living room where we leave a light on for him and thankfully he hasn’t really had a problem since. For some reason cockatiels seem to be susceptible to night frights but we have found this solution works for Fang (touch wood, fingers crossed!!)

 

[GaleriaGila]

Great input! All I can add is that the Rb did this when he was younger. I couldn't find a way to stop him. Then when he was about 15, he stopped. We had just moved up North from New Mexico, and I noticed one day that he had JUST STOPPED. I don't know if it was circumstance or age.
Good luck to you!

 

[EllenD]

I only meant to pad the bottom of the cage with towels or something else soft and folded-up on a temporary basis, until he gets over his fear of losing balance and falling. I agree that leaving something like that in the bottom of the cage would eventually result hormonal issues, but hopefully once he gets over the fear of losing his balance and falling then it won't be necessary any longer...Also, you could actually just put the folded-up towels in the bottom of the cage at nighttime, and take them out in the morning if you're using his main-cage, or if it's a smaller sleeping cage you could leave them in because the bird will only be in the cage to sleep...I think just lowering the perch as close to the bottom as you can will help quite a bit, especially if you get a very small sleeping-cage with no distractions in it at all except for a single perch as low to the bottom as possible and a water dish and that's it. That way you eliminate the distractions like toys, ladders, food, etc., it's a much smaller cage so he will feel more secure and not feel like he has such a long way to fall, nor will there be anything for him to hurt himself on if he does fall.

The main goal of the sleeping-cage is to get the bird conditioned to know that when he goes inside the sleeping-cage that means it's time to sleep and that's it, and when he's in his main-cage that's when it's time to play, eat, climb, etc. And then also by decreasing the space inside of the cage and the height distance to the bottom it will hopefully make him feel much safer, more secure, and like he's not going to fall, and if he does fall off of the perch at the bottom of the cage, he's not going to hurt himself...

 

[reeisconfused]

Hey guys! thank you so much for your response. I was a bit busy and couldn’t get back.

I’ve been keeping the top portion of cover open so that Honey’s cage is covered only on 3 sides, leaving enough night light in. No more night frights but Honey now thinks coming out of the cage in the middle of the night for human time is a ritual and necessary.

Last night, he went to bed and woke up an hour later, screaming to be let out. He was pacing back and forth for quite a long time and kept calling me to come get him. After two hours, I had to give in. He wouldn’t go to bed otherwise! Max let out a few grumpy whispers because he didn’t like Honey’s shrieking as it was disturbing his sleep.

Eventhough there are no people in room ever once both boys go to bed (or noises) Honey has figured out that if he screams for me, I’ll come to get him - as I did previously with his night frights.

Honey called a couple of times today as well after putting him to bed, but I didn’t give in today. Went to bed after a few grumpy notes.

Hope this doesn’t turn to a habit....

 

[noodles123]

Lol/uh-oh! I wondered about this possibility when you first posted-- clearly you have a smart bird haha. Just make sure if the screaming happens again that you do you best to ignore it...I have no doubt it started as legit, but now its like a party call.

Unless you feel her life is really in danger for real, let her scream. It may take a few days, so try not to give in.