Night fright or falling of perch?

[Allicastery]

In the middle of the night I woke up to Pepper blindly flying around at the bottom of his cage. The only way he could have gotten down there is if he fell. He only willingly goes (and stays) at the bottom of his cage if he wants to come out. I'm not sure what happened as I was asleep, but there are two obvious answers: he fell and started panicking, or he had a nightmare and in his panic he fell to the bottom. Can birds just "fall off" of their perch at night? Is there any way to tell what happened? He calmed down when I turned the light on. The room is pitch black at night and I do not cover him, for he panics whenever I try to. I'm worried about him having constant night frights.

 

[gracebowen]

Mine have a night light and I keep part of cage uncovered so they can see me.

 

[GraciesMom]

I'd imagine either scenario is possible something could have startled him in his sleep. I had to relocate a light switch last week after hubby unintentionally flicked it on when Gracie was snoozing (was next to her cage) and startled her .. she did leap off of her perch & directly forward to the cage door where she caught herself. Of course he preferred to relocate the cage (ha not even going there took me 3 weeks to get her to accept the new cage - not dealing with a cage move that quickly!)

I can't cover her either but I do have a very soft, low glow night light now.

 

[Allicastery]

I think I may relocate the cage to the living room as much as it scares me it might happen again and I don't wake up. He doesn't seem all that bothered by turning on the light in the morning. It was probably a nightmare now that I think more about it. Even though he gets a bit startled when the house creaks he's never reacted this way. There is no way I can keep him in my room at night and have a night light. I have many issues sleeping and a night light will make it virtually impossible for me to get to sleep. I'm not sure how Ace would react to a night light, though

 

[Brittany741]

I lost my Hope from a 3am perch fall where she hit her head so hard, her brain swelled out of control. She had some other neuro issues as well. I still cry over that day. We didn't even make it to the car.

That was the first bird fall I've dealt with. She had a very tall cage. I often wonder all the what-if scenarios. She was the cuddliest grey in the entire universe.

 

[Christinenc2000]

BB had night Frights twice when i first got him. Scary thing to happen. I don't keep a night light on. His cage is in the living room. I get up before sun rise so I turn a light on in the next room before entering Living room so I don't freak him out. Grab my coffee and he goes right back to sleep

 

[plumsmum2005]

It may have been an unfamiliar noise in the house that spooked Pepper. You can cover the cage but only do 3/4 from top down and leave a night light on so that there is light at the bottom level of the cage. If they are rudely woken they can see enough and hopefully this will lessen the chance of injury and possibly the frights.

 

[BIRDIGIRL]

That is pretty scary. I have never experienced a night fright with one of mine but I think I will be leaving a little night light with them in future just in case. Glad Pepper is alright.

 

[plumsmum2005]

If they do not suffer with frights it usually isnt necessary to leave a night light on. If they feel safe and are familiar with the noises of their surroundings there usually isnt a problem. Things that might trigger them are storms and fireworks, cars back firing etc - unusual noises.

The bird who I know had frights for a while and then grew out of them and then hated the night light on and wanted complete darkness and quiet at bedtime or he'd tell you off. LOL

 

[texsize]

Cockatiels are notorious for night fright. All it takes is a stray breeze, the clunk of ice from the refrigerator and it can set them off.
There night vision is super bad as well, I have put my hand in there cage in what I would call "low light" and they could not see it till it was 3 inches from them.
I keep my tiels near a 40 watt light and 1/2 to 3/4 covered to reduce the chance of a breeze.
If covering them is not an option, definitely leave a light on for them.
texsize

 

[Allicastery]

Last night seems to have gone well... I just woke up and he's singing his heart out. I just hope it stays this way. There's so much light pollution here that I probably won't need to put a night light on at any point in time.