Right now Salty is.....

[Kentuckienne]

Oliver used to get night frights, and the solution was a night light in the room. He was never covered. Earthquakes would always trigger a fright, even then.

 

[wrench13]

'Boats, you're my ObiWan Kenobi when it comes to stuff like this. so:

1) His sleeping perch is about 1-1/2" dia and it's at the top of his cage

2) THe room is lit with a 60 watt bulb, warm but

3) His cover is light proof black cloth and it totally covers the cage, It is very dark inside. It has a good side hole in it though, which I make sure is open .

Thouhgts? Because it is totally wrenching ( no pun) to hear Salty have one of these episodes.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Salty had his second case of night fright, last night. I am a bit worried. He still hates going to bed, and cowers in the corner of his cage as I pull the black cover over his cage. Lst night after being put to bed for 2 hrs, we heard a wing flutter and a ump, as he hit the bottom of the cage. I opened the cover, and took him out fo a little bit , comforting him, and then put him back on his sleeping perch, but left the cover open a bit.
Opinions? Did I do right? SHould I leave the cover open a bit at night? Night light? I felt so bad.

Bummer Al...and Salty..

I can't even remember if Amy has ever had one...YEARS ago when she had an apartment instead of a house,and was on the floor,she got covered..Now that she is in her mansion,at the west side of the house,with a window a few feet away,she doesn't get covered.
She has a nite-nite perch,high up in one corner,closest to the wall. She also uses it as her "veg" perch.
Of course light with my work schedule (6:30pm to 6:30am) nothing is on here,except the kitchen lights and the mudroom/entry light that also turns on my driveway flood light.
I program my stereo to stay on for two hours,so she and Beebs have music to drift off to. So both are getting a good night sleep and don't get up til the sun rises,or til I get home (about 7:45am depending on traffic)

I really hope its just a phase your boy is going thru...poor BB has had a couple night frights and its scared the c*** out of me! The very first time I ended up sleeping ( or at least TRYING) on the couch...sighhhhh


Jim

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Sorry Al...my bad...to answer one of your questions...yes...I think I'd try a partial cover..so at least he can be aware of whats out there..you know...had a bad dream then he wakes up "where the **** am I????"
I do that sometimes too!



Jim

 

[israel_gcc]

I have no idea if it works the same for parrots, but light color might be something to keep in mind? I know for humans, blue or white light can mess up the sleep cycle.
Hope Salty gets past this soon!

 

[SailBoat]

Al,

It is heart-wreching to hear your Amazon suffer from one, let along several night flights!

1) 1.5" perch is a nice size and generally considered appropriate for Salty. My recommendation is to move to a 2" diameter. This relaxes the muscle tension need to maintain a good perch grip. It also allows a greater sway of the body without loosing balance. At present, my DYH Amazon is on a 2.5" perch and I am considering moving to a 3".

2) When night's darkest sets in Amazons (Parrots) loose their sight earlier than we do. Shadows are the big problems for all Parrots. Even if you are speaking to them in gentle terms, they cannot always connect us with the shadow that just past over them. This is the reason I have moved to 'Harvest Moonlight' level lighting for their sleeping room /area. I use three tiny wattage nightlights to eliminate shadows by placing them on three separate walls with the fourth wall being behind the cage.

The 60 watt bulb is off at night, correct?

3) Full black-out cage covers are good for those Parrot that can handle full darkness. Most Parrots, like Humans want known landmarks when they wake in the middle of the night. Full darkness cannot provide see-able landmarks. Having at least one face open provides that comfort.

When all three are changed, you can see that you have made a major change in allowing for better balance, greater reduction of shadows, and view-able land marks.

Let me know how these change work.

Now, ObiWan Kenobi, that is a name that I have not heard in a very long time!

 

[SailBoat]

I have no idea if it works the same for parrots, but light color might be something to keep in mind? I know for humans, blue or white light can mess up the sleep cycle.
Hope Salty gets past this soon!

Great point! There is no question that 'day light' (Blue /White) can mess with Sleep Cycles and if one is using them, a dimmer is recommended to take 'High Noon' lighting to evening /morning lighting levels to avoid this problem in both Parrots and Humans. Thank-you, for bring this point into this discussion!

 

[wrench13]

I have a bigger 3" perch, a manzanita one, that I got him when we were discussing perch diameter; he hates it and slept on this skinny ass that was also in his cage. OK got to find a 2" dia one, with the bark on it. And I will try keeping the lower edge of the cover up 6" to let more room light in. The 60 watt bulb is on the other size of the dinning/living/kitchen room, and I dont think its too bright. Thanks guys.

 

[SailBoat]

I have a bigger 3" perch, a manzanita one, that I got him when we were discussing perch diameter; he hates it and slept on this skinny ass that was also in his cage. OK got to find a 2" dia one, with the bark on it. And I will try keeping the lower edge of the cover up 6" to let more room light in. The 60 watt bulb is on the other size of the dinning/living/kitchen room, and I dont think its too bright. Thanks guys.

Remember to let the new perch find its way over time, slow to his night cage and then over-some additional time finally up to its roosting position. It's all about introduction!

If you are at all concerned, consider installing a dimmer switch for that light. Remember, that the bulb will likely have to be 'dimable.'

 

[texsize]

I am sorry to here salty is having night fright's. I had not heard of amazons having this issue.
In 30+ years I can't remember any of my zons getting night frights, my Cockatiels you bet but not my green guys. At night they are 3/4 covered and have low light coming from 2 directions.
I think my cockatiels get startled from 2 things. Noise from cats outside.
and sometimes one of my cockatiels will fall and then they all start flying. it takes some time to "talk them down"

 

[LeaKP]

Oh I'm sorry! What helps Nigel is keeping the visible portion of his cage covered. The back portion that is facing the wall I leave open for air circulation. There's a faint light coming in from outside (outdoor lights). He had one fright when he first came home and once I implemented these, no more and it's been more than a year now. Hoping this is something Salty comes out of quickly!

 

[wrench13]

Wow, Salty must have a fether up his.... I took away his favorite chewing toy right before dinner, and he is PISSED. He hasn't stopped whining and shouting. Never seen him like this, not interested in eating, only in being loud and obnoxious. LOL, welcome to Amazonhood, AL. And this too shall pass ( I hope).

 

[SailBoat]

Wow, Salty must have a fether up his.... I took away his favorite chewing toy right before dinner, and he is PISSED. He hasn't stopped whining and shouting. Never seen him like this, not interested in eating, only in being loud and obnoxious. LOL, welcome to Amazonhood, AL. And this too shall pass ( I hope).

Bad Al, took Salty's fav toy away! That is a great way to get up the wrong stream without a paddle! Lost in the undercurrents of an unhappy Amazon!


Been thinking about Salty of late, any chance you can put a switch style dimmer unit to control that light bulb. If you are comfortable changing out a switch, its the same think. Down side is a box with too many wires in it, since the dimmer takes up so much room! We run the lights lower as the evening continues. Its good for everyone, as stated in one of the earlier Posts.

 

[wrench13]

That is nice of you to put thought into Saltys nite nite problem. What I've done temproarily is to clip the back side of his cover up 3/4 of the way up, to let in more of the ambient room light, which after 10PM is only 1 60 watt bulb on the other side of a big room. I got no problem wiring in a dimmer but theee light is from a regular lamp, not an overhead controlled by a wall switch. Have to check tomorrow, but I think the lamp is multi so putting in a 60/40/off light bulb might be possible. Got to hit the local bird shop for a larger dia sleeping perch, too.

Diff subject - you have to see Salty play cards now. He can pick out the King from a hand of cards, every time. Look out Vegas, here we come !

 

[SailBoat]

If he starts counting cards, hey its Vegas Time - big time!!!

 

[Kentuckienne]

Wow, Salty must have a fether up his.... I took away his favorite chewing toy right before dinner, and he is PISSED. He hasn't stopped whining and shouting. Never seen him like this, not interested in eating, only in being loud and obnoxious. LOL, welcome to Amazonhood, AL. And this too shall pass ( I hope).

Salty perhaps figures that the bait is well and truly taken, and it's time to set the hook. Want me to pick out the King? Glad to oblige! Now you do the give-me-back-my-favorite-toy trick.

It's good to be the king.

 

[SailBoat]

Hey, Salty: Congratulations on your Thread Running thirty (30) pages!!! Keep it going Big Guy! You clearly have a following!!!


FYI: Just noticed that you are just a few short of 300 permalink - a double congratulations!

 

[wrench13]

Thank you 'Boats. What's a permalink?

We ( the boys and I) just finished a rehearsal, getting ready for our season opener own in Baltimore, and I did almost the whole session with Salty on my shoulder. He was mostly a good boy, until the last few songs, when he decided that my ear needed trimming. And of course this was during some of the more difficult pieces we play. Very hard to keep concentration playing fiddle with a parrot nibbling on your ear. But I put my foot down when he started to nibble on the actual fiddle itself. Whoa, boy, I will put up with a lot, including little pieces of ear, but dont touch the fiddle! Back on the chair you go, son. SO he sat out the rest of the session, pouting and mumbling to himself, and not even in tune with us. Now he is back upstair, back on his play chain and I even gave him back his beloved toy ( what there is left of it). At the rate he destroys these, he has another 20 minutes left before it's nothing but a chain, a bell and a pile of splinters. I should have bought a dozen of these things, but they only had 3.

 

[SailBoat]

Check the upper right hand corner of this Post and you will find that it has a specific number - a permalink. For the Users, one can reference a specific permalink in place of saying; find my remarks in the last half of page 8.

This Post is permalink # 299!

 

[GaleriaGila]

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