The noise that we make talking, watching Tv at night, or doing other things, can it affect budgie sleep? Do Budgies need a night light?
Every creature sleep and deserves to do so, but some, like birds, have various funny sleeping ways. How do they sleep? That’s a question that most of us might not have asked. Have you ever thought much about how they do so? Probably, you have parakeets or budgies, which are the most popular birds kept as pets.
How do your budgies sleep, and what’s their sleeping position and routine? As a concerned budgie friend, you’ve probably come across weird postures and positions they take while sleeping. If that gave you some worries, then you’ve landed on the right page. This discussion will consider some of the things you need to know about budgies sleeping nature. We’ll also discuss whether night light and noise can affect their sleep, how to improve their sleep, and how much sleep they need.
How Budgie Sleep
Wild budgies have evolved over several generations to adapt their sleeping patterns to fit their environment. Even so, the sleeping arrangements involve perching on the highest branches of any suitable tree. They hold onto a branch with their strong feet while sleeping without falling off. They’ll grasp a small branch or perch with one foot, raise the other foot to their chest, and turn their heads back to rest on their shoulder and close their eyes.
Drawing their feet into their chests keeps them warm and prevents them from losing too much body heat through their featherless legs. They can tuck their heads into their wings, especially if they feel safe. If not, they’ll sleep with their heads upright. Sometimes, both the female and male will sleep together outside breeding times. They also sleep together in large flocks and naturally select the highest tree branches, which ease escape from predators that roam at night.
The same sleeping patterns are also exhibited by budgies in captivity. If you keep more than one budgie in a cage, they’ll tend to sleep together and find the highest position in the cage to do so. That may be the highest perch, or it might also be a swing, feed container, or another suitable object. It’s also common for them to sleep hanging upside down off the cage roof’s bars if there’s no appropriate perching point; thus, that shouldn’t be a cause for alarm.
Pet budgies will also rest their heads on the back and close their eyes if they feel safe. If yours don’t do that, worry not! It might take time for them to get comfortable with the environment, or maybe they just like sleeping with heads up. Budgies are like humans who are different and have unique personalities and character traits. That’s why you’ll need to know more about yours to ensure that the enclosure set up for them offers the best night’s sleep.
Should Budgie Sleeping Position Worry You?
Some budgie keepers have raised concerns about the sleeping positions of their little buddies, especially the one that involves hanging upside down. Should you be bothered by that? Of course, like a budgie lover, you might be. Is it possibly a health issue, stress, discomfort, or fear of them falling that disturbs you? First, if it’s about falling to the floor, budgies can perch like without falling. They’re perching birds and have developed that way to adapt to their environment, including how they sleep.
As birds belonging to the scientific order of birds called passerines who have toes arrangement and mechanism that locks them (toes) onto a perch, budgies have four toes. Two of them point forward and two backward, which operate like opposing thumbs. There’s also what appears like a backward knee joint further up the leg, functioning more like an ankle. A strong tendon connects the joint to the toes such that when a budgie perches, it wraps the four toes around the object with a strong grip.
While the budgie relaxes and squats down, the joint begins to bend, and so does the leg. As the leg bends, the tendon stretches, pulling the toes close together in a firm grip.
The more the bird relaxes on the perching object, the stronger the grip grows, locking it in place until it un-perches itself again. That involuntary reflex is what helps them to perch without falling, even while sleeping. Second, if the worry you have is about discomfort, the budgie will change position if it feels uncomfortable. Some find that position relaxing. Allow them to sit, perch, or lie as they wish.
Budgie Sleep Needs
How much sleep do budgies need? Like us, these birds also require to sleep for a recommended duration to be healthy. On any day, that should be 10 to 12 hours. Wild budgies are naturally attuned to bedding down around sunset and rising when the sun rises at dawn. They also take daytime naps when tired. Pet budgies retain the same natural sleeping instinct using the sun’s cycle and should sleep at around 6 pm. Most of them will be fast asleep by 7 pm or 7:30 pm.
However, that works best for budgies in outdoor cages where no artificial light affects the natural cycle. If yours are kept indoors, it would be wise to be mindful of the effect of artificial light on the budgies’ sleeping patterns. Remember, if you enjoy staying up late at night, that isn’t so for budgies. Late bedtimes can be unhealthy for them. The recommended sleeping time length can be quite hard to attain in a busy household. You should try and ensure they get the needed rest.
If budgies don’t sleep well and enough, they’ll be irritable, cranky, and aggressive. It can cause them to lash out at each other and even inflict minor injuries sometimes. Sleeping all day could also be a sign of insufficient sleep at night. The 10-12 hours of daily sleep is essential for the maintenance of budgie’s healthy immune system. It should be regular lest the budgie becomes more vulnerable to contracting diseases and becoming ill.
Can Budgie Sleep with Noise?
All birds, including budgies, make a lot of different noises. They chatter a lot and make several sounds, some with meaning. Some sounds they make can indicate madness or anger with mates, nest boxes, or squabbles about territory and sharing of food or water. Others are distress/danger calls, talking/mimics, trills, contact calls, clicks, chirps, and beak grinding. While it’s their nature to produce such sounds, sometimes people can get irritated with them, especially when they’re made at night during sleeping hours.
What of the vice versa?
The noise that we make talking, watching Tv at night, or doing other things, can it affect budgie sleep? We’ve already seen how long a budgie should sleep and what can happen if that’s not achieved. One of the things that can disturb budgies’ natural sleep cycle is noise. How does it do so, and can they put up with it? Some people living in busy apartments full of noise even at night and finding it hard to sleep themselves may wonder if their budgies also face similar challenges. Let’s see!
Again, this can depend on the budgie and its routine. Some will still sleep with no issue. For instance, a budgie that settles best with some music on because that’s a routine will have no problem at all. Others will only sleep in such circumstances if they’re put in the right place (a preferable setup) and they feel safe with you. Some of these lovely friends also tend to get used to noise with time depending on where their cages are indoors. If yours has a cage set up in the dining room, for instance, you’ll realize that with time, it’ll get used to the sounds from the living room Tv, continuous talking, and others coming from movements.
In the wild, budgies are light sleepers since they’re normally other animals‘ prey. That enables them to be ready to wake up and fly away instantly if there’s danger. While some budgies are used to a noisy environment and may no problem sleeping with Tv on, car hoots, or shout-outs, others are more sensitive and can get stressed out by just low and short sounds like a doorbell ring. Some get affected by consistent exposure to continuous noises, while others with sudden, unexpected loud noises. It’s best to try and find out what type of noises bother your friend, and to what degree.
Do Budgies Need A Night Light?
Are budgies afraid of the dark? If so, does that mean they have to be provided with a night light? These birds aren’t generally afraid of being in the dark, but the change from light to darkness might make some nervous, more so if they’re young or new to a particular environment. For birds kept indoors, the encroachment of the evening hours may not be so obvious. In the natural habitat, budgies are likely to get enough light from moonlight and the stars and will unlikely be in total darkness.
So, do they need to be in the dark to sleep? Yes, like most creatures, they’ll need to sleep in the dark, something that’s necessary for their health and wellbeing. Little darkness can be stressing and accelerate behavioral problems and infection susceptibility. Thus, if you cage a budgie in your room and keep late hours with lights on, it may get complicated for it in such a prolonged lit room. Places with high traffic can also be challenging. Budgies cannot fall asleep properly without darkness. That means night lights aren’t necessary for budgies to sleep.
There are also times when budgies need light like when breeding or rousting. If strictly indoors, they require full spectrum UVB light daily, but they benefit more from time spent outside the cage. They are healthier, look better, and may act better if exposed to natural sunlight or full-spectrum light daily. Such lights are essential for a budgie to synthesize vitamin D. Special bulbs that produce high-quality UVB light are available for use for budgies that are always indoors.
Helping Your Budgie Sleep Well
After knowing how budgies sleep, for how long, and if noise or night light affect their sleeping patterns, how can you help these pets to sleep well and get a good night’s rest? Here are some things to consider:
- Establish a quiet sleeping place. Sleep is best for your little friends in a calm place without much visual and auditory disruption. Turn down the noise to avoid getting them startled.
- Provide a comfortable room temperature. If possible, the environment should be kept at a suitable temperature range of around 70-80o F. The room shouldn’t be too cold or too hot. If they stay outdoors, ensure the cage has space for protecting them from any breezes and if the temperatures outside are extreme, consider bringing them inside.
- Place some good sleeping perching objects in the cage. Budgies like sleeping on perches, so put some budgie perch made of natural timber and not treated with any chemicals in the cage. If there is more than one bird, put enough perching object for all.
- Cover the cage at night. Ask your avian vet which cage cover is suitable for your budgie’s cage to block light from getting in and provide darkness. If the budgie can’t handle total darkness, try offering a gentle night light using appropriate bulbs.
- Ensure the environment is tidy. Budgies love a clean cage, so strive to make it that way. Remove unnecessary equipment from the cage.
- Turn the lights off gradually. Wild budgies experience the gradual fading of sunlight to prepare them for sleep. Try switching off the lights gradually and making the cage darker to give the bird enough time to figure out it’s safe to sleep.
- Create and stick to a routine. These pets like a regular bedtime routine that mimics the natural cycle. Ensure you form a routine as to when they’ll be prepared for sleep and stick to that. With time, they’ll be used to that and stop being frightened.
The bottom line of Budgie sleep
Are you a budgie keeper? If so, you must be enjoying having these exciting birds as pets. Even so, like many other fellow keepers, you might be concerned about several things that happen around your little buddy’s life. Is it the sleeping pattern and routine? This discussion can help you know everything surrounding budgies’ sleeping arrangements and how to improve their sleep!
Some weird but very interesting Budgies facts. Budgies can turn their heads up to 180 degrees and they have Monocular Vision. They can sleep upside down Did you know that this is a sign that...
You are right, Budgies are royal pets, Did you know Queen Elizabeth had a Budgie? I know you are probably just sitting on your rolling chair and sipping down a drink of mocha (with extra shots of...