# will not sleep alone, what should i do?



## le_purrr (Apr 28, 2014)

My 3 month old cockatiel does not like his cage and wont sleep alone. I brought him home april 5th and he has been in his cage a total of 6 times. 3 over night the other 3 during the day. if i keep him in his cage he refuses to eat and flys around like crazy. he'll calm down but stays in the same spot until i let him out. once he is out, he eats as if hes starving. i even hung food and water all around his cage so that he would be to eat and drink.
his behavior is extremely stubborn and nippy. 
as of right now, he goes everywhere with me, sleeps on me at night, and goes to work with me. im already having problems introducing him to new foods and groom tools. i havent had a good night rest since he started to sleep with me. 
the cage i bought him is a vision bird cage model L12 large. plenty of room to fly and move around.
Should i get a smaller cage?


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## tweetsandsarah (Mar 27, 2014)

Well, this is a tough one. I would say that you're going to have to change his behavior. Out of cage time is great, but he needs a place where you know he will be safe and can sleep. If it were me, I would start doing everything I could to make the cage a good and positive place to be. Favorite toys go in the cage, going in and out of the cage can be a fun game. Let him go in the cage at first, but don't lock him up. Make it so that he can come and go as he pleases and use positive reinforcement (in this case I would suggest treats). Don't give him the treats for awhile outside of the cage. Once he is coming in and out of the cage... get him on a strict feeding schedule. For example, food is put out at 6 am every day and once again at 6 PM like clockwork. Leave him plenty of food during the day, but remove it at night. Once he is in the flow then start feeding him in the cage. I think you'll be fine setting up the schedule at any time, but this part (where you feed him in the cage) can only be done after he is used to the cage and going in and out. Once he has accepted this step it is simply feeding him only in the cage and letting him come to terms with it, then you start gradually introduce periods of time when the door is closed with slow increases until you're able to shut him in for however long you need. The key part of this process is to go slowly and one step at a time. I hope this gives you a path or at least some inspiration on how to change things. I'm new to cockatiel mommying, but I think this is okay advice. Good luck and keep us posted! We can always keep brainstorming.


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## le_purrr (Apr 28, 2014)

I'll definitely try that



tweetsandsarah said:


> Well, this is a tough one. I would say that you're going to have to change his behavior. Out of cage time is great, but he needs a place where you know he will be safe and can sleep. If it were me, I would start doing everything I could to make the cage a good and positive place to be. Favorite toys go in the cage, going in and out of the cage can be a fun game. Let him go in the cage at first, but don't lock him up. Make it so that he can come and go as he pleases and use positive reinforcement (in this case I would suggest treats). Don't give him the treats for awhile outside of the cage. Once he is coming in and out of the cage... get him on a strict feeding schedule. For example, food is put out at 6 am every day and once again at 6 PM like clockwork. Leave him plenty of food during the day, but remove it at night. Once he is in the flow then start feeding him in the cage. I think you'll be fine setting up the schedule at any time, but this part (where you feed him in the cage) can only be done after he is used to the cage and going in and out. Once he has accepted this step it is simply feeding him only in the cage and letting him come to terms with it, then you start gradually introduce periods of time when the door is closed with slow increases until you're able to shut him in for however long you need. The key part of this process is to go slowly and one step at a time. I hope this gives you a path or at least some inspiration on how to change things. I'm new to cockatiel mommying, but I think this is okay advice. Good luck and keep us posted! We can always keep brainstorming.


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## Korvia (Aug 3, 2012)

Is his cage in your room? you can try moving the cage into your room at bed time and see if that helps at night times. Does he sleep in bed with you? if so just to let you that can be very dangerous you could roll on him during your sleep. it's not uncommon for babies to feel insecure. For new foods it takes a while,you can try pretending to eat the food in front of your tiel to show him or her that the food is yummy. you can try setting up a routine, like wake up time is 8am and bed time is 9pm. Play time could be any time in between. hope that helps some.


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## le_purrr (Apr 28, 2014)

Korvia said:


> Is his cage in your room? you can try moving the cage into your room at bed time and see if that helps at night times. Does he sleep in bed with you? if so just to let you that can be very dangerous you could roll on him during your sleep. it's not uncommon for babies to feel insecure. For new foods it takes a while,you can try pretending to eat the food in front of your tiel to show him or her that the food is yummy. you can try setting up a routine, like wake up time is 8am and bed time is 9pm. Play time could be any time in between. hope that helps some.


His cage is in the living room bc it's too large to be in my room. He sleeps on my chest x( every time I move him he crawls back on to me. He did sleep on his play gym for a hour and flew back on to me. I almost rolled on him twice and he didnt even scream he just looked at me. I'm scared for him but I want him to sleep.... He'll sleep some where close to me if I'm still awake doing something but once I lay down he crawls onto my chest or sleeps on my neck which is very uncomfortable. X( he's silly and I messaged the breeder, she said it could be anxiety from being apart from his siblings....idk I'm trying real hard to get him to like his cage....every time I take him near it he flys to the next room.


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## Tisena (Sep 28, 2013)

Is it possible to get a small cage for your room and put him in there at night?


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## le_purrr (Apr 28, 2014)

I was thinking about doing that


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