# Nocturnal 'Tiel



## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I've been trying to get Sunny and Roo more sleep to reduce hormones.

The only problem is, three times in the past week, I've heard odd noises coming from the room where they sleep, and investigated to find Roo noisily swinging on her swing a good two hours after I put them to bed. I'm not sure whether she's getting spooked somehow and ending up on the swing because it makes her feel safe, or if she's actually decided that she wants to swing at 1 am. 

Regardless, it's a problem a) because she's not sleeping and b) because the noise in the dark spooks Sunny.

Has anyone had an issue like this, and do you have any suggestions? Should I just take her swing out at night? I'm sort of concerned that if I do, she'll just find something else to get into trouble with.


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Cupid used to do this, as soon as the lights went off it was playtime!!! He would play with toys and hang upside down etc thankfully he has grown out of it and now when the lights go off he takes his place next to Aero and goes right to bed. Maybe take out the swing as you said and see what happens...Wish I had helpful advice, like I said he just suddenly stopped fooling around at bedtime.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Luna sang throughout the night for a good while...I don't think he does anymore because I never hear my boyfriend complain anymore lol I think he just grew out of it. But Roo is 4 so she may not "grow" out of it. I would remove the swing and see if that settles her down.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

That little Roo- even what she does at night is cute.  (Although I'm sure your Sunny doesn't think so. ) Do you think she is waking up at night or not going to sleep? The reason I ask is I have this whole bedtime ritual that I do with Sunny. My fiance thinks it's kind of silly but Sunny is big on routine and this way he knows it's bedtime and time to wind down, etc. But Sunny is also an old man compared to Roo and likes his sleep.)


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I think she's waking up, since she's quiet for the first hour or two after I put them to bed. I'm not sure WHAT is waking her, though. I have blackout curtains in that room, and I'm certainly not noisy -- they're two rooms away from me and I'm just sitting on my couch doing homework when it happens. It's really odd because she's never done this before, but now it seems to be a repetitive behavior. I almost wonder if she wants to sleep on her swing, but I'm not going to let that happen. Because of her history of muscle atrophy and balance problems, I've learned that I can't let her sleep at the highest point of the cage like she wants to. If I let her, she falls off the perch when she's asleep and freaks out terribly, which is even riskier now that she can give Sunny night frights as well. I had trained her to sleep on her platform perch -- seriously, when I say "good night guys, I love you" she climbs over to it. But for some reason this week she's been getting off of it to swing instead.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Would she sleep safely if you put a platform perch high in the cage? It sounds like a higher sleeping place might be what she's looking for.

If you have room for it, Plan B might be to get her a small sleeping cage and put a platform perch in the highest part, and if she fell off she wouldn't have much of a drop. You could try using a rope perch instead of a platform perch since they're supposed to be easy to grip.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

tielfan said:


> If you have room for it, Plan B might be to get her a small sleeping cage and put a platform perch in the highest part, and if she fell off she wouldn't have much of a drop. You could try using a rope perch instead of a platform perch since they're supposed to be easy to grip.


I have smaller cages, but they really stress her out so I don't think she would want to sleep in one of them. The one time I tried that, she shrieked bloody murder in the dark until I put her back in her cage for fear of my neighbors hating me. She's really not stable enough on a rope perch either for sleep. I've seen her fall off of them before when napping. The thing with Roo is that she climbs fine and perches fine, but she has a tendency to lean too far forward, tip over, and then flap her wings like crazy until she goes flying across the cage out of control. It's like once she loses her balance, she can't get it back without flailing all over the place. Moving the platform up higher is a good idea, though. I may try it if taking the swing out doesn't solve the issue.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Depending on the cage configuration, you might even want two easily-installed platforms that will cover lots of territory at night, and be easy to take out in the daytime if they're in the way.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

That is a good idea. I had initially been reluctant to install more platforms because I didn't want her to get all "oooh, nesting spots!" but if I take them out during the day, that won't be an issue.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I took the swing out. I feel kind of bad, because it was given to her by her rescue mommy and it's her comfort spot. But...if she's going to be naughty with it and spook Sunny, that's not good for either of them. I'll definitely give it back in the morning.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Well now she's in there bashing around a toy instead of going to sleep.  

I just don't understand why this is an issue all of a sudden. It never was before. Now I'm afraid to go to bed in case they have a night fright again, and I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

She might be going through sort of a delayed teenage phase now, where she's learning that she can do all kinds of things just for the heck of it. Is it possible to put her in a different room than Sunny so she doesn't disturb him? And give her a night light so she can see well enough to settle down in a good spot when she's done playing?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

tielfan said:


> \Is it possible to put her in a different room than Sunny so she doesn't disturb him? And give her a night light so she can see well enough to settle down in a good spot when she's done playing?


No, there's really only one room where I can put them to bed, since I don't want them in my bedroom (because I'm often up during the night) and I need a place where I can still do work after they go to bed. Plus, she FREAKS if he's out of her sight, even for a little while. Seriously, she screams like you'd think I was torturing her. They do have a night light, but it doesn't completely prevent night frights if one of them gets spooked. I suspect Sunny may have particularly bad vision in low light, because the vet has said that he's starting to get very small cataracts due to his age.

Also, delayed teenage phase is a really interesting thought. She certainly did act like a baby before in terms of her behavioral skill set early on. She also strikes me as extremely smart in terms of her ability to solve problems and get what she wants -- much moreso than Sunny, which is probably how she survived her difficult start. (For example, she knows how to dig under a blanket to chew on things I've attempted to hide, knows how to take apart her pellet cup and dump it out of the cage to get my attention, and she'll often carry foot toys or treats that she really likes up one of her ladders and store them in her food dish so she doesn't have to go down to the bottom to get them.) So I guess it wouldn't be a surprise if she's finally gotten confident enough to have a bit of a rebellion.  Here's hoping that it is that, and that she'll "grow" out of it soon.


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## RexiesMuM (Sep 7, 2011)

Have you tried a Night light with a colored bulb ? I know some colors are relaxing to people mabey a certain color like orange or something similar to sunset might help her sleep better ?


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

I don't have any suggestions about the night time play, but wow, she is one smart girl


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