A good night’s sleep is key to your budgie’s health and well-being. Therefore, you should do everything you can to make your budgie’s nights restful and conducive to good sleep.
Budgies can sleep with the TV on, but only if it’s heard quietly from a separate room. They should be separated from the TV at night to not be kept awake by the flashing lights or sudden noises. Some ambient noise is okay, but nothing too loud or jarring.
Why You Can Leave the TV on While Your Budgie Is Sleeping
While they can tolerate some noise and distraction at night, budgies can have difficulty sleeping if there is a loud television making noise in the same room where they’re trying to rest.
If your TV is on while your budgie is sleeping, and it’s in a separate room, they won’t be bothered by the noise and light.
But try not to keep it in the same room, as this can disturb their sleep and make them upset.
Providing the right atmosphere for your budgie to sleep in is key to their health and wellness.
You’ll want to provide an environment that is free from startling noises or jarring intrusions so that you can encourage deep sleep.
Do Budgies Need Total Darkness To Sleep?
Budgies need total darkness to sleep at night, though they can nap with the lights on during the day.
They might attempt to sleep in a lit room at night.
But they will be unlikely to reach the deep level of sleep that can be achieved in a distraction-free dark room or under a cage cover.
Budgies are diurnal, so they can simply sleep when it’s dark outside in the wild.
It’s only in developed areas where artificial lights can become a source of confusion for the budgie.
Why Your Budgie Doesn’t Need a Night Light
Some owners might be tempted to install a night light to keep their budgie from being afraid at night.
But in most cases, this is unhelpful. In the wild, budgies sleep in almost total darkness, broken up only by the dim light of the moon.
While a dim night light might not be any more disruptive than the moon, it certainly isn’t necessary and can be disruptive.
Where night lights can be useful is in the transition from day to night. Budgies do well when they experience a fade from light to dark instead of a sudden stark contrast.
By allowing them to sit in the dim light for a while before bed, you’ll help them ease into a sleeping state instead of finding themselves suddenly in the dark.
How To Help Your Pet Budgie Sleep Better
If your budgie has difficulty sleeping through the night, you might consider what environmental and behavioral changes you can make to encourage better sleeping.
The main thing you need to do is to block out noise and light, but above all, you need to make sure that you’re consistent from one day to the next.
Reduce Noise
Reducing noise is key because any sudden changes in sound will draw a budgie out of its REM sleep, waking it up and cutting deep sleep short.
While they don’t need complete silence, it’s generally a good idea to keep them in a separate room from any nighttime activity in the house to ensure a quieter environment.
Block Out Light
Another thing you can do to lull your budgie to sleep is to block out light sources.
You can drape a cotton blanket over the cage or buy a cage cover like this Asocea Extra Large Cage Cover from Amazon.
This cover from Asocea is made from nylon, a durable, breathable, and windproof fabric.
Be Consistent
The most important thing you can do to help your budgie sleep better is to be consistent from one day to the next.
Budgies need 10-12 hours of sleep every night, so try maintaining a sleep schedule that gives them at least that much time in quiet and darkness.
Budgies are creatures of habit, so they’ll fall asleep more easily each night once they catch on to a nighttime routine.
Control Temperature
If your budgie is too hot or too cold, this can also get in the way of sleep. Ideally, the budgie’s cage should be between 70℉ and 75℉.
If it’s colder than this, consider covering the cage or adding a heating element to the cage.
Placing your budgie’s cage away from windows is another good way to keep them from catching a chill.
Provide Enough Perches
If you have multiple birds, make sure that you have at least one perch per bird so that everyone has a comfortable place to sleep at night.
Try installing perches like these Grapevine Bird Cage Perches from Amazon, which are easy to install and comfortable to perch on for hours.
While you don’t want to crowd the cage, you want each bird to have a clear perching space.
Why Isn’t My Budgie Sleeping at Night?
Your budgie isn’t sleeping at night because it’s experiencing a disruption.
If you’ve just adopted your budgie or are settling into a new home, that could be why your budgie isn’t sleeping properly.
If it sleeps a lot during the day, this could also be linked to sleeping less at night.
Feeding your budgie more leafy greens and fewer seeds can improve the quality of your budgie’s nighttime sleep and help it recover from a disruption to its natural rhythms.
If your budgie has difficulty maintaining a sleeping pattern, try making dietary changes to see whether that makes a difference.
Signs That Your Budgie Needs To Visit a Veterinarian
Abnormal sleeping patterns can also be a sign of illness.
If your budgie isn’t sleeping at night and never gets long stretches of sleep beyond short naps, it could signify a very serious illness.
Look for these signs if your bird is exhibiting abnormal sleep behaviors.
Any of these could be a sign that your budgie needs to go to the veterinarian:
- Refusal to eat or low appetite
- Watery eyes
- Watery nostrils
- Feather loss
- Fluffed up feathers
- Lethargy
- Runny stool
- Abnormal drinking (too much or too little)
- Abnormal swellings