Parakeets are one of the more popular species of birds to keep as a pet in North America and Europe so we commonly see people who keep a pet parakeet reaching out and asking various questions about caring for their pets.
One thing that we do see parakeet keepers all the way from absolute beginners up to the more experienced keepers seem to ask is about why their parakeet climbs all over their cage, often in an illogical path.
It can be totally normal for a parakeet to climb around its cage, especially just after it turns dark with this being considered a natural behavior.
If your parakeet is climbing all over its cage constantly throughout the day then it could be a sign that your bird is stressed, anxious or in a cage that is far too small for it.
If you have a strong bond with your bird then your pet parakeet could just be climbing all over its cage as a way to get attention from you too.
This is more common than people realize and many people who are new to keeping parakeets fall for this trick from their bird and end up giving their parakeet the attention that it wants resulting in the behavior being displayed more often and a habit of climbing around its cage, often being loud starting to form.
Should I Be Worried If My Parakeet Is Climbing All Over Its Cage?
Although many people who keep pet parakeets do often worry about their bird when it is climbing around its cage, there is usually no need to worry or panic as there are a number of different reasons that your parakeet may act this way.
The majority of the reasons are not due to a problem with your parakeet either and in some situations, you can train the behavior out of your parakeet.
We have seen some people on social media misinteperate their parakeet climbing all over its cage with night fright as both can be common around dusk time but they are totally different.
Night fright is when your pet parakeet will scream as loud as possible while also flapping its wings amongst a wide range of other behaviors.
Regular climbing around the cage with a couple of low volume sounds is not night fright and they are both considered different activities in parakeets.
If your pet parakeet is exhibiting other symptoms suggesting that there may be something wrong with your parakeet then the cause for concern does usually increase.
The problem is, these other symptoms cover a huge range of things due to there being a range of things that could potentially be causing problems for your parakeet.
Although it is a wide range of symptoms to watch out for, our default advice in this situation would be to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary in addition to your parakeet climbing on the side of its cage and if there are secondary symptoms, consider getting advice from a veterinarian.
Why Does My Parakeet Climb On The Side of The Cage?
The most common reason that a parakeet will climb on the bars of its cage is due to its protective instinct just before it goes to sleep as it checks for danger and then works its way up its cage to its perch to sleep.
If your parakeet is constantly climbing around its cage during the day then it could be due to the bird being stressed or anxious with there being a number of common causes of stress and anxiety in birds in most homes.
The most common causes of stress and anxiety that may cause your pet parakeet to climb around its cage include but are not limited too other pets in the home, most commonly cats and dogs or strange smells in the room from scented candles or scented air diffusers.
Your bird can see the other pets in your family as a potential predators while the strange smells from scented candles and the like can sometimes confuse your bird and make it think there is a potential problem causing it to constantly look for a way out of its cage by climbing around.
As we touched on back at the start of the article, some parakeets form a strong bond with their keepers and think that you should spend all of your time with them so they will walk around their cage, climb the bars, and make noise just to get your attention.
If you give your parakeet your attention when it does this type of behavior then you are actually reinforcing the habit by completing the trigger/reward loop and this will increase the frequency of your parakeet doing this.
What Can You Do To Stop Your Parakeet Climbing On Its Cage?
If your parakeet it only climbing around its cage around dusk before it goes to sleep then this is normal for some birds and considered a natural behavior.
If your parakeet is stressed or anxious then removing the trigger of its stress and anxiety can often be enough to discourage your parakeet from climbing on the bars of its cage.
Depending on your setup, this may involve moving your parakeets cage to a different area of the home that makes it easier to remove these stress and anxiety triggers.
For example, if your parakeet gets scared of your pet cat then keeping your parakeets cage in the same area your cat goes to eat is not a good idea.
In a similar sense, if your parakeet gets stressed due to the smell of scented candles then keeping it in the room where you use your scented candles is also a bad idea.
Unfortunately, not all cages on the market are suitable for a parakeet but many parakeets do end up in a cage that is too small for them causing the bird to climb all over their cage when trying to get out.
If you have the budget available and think that this may be the trigger for your pet parakeet then upgrading your parakeets cage may be well worth it.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over your pet parakeet climbing all over its cage to an end. There are a number of reasons that your pet parakeet may climb all over its cage as we have covered in our article above. We hope that we have been able to help you better understand the various triggers and work to remove them from your pet parakeets environment to help your bird thrive rather than be scared or worried and climb around its cage constantly.
