My Parakeet is Freaking Out

User Question
Ive been reading your entire section on parakeets and i must say you helped me learn so much about my new pet parakeet! so first and foremost thank you!!!!

I just got my pet parakeet about 3 days ago from Petco. I have taught it to sit on my finger in its cage and for half of the time out of its cage. I havent really had any problems with my parakeet until about an hour ago. S/he (i cant tell the sex yet) lets me hold her and pet her and s/he very healthy. I have been playing some music for her lately. S/he loves the songs Logical Song by Supertramp and Fool In The Rain by Led Zepplin. S/he also loves this short korean song i play. but about an hour ago i played it and s/he started making calling noises like s/hes crying in alarm. s/he calls over and over again and then makes that Ark Ark sound and then goes back to calling. Then s/he would run all around her cage and jump on the food and water dish and the perches. So i immediately turned it off and s/he stopped. I turned it back on and s/he did the same thing. So, i put on Supertramp instead and s/he went back to normal.

Is this normal???

hi again. im sorry but i wrote to you about five minutes go about my new parakeet acting odd to music. well now s/he is frantically running around the cage climbing on the walls flapping her wings and jumping onto the perches and then climbing underneath them. s/he has made severald attempts to fit between her/his water dish and then wall of the cage.im very worried. s/he keeps making a call i dont know how to describe. she has made the ack sound once in between these calls. please write back as soon as possible! im very worried!

Lisa's Answer
Something has obviously spooked your parakeet and if you turned off the music I doubt it was the music (especially since you say you played it for her before without any problem). Are you sure nothing is going on in the house, like someone using cleaning solutions or cleaning the oven or smoking? It sounds like something is really bothering her about the environment. If it's warm out I would even open the windows to make sure she has fresh air, then just talk to her in a soothing manner, nice and quiet. Play some soft music, something classical, to soothe her.

My parakeets do panic every once in a while if they see a moth, for example, but it only lasts maybe 20 seconds and then they settle down again. If she's in a prolonged panic, then something must be there in the environment that she is reacting to.

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