With their small size and social nature, parakeets make excellent exotic pets to keep in the home. The different types of parakeet include the small and colorful budgerigars, the larger English budgie, and the Alexandrine parakeet, which changes color as it matures. Many people also keep ringneck parakeets as pets, although the ringneck has a slightly less social personality than other types.
While most parakeets work well as small exotic pets, budgerigars, also known as budgies, are the most common type of parakeet to keep as house pets. Budgerigars are native to Australia but have adapted well as pets across Europe, the United States, and Canada. They are smaller in stature than other types of parakeet and come in several different color variations, including an all white, and mixtures of green, red, yellow, and blue. Budgies are tame and highly intelligent, making them easy to train.
English budgies are specially bred to be show parakeets, but many people also keep theses types of parakeets as pets. Size is the only notable difference between an ordinary budgerigar and an English budgie, which has a larger head and body and stands taller and wider than the traditional budgerigar. Like the ordinary budgerigar, however, English budgies are colorful, intelligent and tame.
Alexandrian parakeets are native to jungles of India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. These types of parakeets have larger heads and long, tapered tails. The coloring of an Alexandrian parakeet depends on the sex as males are dark green with some pink and the females are a lighter green without any pink coloring. Males also develop two colored rings around their necks while the females remain the same color throughout their lifespan. Both male and female Alexandrian parakeets have a high energy level and require a large cage that allows them room to move around.
Ringnecks are one of the hardest types of parakeet to keep as pets as they have aggressive tendencies and require daily training and care. Generally, a ringneck parakeet grows to a smaller size than budgie or Alexandrian parakeet, and it’s coloring is a bright to dark green, regardless of sex. This species also has pink and colored rings around the neck, making them easy to identify. While ringneck parakeets require extra handling and care, they can become tame house pets with time.