Lighting? (FSL?)

I've been thinking of getting more lighting/lamps for Jackie's cage area... What are my options? I've only heard of full-spectrum lights but dont know anything about them...
I need the run-down of what's out there, prices, and where to buy... Pretty please 😄

Sun light is your best option, your wasting money on full spectrum lighting as they don't do anything for your birds! Only the higher power lighting system can simulate sun light better but it creates heat big time, costly to run, can blind you looking into it, etc.

I don't use full spectrum lighting, but if you have a small cage or a harness you can just bring Jackie outside and sit with her, just be careful that she isn't too hot.

I take Rosie for walks in her harness, and plan to eventually do the same with Kenji

The reason I asked about lighting is because the room where Jackie's cage is in doesn't have any windows. I try to keep it as well lit as I can, but sometimes it still feels too dim. He spends about 4-6 hrs/day in there, the rest is in our living room next to a window (with shear curtains).
Can lighting affect his mood? Should I add more or get better lamps to make it brighter?

I use a full spectrum light bulb in an uplighter next to the cage - it's on all day so that the light is constant in her corner of the room. I don't think it's a good alternative to proper sunlight but it's a lot less tiring on my eyes than a conventional bulb (the light is brighter but also 'cleaner', without the yellow hue that conventional bulbs give) so I guess it probably benefits her as well. They're not specialist bulbs, cost about the equivalent of $10 and last forever. In the long term I'm still hoping to convince her that a harness is a good idea so she can yet her proper light fix outdoors.

Like Mikey said, spending the extra $$$ for anything purported to be full spectrum, makes an awfully rough toilet paper!

There are several threads on the forums about UVA, UVB & full spectrum lighting.....stay away from any herp lighting for birds...wrong type of lighting, although you may hear/read that some people use them.....

Since the U.S. & maybe Canada also, has seen fit to mandate the use of florescent lighting as opposed to incandescent light bulbs, there is an increasing problem with the brightness of these types of bulbs in existing fixtures.....the solution is usually increasing the number of light fixtures in a given room/area and in many cases, consideration should be given to speaking with a licensed electrician before just arbitrarily screwing these new mini fluorescents into your existing fixture, especially if the fixture is a recessed can type fixture.....

Some of the old fixture cans did not have proper ventilation or may not have been properly installed and these new type 'bulbs' posed an additional heat problem of their own.....there is a small electronic circuit, between the screw base and the glass part and they have been known to catch fire and or burn out due to too much heat buildup.....home do-it-yourselfers are the worst problem children in this category.....

If remodeling did not account for the additional heat buildup created by recessed lights, simply replacing an incandescent bulb with these new mini fluorescent screw-in bulbs may be an accident waiting to happen.....

Also, if you use wall/light dimmers, fluorescent bulbs/tubes do not work with them and present another potential fire hazard.....additionally, if your home has aluminum wiring in it, please have a licensed electrician or electrical engineer inspect your wiring.....in most jurisdictions in the U.S. you cannot make any modifications to an aluminum wired circuit, but must pull new, copper, wire, from outlet/fixture to the fuse/breaker panel.....NO inline connections/junctions (CAN BE BIG FIRE HAZARD).....

Well, I digressed, so back to FS lighting, you might want to do some extra reading:

http://www.parrotforums.com/general...l-spectrum-lighting-do-you-want-part-1-a.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general...l-spectrum-lighting-do-you-want-part-2-a.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/28405-uvb-lighting.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/29150-uvb-lighting.html

Those are just a few of what's in the forums' archives, there are more that you can look up & read.....