pinotthegcc

New member
May 25, 2018
4
0
Parrots
Pinot the green cheek conure, born Feb 2018
I am going to be moving in with someone who has cats so my bird Will be contained to a single room when I am at work
She's a GCC. The room has little to no natural sunlight. Can anyone recommend to me a good sun lamp/ regular lamp to keep on my bird while I am out so she is not in the dark? Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thank you
:) :green2:
 

SailBoat

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
17,643
10,007
Western, Michigan
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DYH Amazon
At a big box store or local hardware store, buying 40 or 60 watt LED, Daylight Series light bulbs. They will provide lighting that will provide an outside (noon) 'like' light. When you are home, getting your Parrot into natural Sun light is strongly recommended.

Bare bulbs are not recommended.

Hope that this helps.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
Nothing you buy is ever going to be a replacement for UV lighting (I thought that the "sun lamps" were, originally). Full-spectrum lighting is the closest you will get. The bulb often can go into different fixtures, but you need to be careful because if it is too close and not properly elevated, it can be a shock hazard and cause retinal burns (and even skin burns in some extreme cases). The spacing requirements are usually between 6-12 inches for benefits, but this is debated so you should really research before placing your lamp anywhere. I bought a "Baltoro power natural spectrum light" and although my bird likes it (I use it when I am gone or present at about 1 foot from the cage), I was wrong in assuming it was comparable to UV lighting (it doesn't do the same thing). Featherbrite bulbs are one option (never used)....It is kind of hard to recommend anything specific, as this area is a bit controversial, but I am sold, as numerous parrots I have known (owned by others) have significantly changed to to lighting....anything is better than nothing.



https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Light-Parrots-Plants-Animals/dp/B015NGC1NO


***If you get your own fixture/clamp lamp, MAKE SURE THE METAL PORTION OF THE REFLECTOR DOESN'T HAVE TEFLON/PTFOA/PTFE---A heat-lamp incident at a newly-renovated zoo killed a lot of birds due to the lamp fixtures....
 
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BoomBoom

Well-known member
May 2, 2012
1,722
58
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Boomer (Sun Conure 9 yrs), Pewpew (Budgie 5 yrs), Ulap (Budgie 2 yrs), Eight & Kiki (Beloved Budgies, RIP)
I'm not quite sold on full spectrum lighting. It provides illumination at best but can not be a substitute for direct, unfiltered sunlight for vitamin D production. I read some where that the coating on the FSLs have very little effect and lose potency in a few hours or days of use. Plus the intensity must be high and the distance extremely close to have any sort of impact. This seems uncomfortable for the bird and blinding.

I'd love for new information that would change my mind though.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
BoomBoom- I should mention, I do still use mine in conjunction with real sunlight---That having been said, she does better with a full day of sun+lamp, than 1/2 day of sun alone+ no lamp....So no matter what, she gets real sun, but the lamp seems to help when added to the equation, even though real sun is far superior.
 

Caitnah

Active member
Mar 24, 2018
267
65
Upstate New York
Parrots
GCC Pineapple
I also looked into FSL but changed my mine after reading some articles about them not having any real benefits as Boom Boom mentioned.
My room where my Conure resides, has a window but his cage is too far away for any benefit (as far as light), so am still looking into alternative lighting. Probably will just do a daylight bulb.
Can't even take him outside right now due to having a VERY hot summer.
 

SailBoat

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
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Western, Michigan
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There seems no way to end the belief that a inexpensive man-made device can provide the benefit of natural Sun Light. The ones that are believed too are just plan dangerous for both Humans and Avians alike.

Please, never place a light source closer than a meter (40") from a Human or Avian. The correct distance can be determined by setting the light fixture with bulb one meter from your eyes. Turn-on the bulb and then turn it off quickly. You will likely see spots (blind spots) that is an indication that it is just too close. Keep moving the fixture away from your face one meter at a time until you find a safe range. Never use an uncovered bulb and only use LED, daylight bulbs.

NOTE: Over use of LED, daylight bulbs have been known to effect ones sleep patterns. Reduce the number /amount of light as evening sets and continue to reduce the amount of light as your normal sleep time approaches.

There is plenty of Junk Science as to the positive effects of full spectrum (daylight) lighting in the production of Vit. D. That said, there is no solid evidence of that happening. The statements are: Humans state they feel better. The reality is that the mind is tricked into believing that the Daylight lighting is from natural Sunlight and the mind provides /believes that there is a positive effect.
 

EllenD

New member
Aug 20, 2016
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State College, PA
Parrots
Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
Ah, the "bird lighting" controversy! It really isn't a controversy at all, as artificial/full-spectrum/UV lighting for birds is totally worthless. And there is simple science that explains why it is worthless. As far as lighting the room that your bird is going to be in, as Sailboat recommended above, just buy some LED lights and fixtures at Lowes or Home Depot, do not waste your money on ANY special, artificial "bird lighting", as not only does it do nothing similar to natural sunlight, it can actually harm your bird in the long-run.

Here's the skinny: I think we can all agree that nothing is going to replace natural sunlight for ANY type of pet. That being said, there are certain pets that absolutely REQUIRE and must have a specialty artificial light as a part of their habitat, and without them they will develop horrible diseases and eventually die. These types of pets are basically the reptiles and amphibians...Why? Because most (not all, but most) reptiles and amphibians bodies will not produce ANY Vitamin D3 without a certain amount of UVB lighting every single day. And though you can feed them a Vitamin D3 supplement, it just doesn't work. And why is it so important that their bodies be able to manufacture Vitamin D3? Because without their bodies manufacturing natural Vitamin D3, they cannot absorb, process, or use ANY of the Calcium that they ingest in either their food or in Calcium supplements they are fed. And what happens if they can't absorb any of the Calcium they ingest? Well, basically EVERY SINGLE PROCESS in the bodies of most living creatures requires Calcium to happen, from nerve and brain function to immune system response to muscle contractions. So without their bodies being able to absorb, process, and use the Calcium that they ingest in their food and Calcium supplements, their bodies must start leeching the Calcium out of their bones in order to perform all of their vital bodily functions...like moving and breathing. The result of this at first is the development of Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), then paralysis, severe bone deformities, and then death. So how do we keep our pet Reptiles and Amphibians bodies manufacturing Vitamin D3, thus making them able to absorb, process, and use the Calcium that they ingest in their food and Calcium supplements that we feed them? Well, we either get them out under Natural Sunlight for 2 hours a day, or we put them under a strong enough and SAFE artificial UVB light for at least 12 hours a day. And are all UVB lights created equal? Hell no. That's why I emphasized "strong enough" and "safe" artificial UVB lights...Reptile owners who buy either Compact (regular lightbulb shape) or Coil (spiral bulbs that fit into regular lightbulb sockets) find that their Reptiles and Amphibians still develop slight to moderate Metabolic Bone Disease...Why? Because both Compact and Coil UVB bulbs emit very low amounts of UVB light by nature of design, not nearly enough to keep their bodies producing enough Vitamin D3 to keep their Calcium levels high enough...And the most horrible thing that Reptile and Amphibian owners go through when they specifically buy a Coil/Spiral UVB bulb is not only do their pets still develop Metabolic Bone Disease due to their UVB emittance being so low, but they also end up with horrible eye infections (Photoconjunctivitis), blindness, skin burns, and skin cancer. Why? Because there are some horribly harmful light rays that are emitted by Coil/Spiral UVB bulbs which are a byproduct of the manufacturing process used to make them...and this goes for ALL Coil/Spiral shaped lightbulbs that are marketed as being for some type of artificial light benefit to a pet, whether it be a UVB Coil bulb, a UVA (heat) Coil bulb, or the artificial "bird" Coil bulbs...So you should NEVER put your birds or any other pets underneath an artificial Coil/Spiral shaped bulb, regardless of it's use.

So what does all of this have to do with birds? Nothing at all, and that's the point, lol. Birds do not require UVB light for their bodies to manufacture Vitamin D3 or any other Vitamin, and thus it also has no bearing on their absorption, processing, or use of Calcium from their diets. Here's the deal: As long as you are feeding your bird a healthy, varied, nutritious diet every day, they are going to get all of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids/enzymes, and everything else that their bodies need to perform all of the systematic processes they do, just like us humans get all of our required nutrition from our diets. So there is absolutely not a single artificial "bird light" sold that is going to benefit your bird nutritionally, metabolically, etc. AS LONG AS your bird's diet is adequate and appropriate...And if your bird's diet is not adequate and appropriate, there's not artificial light that is going to help that situation...And as I already mentioned, a lot of the artificial "bird lights" manufactured and sold out there not only do nothing at all to help your birds, many of them can and will actually harm your birds if they are put underneath them every day; the harm that these artificial "bird lights" can do spans everything from eye, skin, and feather damage to mucous membrane damage and cell-degradation and changing...yes, that's another way to say cancer, specifically skin cancer.

It's always good to get your bird out under natural sunlight if you can, as it's good to get yourselves under natural sunlight...but to a point, as too much is not a good thing, and not at all for any type of metabolic or nutritional need. As far as just adding lights to the room that your bird's cage/area is located in...Well, Sailboat said it best, stick to LED lighting because it does not emit any heat or dangerous spectrum light rays, and simply "light the room".
 

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