Need a space heater..

The weather is starting to get cold again and even though my budgies have a snuggle up bird heater for their cage, I'd like to have a room heater just in case.

I'm very very concerned about this. I have heater I was sure was safe, but it was turned on the day my first budgie died and there is always a chance it had something to do with losing her. I won't use it again.

Does anyone have links for specific heaters that are proven safe?
The birds will not be touching it, just for ambient heat.

Oil filled heaters of all stripes or infrared heaters of all types are fine.

I use a lasko ceramic heater occasionally when needed and it works great.

Portable or area heaters are as a general statement expense means of providing heat. The type of heaters recommended above are the safest on the market place. They are commonly more expensive to purchase, but are commonly less expensive to operate. The very best is the oil filled radiator type. They take a bit longer to heat up, but once at temperature, they hold a steady temperature and are the lowest cost to operate.

If you are a renter, you are pretty much stuck with what your Landlord provides. If you own your home, take advantage of your utilities programs for reducing energy usage. Use as much as possible of their program(s) from reducing heat loss to improving /replacing your heating unit. Replace filters often during the heating season helps!

Avoid the 'nice looking' fireplace appearing heaters as they are a ton of money to purchase and use a ton of energy to operate.

This us a radiant heater for birds, ok mostly marketed fir chickens now, but I've used it over 18 years.

http://go.skimresources.com/?id=162...tz=240&xuuid=04ad97ccd31c575a1530d68364c5f3d7

SailBoat said:

If you are a renter, you are pretty much stuck with what your Landlord provides. If you own your home, take advantage of your utilities programs for reducing energy usage. Use as much as possible of their program(s) from reducing heat loss to improving /replacing your heating unit. Replace filters often during the heating season helps!

Click to expand...

We own, but my bf is pretty heat-intolerant and he likes the main house kept under 70. I can only talk him up to 73 in the summer because the a/c is so expensive.

In the winter we "fight" about keeping the heat up even though its cheaper than the a/c, and I often feel chilly in the house. I have sweaters and blankets but I'm sure if I feel chilly, its not great for birds that basically evolved in a desert!
I could at least keep their main room a little warmer than the rest of the house.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into oil heaters more.
The one I had was a lasko but I can't bring myself to trust it again, just in case.

chris-md said:

Oil filled heaters of all stripes or infrared heaters of all types are fine.

I use a lasko ceramic heater occasionally when needed and it works great.

Click to expand...

Ah! I'd seen oil-filled heaters mentioned here before, but forgot and was having trouble searching the forum from my phone.

I was envisioning something messy and scary, but they actually look perfect. Thank you!

Elysianblight said:

SailBoat said:

If you are a renter, you are pretty much stuck with what your Landlord provides. If you own your home, take advantage of your utilities programs for reducing energy usage. Use as much as possible of their program(s) from reducing heat loss to improving /replacing your heating unit. Replace filters often during the heating season helps!

Click to expand...

We own, but my bf is pretty heat-intolerant and he likes the main house kept under 70. I can only talk him up to 73 in the summer because the a/c is so expensive.

In the winter we "fight" about keeping the heat up even though its cheaper than the a/c, and I often feel chilly in the house. I have sweaters and blankets but I'm sure if I feel chilly, its not great for birds that basically evolved in a desert!
I could at least keep their main room a little warmer than the rest of the house.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into oil heaters more.
The one I had was a lasko but I can't bring myself to trust it again, just in case.

Click to expand...

Deserts are dry places and as a result humidity levels are fairly dry. This results in very high temperatures during the day and cool to very cool at night. So, a temperature in and around 70 degrees 'F' is comfortable for Parrots. This is, if they are allow to adjust their downy (underlining feathers) to the temperature change. Its the quick change in temperature that kills. Like Humans, Parrots over several months can adjust to the natural change in temperature.

If you are feeling chilled in your home, it is very possible that drafts could be one of the causes. Remember that heat raises and cool air falls. Add, the ability of air entering and exiting your home (year around) you are spending money on air that does not remain in your home! Contain both your electric and natural gas utility and ask what programs they have available. If you are using oil or propane for heating, they likely do not have any programs, but it is worth asking.

I recommend keeping a digital thermometer close to the birdies' cages & visible, so you can easily keep an eye on the temperature.

We heat the bird room over winter with the wal mart brand 30$ oil-filled radiators. Coming up on our 3rd winter using them and they work great! Just make sure you clean it very well before using if you store it anywhere dusty.. use the wheels so it doesn't get too close to the floor... standard stuff. Never thought I'd be endorsing a wal mart product for bird use, but here we are lol. Hey, they work and are cheap!