Full Spectrum lighting

[Abigal7]

Do you use full spectrum lighting? I have my conure in a used cage around 24 or 32 inched length and width. Ahow, I live where it gets cold in the winter. I want to make sure my bird gets enough UV. If you use full spectrum lighting do you have any recommendations on what company I should order it from?

 

[weco]

Before you buy any FS lighting, you might might be interested in reading a couple of postings I made last night. The majority of the lighting tube/bulbs that are offered for use with companion parrots really do not do what you think they do, and those that do work are not the cute little little squiggly units, but look like normal 4' utility fluorescent tubes used in shop lights.....

Oh, and the effective UV output lifespan is somewhere around 6 months, although they will continue to give off light. It is a shame that so many of us are advertising junkies & are so easily parted from our hard earned $$$.....

Although they are a bit long, the information offered in these posts is verifiable:

Full Spectrum Lighting - Do You Want It part-1
Full Spectrum Lighting - Do You Want It part-2


Forgot to include this link: http://littlefeatheredbuddies.com/info/nutrition-lighting.html

The vita-lite link no longer works, but the others do.....


Additionally, there is a lot of info (question & answer) from a Yahoo group, going back some 17+ years, including this posting:

"A canary breeder in my local club used to put Vitalites directly on top of her breeding cages and after a couple of years, some of the hens developed cataracts. She called Durotest (the manufacturer of the full spectrum Vitalite) and they recommended that the tubes be at least 3 feet from a bird's eyes because the UV can cause cataracts. So this might also be true of other brands of full spectrum lights. By the way, Durotest just filed for bankruptcy."

The group's link is : https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!forum/rec.pets.birds

Once in the group, search their messages using full spectrum as your search parameters.....their message archives also have threads in which Patrick Thrush, a bird lighting expert, answered questions and offered insights not given you by lighting manufacturers or vendors, heck, I would venture that the majority selling "full spectrum" lighting have no idea what they are selling or that the term "full spectrum lighting" is nothing more than a marketing gimmick.....

 

[Rio Mom]

I use full spectrum light for all my fids. I buy them at mysafebirdstore.com. They each have one above their cage that's on a timer for 6 hours a day. I replace them every 6 months. I have seen a very noticable difference in their feathers with using the lights. I even have one for myself next to my laptop since the winter months don't have much sunlight.