Heat lamps?

[smahoney]

During the day when I'm gone, the house may get chilly. Does anyone use heat lamps on their birds cages? If so, ideas/tips? I'd feel better knowing she has a heat source when we're not home (no, I cannot leave our space heater or fireplace on 24/7) We live in a old cabin type house in the hills. Thanks She seems fine, but I don;t want her to get cold. I do keep her free of drafts.

 

[weco]

What kind of a temperature are we calling chilly? What is the coldest temp your house averages?

Although they originated in tropical climates, for the most part, our feathered friends are much hardier than we give them credit for. Healthy parrots can handle temps from the mid 30s to the mid 80s before they begin stressing. Actually, their are aviaries in Europe where their flocks are kept & raised outdoors, winter included.

Be very careful of heat lamps because some are manufactured with PTFE coatings (teflon) and their packaging does not always disclose it. If you do set up a heat lamp, be sure the bird can move into & out of the heat at will.

 

[crimson]

if your comfortable providing heat for your bird when your not home, you should.
If your temperature in your cabin is 50-60 degrees, I would invest in a heat lamp.

I use heat lamps on my birds if they are set up in a hospital cage, when not well, and they work great, providing the power doesn't go out.
there are different size bulbs so keep that in mind, it can be a bit of a pain setting them up, trying to attach them to the cage.
like the other member suggested, watch out for Teflon. when I first bought mine, I ran them for 48 hours to burn off any coatings, I've never had a problem.

I don't think mine were coated with teflon though.

 

[smahoney]

I would say the indoor temps run from low 50 - 70's? I bought a reptile infra red light (40 watts) with ceramic lamp to hold it. It clips. I will keep it away from bird. Just enought to heat an area. Thanks for the info on how they can adapt to temps. My neighbor has a parakeet that I fed over the holiday. I cannot believe how cold their house was, but the bird is fine. I guess their bird has acclimated over the years. I'm just a bit worried becasue I got this bird in winter and not summer. I'm hoping by next winter she will too. Her previous owner had the cage right next to their front door, but there were 7 people living in a 1 bedroom so I'm sure the apartment was always warm. lol

 

[suncon97]

Hi smahoney welcome to the forum I would suggest putting the lamp in a different room tonight and turning it on for a while. As mentioned before they do have a bit of a coating. I recently got another light for my leopard gecko and it had a bit of a "hot plastic" smell when first turned on. It went away after it was on a little bit but I would do it just to be safe and get it ready for use.

 

[smahoney]

thanks! Will do!

 

[SparkkiSparkS]

I've used a reptile night time heat lamp on parrots at night before when it gets really cold. It clips and I tested it to make sure it wouldn't heat up the metal on the cage and cause a burn first. Also put it in the corners so they could get in or out of it as they please. They seemed to stay under it all night and move away as the sun came up. Never had problems doing this.

 

[MonicaMc]

There are heated perches as well as heat panels for parrots as well.


My birds typically get temperatures between the low 50's to the high 80's or so, and I do not use heat lamps. I have used ceramic heat bulbs before, but generally speaking I don't. I have occasionally used an Edenpure heater as well, but again, I generally don't provide extra heat.

 

[NWQuakers]

We have wood heat, so if the fire dies down overnight the rest of the house gets to about 63. That doesn't sound too chilly, but it feels cold to me.
Between raising our own laying hens and now dealing with an immune-compromised elderly parrot, I feel much better having a variety of heaters to choose from.

I've been using a 150w ceramic 'bulb' in a metal brooder lamp fitting over Mark's side of the cage. It gets pretty warm, so I have one thermometer on top of the cage and one hung at perch level inside. They are both wireless transmitting sensors that I can read from the receiver on my desk.
With just one corner of the cage wrapped in a towel, it was maintaining about 80-85, going down to 75 overnight.

I also have 250w infrared bulbs that I use to brood baby chicks, and just bought a 60w infrared bulb to set up with Mark's hospital cage. I also ordered a heated perch for Mark.

There are different wattages of the ceramic bulbs though, and I plan to add some lower ones to my arsenal. We used to have a large ceramic panel heater that mounted on the wall near their cage, but we never used it and took it down. Sometimes we'll put the hot-oil radiator type heater near the cage on low setting, but I don't like doing that for too long unattended.

Mostly we keep the fire banked enough to maintain the house around 70, but we're lucky enough to have an older house that someone took the time to insulate well. And my partner & I work different shifts, so there is usually only a few hours with no one home. We try not to travel during cold times of year, just in case.

 

[MonicaMc]

What kind of wood do you burn?