Does anyone here use full spectrum lighting?

[Abigal7]

I know it is a debatable issue whether it is needed or not. Some say it is beneficial to a parrot while others say it is a waste of money. But I was curious if anyone on this forum does use it in the winter. I once seen a conure whose owner used one on him. I know reptiles sometime need special lighting (the same with monkeys).

 

[MikeyTN]

I don't use them cause they don't do a thing....I just use regular fluorescent bulbs and open the curtains during the day for them to get natural sun light.

 

[RockysMom]

I use them them I have 4 stand up floor lamps , and I have lights on all my cages

 

[Terry57]

I use them as well on all the cages. I have 4 floor lamps and the rest are attached to the walls over the smaller guys. There is so little sun time here in the winter.

 

[Abigal7]

I use them them I have 4 stand up floor lamps , and I have lights on all my cages

Thanks, for the info. I am still reading up on it and reading on this forum. At what distance do you keep the light from yours birds and how many hours do you use it? I take Captain Jack outside on his aviator harness when the weather is nice. Do your birds molt a lot? I asked this because this conure I saw seemed to be in constantly molting everytime I seen him. I also read on past topics of this website of people expressing concern the lighting was hurting their birds eyesight.

 

[Abigal7]

I use them as well on all the cages. I have 4 floor lamps and the rest are attached to the walls over the smaller guys. There is so little sun time here in the winter.

What kind of bulbs do you use and do they fit in any floor lamp?

 

[Terry57]

I use Avain Sun 5.0 UVA+UVB bulbs by Zoo Med. They are a compact fluorescent

 

[Terry57]

Opps, forgot to answer about the any lamp. I use the floor lamps made for it, but any would work as long as it can handle the wattage, which is measured differently than regular bulbs. Our bulbs are 26 watts, but a regular lamp fixture would have to be able to hold a 75 or 100 watt regular bulb (sorry, I can't remember which)

 

[KimKim]

I also have a featherbrite swag lamp and featherbrite bulb hanging above my greys cage. During the day the shade is up, well as long as it's not super hot, so not sure how well the lamp works with all the daylight coming in... But I have read that windows block the good stuff birds need from the sun.

 

[Gizmomania]

I use them for my baby Grey as well. It's positioned 12 inches above his favorite perch.

 

[MonicaMc]

A better question might be....

Do you use full spectrum lighting? If yes, have you noticed any behavioral/health/color changes in your bird?

 

[KeroRocks]

I use a UVB UVA light on my birds. I actually just ordered the lamp and bulb for my Grey because he is new and I don't have one for him yet.

I have my lights places above their playstands and I turn them on when I put them on their stands.

For my Grey I plan to put his near his cage, not his playstand, he has a beak that worries me around the lamp so his will be on a timer above his cage where he can't reach it.