Full Spectrum lighting bird vs reptile lights?

[IcyWolf]

So, I have been wanting to get some Full spectrum lighting for the birds but with the cost of them, I want to make sure I get the right thing. It also got me to thinking, what is the difference between full spectrum aviary lamps and flourescent uvb reptile lamps? I used to do reptile rescue and educational shows so I have a lot of reptile supplies, including uva and uvb lamps and fixtures. Would a 2.0 or a 5.0 reptile full spectrum lamp be beneficial to a bird or could it potentially be harmful? I want to get ziggy a lamp either way but if I could use something I already have it would be great! I would have to buy a new bulb regardless because they are only good for 6 months but I've noticed that flurescent uvb reptile bulbs are a bit cheaper than the bird ones and I already have a ton of fixtures.

 

[triordan]

good question~ let's see if anyone answers...i have bearded dragons and snakes so i also have the supplies

 

[IcyWolf]

I really hope someone can enLIGHTen us here(hehe sorry ). I found this website which had some good info but I am still a tad confused. In this article it states "Based on what Mark recommends to bird clients, I would say that Ott lites, Vitalites, and Chromalux bulbs all work. Reptile lights that truly are full spectrum (NOT reptile basking lights) should work as well - but most of them produce a considerable amount of heat which is good for the reptiles but not necessarily good for birds - unless you're using it to set up a hospital cage, which isn't a bad idea and works fine. " The thing I find confusing about this, is that, at least in my experience, full spectrum lights do not produce much heat at all. Unless they are talking about the compact fluorescent bulbs. I've never used them before and I have no idea how much heat they give off. Speaking purely of regular full spectrum fluorescent lights, unless you are actually touching the bulb, you can't really feel any heat coming off of it. Then, the next question would be, what kind of light? I always used 2.0 for amphibians, 5.0 for most tropical herps, and 7.0-10.0 for desert dwellers. I have no idea where a parrot would fall into place. HolisticBird and HolisticBirds

 

[andrea.faerie]

I'm also interested to find out! Although I wouldn't be able to use osiris' lamp... he's a 10.0 haha I think maybe a 2.0 would be ok? Even a 5.0... most are tropical

 

[Rio Mom]

I don't know anything about reptile lights, but thought I would share that this is the full spectrum light I have Featherbrite Captial Universal Cagetop Light - FULL SPECTRUM LIGHTING by MY SAFE BIRD STORE it comes with this bulb in the 15w Featherbrite Full Spectrum Lightbulbs 15W & 20W - FULL SPECTRUM LIGHTING by MY SAFE BIRD STORE If the fixture you have can go right over the top of the cage, I would think you could use the fixture since all it does is power the bulb. As for the bulb itself, myself I would stick with ones specifically for birds without knowing for sure the reptile ones are safe.

 

[IcyWolf]

Wow, that bulb is really reasonably priced! I don't think I could bring myself to spend that much on the fixture, but I have a ton of ceramic socketed light domes that would work just fine. Has anyone done any research on the safety of compact fluorescents and parrots? I only ask because I know there is quite the debate about them in the reptile world, there are many people that say that they can damage their eyes. I know artificial bird lighting is still in it's infancy(compared to herp lighting anyway.), so I'm cautious just to assume something is safe just because it is marketed for parrots. 20-30 years ago everyone thought seed diets and round cages were optimal for parrots and that heat rocks were good for reptiles and look at what we know now. I hate ordering things offline but next time we go to get bird food I'm going to ask the shop if they could possibly order me one of these bulbs, I'd rather support an ethical, local store in the process anyway If they can't there is a bird "farm" that I could always ask, I bet they could help me out. I'm getting kind of desperate. Ziggy's feathers are looking really bad, they are loosing their color and she is over preening. It's not mites, she is on a healthy diet of zupreme, seeds with almost no sunflower, bird treats and lots of veggies and some fruit. She gets showers often, has my attention all but a few hours out of the week and her cage door is NEVER closed. The only reason I can figure she is having these feather issues is that she is going to molt soon and that she is getting almost zero natural light now that's it's too cold here in pa for me to take her out for her sunshine time. I suppose it could also just be due to overpreening as a side affect from her wing trim(she took it pretty hard) but there is nothing I can do about that now aside from wait for her to fully molt. But in the meantime I am going down the list and trying to correct everything and hope that one of my ideas works. Unfortunately, my almost thirty year old crx decided it was going to break on me and my room mate just lost his job so funds are a bit tight. I know the importance of getting her some full spectrum lighting though so I am trying to do my research and get the best quality light for the least amount of money.

 

[IcyWolf]

Sorry, I don't mean to post so much on my own thread but I just had something hit me. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
The bulb that you posted has a .05% uvb output. The lowest reptile uvb bulb I know of is 2.0%, which seems like it would be way too high for a parrot, but then this thought crossed my mind. For a common green iguana(which are native to central and south america) it is recommended to use a 5.0 to 7.0% uvb bulb(bear with me, I am going somewhere with this...). seeing as how we are trying to recreate natural lighting, with natural referring to what they would be exposed to in the wild, there are plenty of parrot species that are native to central and south america as well, living in the same tree tops as these iguanas, getting, what I assume would be, the same exposure to the sun. Wouldn't this theoretically mean that the lighting that is safe for an iguana should be safe for a parrot from the same locale? If in the wild they are both basking in the same light intensity, you would think that the same would hold true for artificial lighting.
And with that same idea in mind, you would think that lighting recommendations for parrots would vary just as they do for reptiles, by species, depending on where they are native to and the intensity of the sun in said native lands.
Sorry if this is confusing, it just crossed my mind and I wanted opinions.

 

[Rio Mom]

The swag fixture they have comes with the 20w bulb. When I was deciding what type of full spectrum fixture to buy, I spoke with the woman that owns that site. The 15w is good for if the fixture is directly on the cage, and the 20w for if it's away a bit (like the swag light).

 

[Rio Mom]

My last post isn't a reply to your last one, we were just apparently typing at the same time lol. That is definately a big difference between bird and reptile lights. I really don't know why there's such a big difference. Sorry I'm not much help there.

 

[oled]

I use a neon light special for bird, 10% uv a and b. Price in sweden $38

 

[Pedro]

Icywolf, came across this link while looking for something wlse. May be useful.

Full-spectrum Lighting - for the health of your birds, plants & humans

 

[Remy]

My mom and I both did some research. She found out that the VitaLite bulbs are Ott lights, so I ordered a bunch of those.

I just mounted a cheap clamp light above Puck's cage. I'm still waiting for the bulbs to arrive, but I put a "full spectrum" (not as full spectrum as Ott) bulb in it, and Puck loves it. He seems less iratable and is grooming a lot more.

 

[Mamanda]

This might be a really stupid idea, but my birds spend most of their time in my office, with me, during the day. Would it be possible for me to get a light bulb that I could put in the main light fixture that's mounted in the middle of the ceiling?

 

[Rio Mom]

This might be a really stupid idea, but my birds spend most of their time in my office, with me, during the day. Would it be possible for me to get a light bulb that I could put in the main light fixture that's mounted in the middle of the ceiling?

Your bird would be too far away from the bulb for it to have any benefit.

 

[Remy]

This might be a really stupid idea, but my birds spend most of their time in my office, with me, during the day. Would it be possible for me to get a light bulb that I could put in the main light fixture that's mounted in the middle of the ceiling?

I just ordered some Ott light bulbs.

Also, to the OP, I read some negative reviews of the Zoo Med fixtures, and their bulbs not being balanced in a healthy way.

 

[roxynoodle]

I did a lot of research on this as well after my vet advised I get them. It seems most of the reptile lights are more for heat than UV light. Or at least I couldn't find one that wasn't.

I ended up buying the 20W Featherbrite bulbs and putting them in clip lights that I attach to the bird's cages. The birds absolutely love them! I just have to ask my Nanday, do you want your birdie light on and she chirps excitedly. She also let's me know when it's time for me to turn it off at night.

Just make sure the birds can't get to the cords.

I have to say my Blue Crown's feathering and health improved after I got the lights. They are necessary for the birds to process vitamin D fully. If you have modern windows in your house, they block 90% of the UV rays, so having your bird near a window isn't helping.

I do set them up so the bird can move in or out of the light as it pleases. You may find your bird taking a sun bath in it!

I don't take my birds outside since West Nile showed up in my area. Also, I live where it's cold in the winter.

 

[henpecked]

Hey Roxy, i have a friend on another forum who is a rocket scientist(for real) she has studied this from the scientific side of things and has talked to the bulb manufactors, if you would like to talk with her about this ,let me know. She loves to discuss this type of thing with other bird people.

 

[Mamanda]

Hey Roxy, i have a friend on another forum who is a rocket scientist(for real) she has studied this from the scientific side of things and has talked to the bulb manufactors, if you would like to talk with her about this ,let me know. She loves to discuss this type of thing with other bird people.

What is her take on the lights?

 

[henpecked]

Basically you need the right lights, need to be close and there is no sub for the direct sunlight.DYI 1 hour a week direct sun light is enough.

 

[roxynoodle]

Hey Roxy, i have a friend on another forum who is a rocket scientist(for real) she has studied this from the scientific side of things and has talked to the bulb manufactors, if you would like to talk with her about this ,let me know. She loves to discuss this type of thing with other bird people.

Actually I probably would be interested as I'm a mathematician, lol! Yes, us nerds sometimes like to talk about strange things.

IIRC a lot of people said they bought the Ott lights. However, I could not find any information that they actually had UVA and UVB. It seems there are a lot of manufacturers out there claiming full spectrum, but it might just be that it's a very bright light. Perhaps good for photography, painting and any thing else humans do that require good lighting, but maybe not what our birds need.

Another popular one I think was called Zoo Med? But after reading the reviews it seemed it was poorly constructed and at least half the reviewers said it fell apart. For $80 each I didn't want a cheap plastic light that would fall apart in a matter of weeks.

Then I came across the Featherlite company. They do make fixtures that can go on top of the cage or hang from the ceiling. They also sell the bulbs separately so that is what I went with. They do recommend you buy new bulbs each year so that is what I've been doing.

I do know the birds seem to love them, and my bird with the vitamin D/calcium problem returned to good health.

I am considering building a screened outdoor aviary for my birds. But I need to be absolutely certain a mosquito can't get in. I also need to watch for predators because we have a ton of birds of prey here, and also bad neighbors who think it's ok to let their predatory dog run loose because "it's the country and dogs should be able to run free!" Never mind they attack others' animals or even people and damage property.

My vet did tell me it's probably safest to keep the birds inside due to West Nile and predators but to use the lights. I figure he is educated on the subject, and I know math