Full Spectrum Lighting

[scott4687]

I just received my full spectrum light. It is a 15 watt bulb from Featherbrite, that sits on top of the cage. It has an attachment that raises it about 4" off the cage. I'm not sure if this was a waste of money or not, but I picked up one just in case. I have Buddy in a large cage so I can put it on one side and he can choose to sit in the light or not. I have a 6 month old eclectus. My question for you guys is: how long do you leave it on? And, just for discussion, Do you use one, if not, why not.

 

[Birdamor]

I use both full spectrum tubes and UV lamps because the tubes have a good K temp and CRI but do not have any UV. Feathebright has adequate UV and K temp but their CRI is a bit too low for my taste, that's why I use two different sources. I have them in ceiling fixtures (I don't like lamps, I know of two birds whose corneas were burned by them, one got back part of its vision but the other one is blind) and I turn them on when the sun is midway up (around 8:30 am this time of the year in Northeast USA) and off when the sun starts to set (around 6:30 pm) so they can get the full benefit of dawn and dusk.

 

[scott4687]

All day! Ok, thanks for the reply.

 

[DustyBZoo]

I feel like the investment in a UVB meter was well worth it. Not only do I use it for birds, but also several large reptile enclosures. For birds I shoot for 10-20 uW(microwatts), Iguanas 50-100 uW, red-foot tortoise 50uW, sulcata 100-150.

My point is, it's nearly impossible to know if your bulbs even produce UVB or have stopped producing it. I've been surprised how many bulbs put off useless amounts or stop producing UVB after a month or two.