Heated perches

[Oliver17]

I have a friend who has an Africa grey and a amazon, she has heated perches.
With the weather getting cooler here in the Midwest, what are your thoughts?
Thank you

 

[clark_conure]

I just keep the house warm....I have never owned a heated perch, I'm not sure how safe they are....but regardless look for a UL label. That means it's been tested in an independent lab for safety concerns.

 

[ToMang07]

I use one for Willow....they aren't great quality. I bought a pad and perch, both lasted less than a year. The Power Source/Plugs failed on both of mine.

 

[itzjbean]

I'm also in the Midwest but just keep the house at 67-69 degrees all year long. They are somewhat expensive (for a small bird, the ones I see are $35) but it could definitely be worth it with the winters here!

 

[Kiwibird]

I've seen them, but as a long time reptile owner, I am leery of anything heated like that inside an animals enclosure. Too many horror stories in the reptile community of reptiles being cooked alive or fires started by under tank heaters that malfunction or short out and I just have an inherent distrust of such devices for any animal. All that stuff is made cheaply overseas and should be suspect as they often don't care about quality control of mass produced products.

My bird doesn't chew on fabrics and is therefore able to have a little snuggle hut in his cage in the cold months. Even if he couldn't have one of those, parrots are fine at any sensible winter indoor temperatures (so mid 60's and up). Remember, they have built in down comforters (their feathery little bodies). When they puff up, those feathers trap warm pockets of air effectively insulating them from cold down into the low 50's in nature (please keep your bird warmer than that though)!

Wanted to add: I also (slightly) increase the fat content in my birds diet and feed hm more overall in the winter and let him pack on about 5 or so grams that comes off in the spring. Parrots have extremely high metabolisms and body temps that a little extra bulk and fat helps maintain in the cold months when they're burning more.

 

[clark_conure]

Thats kinda intriguing kiwibird and seems about right, I gain about 5 lbs over winter I shed in spring. Instead of a heated perch share a few steaks! (I'm actually serious this is not joking)

 

[Laylatoo]

I have heated perches setup next to heat panels. I live in Northern California and it’s not close to cold yet but my girls use them every night. I wrapped them in a layer of vetwrap to help in case it got too hot but they really stay at a comfortable warm temp. Both my girls snuggle right up to the panel while on their perches.

 

[Laylatoo]

Here’s how I have them in their cage (this was before I wrapped them).

 

[Oliver17]

Heated panels????Do tell.....