Looking for a good source of bulb

[kentstar]

I have my birds in the livingroom and they really need a good source of natural light, but I don't want to place them near the windows. Gets too cold here in winter!
I know that places sell full spectrum bulbs and lamps but are they worth it? I was thinking of buying just the bulb and using my clip on lamp for my desk. Will that work?
Where's a cheap and good place to buy these? Even the bulbs can be sooo expensive!
Thanks!

 

[Customcasket]

I feel your pain over the cost of the bulbs I adopted my dusky and she came with a light.... a light I saw in the bird store tonight for $149! I am dreading the day one of the bulbs goes. Her moonlight flickers occasionally. I guess I should be prepared for that to go soon.

I guess you could try shopping online. The guy i got her from was going to keep the light and list it on eBay but he eventually gave in and let my boyfriend buy it off him with the last $30 in his wallet. We got really lucky. I'm sure there are people just like this guy listing it on eBay or Craigslist and you might be able to get a good deal.

 

[jetajockey]

I just replaced the bulbs in the bird room with screw-in spiral CFL daylight (~6700k) bulbs. They were around 8 dollars for a pack of 4 at the big box hardware store.

I use these same bulbs over top of some of my fish tanks that have live plants in them and they grow fine, it's a cheap alternative to getting the higher end fluorescents.

I've also used some spotlight type sylvania 'reveal' daylight bulbs, they had more of a warm color to them if the daylight range is too hospital-esque for your taste.