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- U.V lighting?
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| U.V lighting?; (long - sorry) | |
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| Topic Started: May 19 2011, 06:35 PM (938 Views) | |
| Jan | Aug 16 2011, 06:31 PM Post #16 |
staff member
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Ive 3 parrotlets 2 I had from Wildhearts... my other from Zoah Ark Neath..which I highly recommend... Whatabout buying a bird from one of our members on here, they breed many types including parrotlets. Maybe another bird would help with the hurt, you'd have to focus on the new bird. He would soon fill your heart again. About lights I dont use them myslef and my birds are fine. Good luck look forward towards another little bird. |
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| Ann | Aug 25 2011, 07:41 PM Post #17 |
Member
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I was worried about the issue of UV/Full Spectrum Lighting too and emailed the International Parrotlet Assoc about it. THis was the response that I got from its founder: Dear Ann: Thank you for your email. Almost everyone that keeps parrotlets in the US keeps them indoors as pets. Even breeders generally do not keep their birds out of doors. There is a lot of controversy regarding ‘full-spectrum’ lighting and the need for it with pet birds that are not breeding. I do recommend it for people who breed their birds as they do need vitamin D to metabolize calcium which is vitally important for breeding hens. However, pet birds, especially males that are an otherwise healthy and balanced diet who also receive vitamins probably do not need it. In fact, it has been my experience over the last 30 years of keeping parrotlets that too much light is the problem and it often leads to prolonged molts, aggression and feather destructive behaviors. Also, I have never heard of a pet bird having an issue because of the lack of full-spectrum lighting. However, if it makes you feel better, you can certainly get one and use it. Light is light so it doesn’t matter which manufacturer you use just make sure it isn’t too close to the cage as it can cause cataracts and eye damage nor turned on for more than 12 hours a day or his hormones will go into overdrive and he can start having the problems I described above. Hope this helps! Sincerely yours, Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S. Secretary, International Parrotlet Society |
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| LauraR | Aug 25 2011, 11:12 PM Post #18 |
Staff Member
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Thanks for posting that, Ann! It's good info. :) I don't have lights on my Parrotlet because he gets good light near a window, but I have a light over my conures cage because it's in a really dark part of the house. |
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| uccello62 | Aug 26 2011, 01:57 PM Post #19 |
Senior Member
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Yes I have read mix reviews too. I have one in winter to come on at 4pm until 7:30-8pm or so blue1 Stef |
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| egamar | Aug 26 2011, 07:29 PM Post #20 |
Newbie
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I would like to add my experience of the last 5 years with my birds and UV lighting. I would first say that "light is most certainly NOT just light": ask any reptile keeper! The important part of light in calcium metabolisation is UV - which comes in two 'flavours': A and B. (I do not recall off-hand which type is required in which amounts by which animals for which purposes - but Wikipedia has a lot of information, as does (or did) the Arcadia website). Almost all UV is blocked by glass, but not all - faded colours & brittle materials show that some UV does get through glass. The 'domestic' sources of UV that are available to animal caretakers produce very little UV, Arcadia (IIRC) quote a distance of 3' before the UV component is pretty much useless - UV is absorbed by air. The sun is such a massive emitter of UV that even on an overcast day, there is enough to be effective at some level. The UV is necessary for the body (avian and human, come to that) to produce Vitamin D, which the body needs to USE calcium. You can feed as much calcium as you like, but without the Vitamin D, the bird cannot use the calcium. The problem with a "typical" avian diet is that it does not contain a lot of VitD unless supplemented - it's much the same with a human diet too - VitD is not that common in the foods we like most! Again, Wikipedia and Google have some good information on sources of Vitamin D. The BirdCareCo have an excellent article on their website (although it's not the easiest site to use) about the role of calcium in avian nutrition. I happen to use their "Calcivet" product (in liquid and powder form) now-and-then (not as frequently as they advise). It contains calcium AND VitD to ensure the calcium is used. There are similar products from other companies, I just don't know of them. I have experience of the "magical cure" of sunlight: a cockatiel had taken suddenly "poorly", wobbly, uncoordinated, weak. I was told to put it in the sun (but give access to shade, obviously to stop the bird getting too hot). I was sceptical, but did as I was advised. Within an hour (it was a bright sunny day) the bird had recovered and was well enough to eat, drink and preen. That's when I began to be interested in UV lighting and its connection with calcium metabolisation. I am convinced enough of the science behind the matter to provide Arcadia UV lighting to all my birds - except my two new parrotlets who need to make do with sunlight until their permanent spot is found and I can set up a light. Arcadia do both tubes and compact fluorescents. Make sure you get the ones for birds, not reptiles (different amounts of UVA and UVB). And no, an ordinary tube will be (worse than) useless: it doesn't contain the necessary phosphors to emit UVA and B which is invisible to humans. And NO a "full spectrum light" is also not what you want - it means "full visible to human spectrum to make it look like sunlight light", and UVA and B emitted will be trivial. I use a mixture of 3' and 5' tubes, as that suits my setup, but in the beginning I started with the compact fluorescents to test them out, as they were the cheapest option. Whichever solution you do use MAKE SURE you spend the extra £££ and get a reflector (for the tubes) or a reflector hood for the compacts. The reflector allows you to direct the light where it's needed, doubling the amount the birds will receive, and it also shades your eyes from the very bright white light. The hood also gives some security against little beaks attacking wires. The tubes are the more cost-effective, but the wiring is VERY vulnerable to beaks. I have finally found that wrapping the wiring in strips of carpet secured by cable ties is the best protection, but it's a bodge: the controllers are designed for aquarists, and fish don't have beaks and can't fly. Except for parrot-fish, but they can't fly. Except for flying fish, but they don't have beaks. The lights also seem to have a noticeable impact on behaviour - especially in the winter months. I don't know if this is a consequence of improved availability of calcium, but I suspect not 100%. I think something else is at work, and it has something to do with the quality of the light. When I first started using these lights, probably in a November, I did notice what I thought was a remarkable change in behaviours from my two Hahns macaws. They had become very noisy, aggressive and hugely territorial: from cuddly-tame cuties, they had become flesh-tearing monsters every time I put my hand in their cage (they have very pointy beaks). It seemed to me that a week after I put the light up, the3y had become much happier and much easier to handle. I sort of forgot about that for a couple of years, until it happened again. Again in November. I had moved cages around during the summer, and had forgotten to put up the lights. Then I remembered what had happened two years previously. I splurged out on a tube-based set-up and this time resolved to pay attention to their behaviour. The change was noticeable within 24 hours and after 48 hours they had reverted to being normal tame birds. Now all my birds will have UV lights on for about 12 hours a day. According to Arcadia their electronic controllers provide 'flicker free lighting'. Many years ago electro-mechanical ballasts were more common (probably there were no electronic ones at some stage) and I know that I could see flickering from fluorescent tubes - and if the tubes were visible in the corner of my eye for long enough, it would produce headache and nausea. Apparently birds a re much more sensitive to 'flicker' than we are, and hence an electronic ballast (which "flickers at a much higher frequency) produces a light that is much more "comfortable" for the birds. Also, birds can see in the UV range, which we can't, and the UVA and UVB makes colours visible to them (e.g. on their plumage and their companions') which they would not see under domestic light. The lights (compacts or tubes) need replacing after somewhere around 18 months of use at 12 hours per day. I tend to reduce their use in the summer months when my birds spend sunny or warm days outside in the aviary, but when the nights start to draw in, they have their full 12 hours. The tubes are NOT cheap. Nor are the controllers: but don't economise by using a cheap "kitchen" fitting unless you know that the controller is fit for purpose (and if it's a very cheap fitting, the chances are it isn't fit for purpose). You can buy tubes online, but there is a high probability they'll arrive damaged, and some people won't ship tubes at all. I get my tubes from my parrot-shop and although they're maybe £1 more expensive than the cheapest online, I know there won't be the aggravation of trying to get my money back or a replacement delivered. Compacts of course are not a problem in that regard, and I would recommend them if you have a relatively small cage. Just make sure to get the light (compact or tube) as close to the cage/bird as you safely can. In terms of calcium, my guess is that occasional supplementation (making sure that the bird actually gets enough of the supplement to make a difference) is probably enough, and you wouldn't need to go to the expense of the lights. That plus as many days out in the sun/warm as you can manage would probably be OK, and certainly a lot better than no sun/no supplements at all. Of course, many birds will live long healthy lives without any of that! I have no hard evidence to say any of that is necessary or even beneficial, but it makes sense to me, for what that's worth. In terms of the duty we owe to creatures we choose to keep captive to provide as healthy and pleasurable an environment as we can, I think UV lighting has a role to play. Anyway, I have to go and read a bit more about my new parrotlets after I've put the flock to bed for the night. Sorry for the inevitable spelling, punctuation and grammar errors: my eyes are not as good as they used to be. |
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| theexbrit | Aug 27 2011, 01:27 AM Post #21 |
Co Admin
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Lots of good advice & as was mentioned, there are lots of different thoughts about lighting, etc. As Laura said, most of our birds are near windows & have done fine for 5 years or more, but if they're not by a window then I would definitely add an avian light. Just get a reputable manufacturer & you should be fine & remember to change the bulb annually as they lose effectiveness with time. |
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