UVB Lighting

[lifesazoo33]

WOW Thank you so much Andromeda! That was extremely helpful, and I understand the uses of the lighting much more than I did.

I also sent a message to my local bird store, asking what they sold in regards to lighting for birds
They said that they sell "Panasonic Full Spectrum Bulbs", but also said this..

"They are not marketed for Parrots but they are very high quality, and they tend to have a much lower price than comparable products from Zoo-Med and others. However, if you are planning to use full spectrum lighting for multiple Parrots or even one larger Parrot, we recommend the tube fixtures as they cover a larger area and are generally more effective."

I was just wondering if you have heard of these lights for birds, or if they are adequate for birds. From what I saw, the white light produced 5000K and the phosphor colour light was 2500K. They are available in 15, 20, and 25W incandescent bulbs.

I couldn't find anything about how much UVA or B that it puts out, and since reading what Andromeda said, I think I will just go with the Featherbrite, but it would be nice to know about this option (easier than ordering it online)

Your help is greatly appreciated

[janetafloat]

Wow Andromeda, this is very interesting! However I've just checked the Arcadia avian bulbs I'm using for my birds & they are 2.4% UV-B. I'll have to look into that...

[janetafloat]

Hmmm......looks like 5% is another way of saying 0.5 in the lighting industry....go figure

[Pralina]

I use Avitech spiral bulbs Avilux specifically designed for parrots.
http://www.avitec.com/AviLux-Full-Spect ... b-p/av.htm

however now I see that they are no longer on their website for sale (I gave you the cached page), I wonder why... I just purchased one not too long ago....

however, now they have fixtures with the tubes, so you can easily install them with screws near your bird's cage - very convenient!
http://www.avitec.com/Full-Spectrum-Lig ... ds-s/2.htm

[lifesazoo33]

I have looked into both of these options, and have also come across the ZooMed Avian Sun 5.0. Has anyone used these, or heard good or bad reviews/reports on them? Also, many of these bulbs are available in different wattage's. Which is the best one to use? I have a male Jardine's parrot, 2 years old, never been exposed to UV lighting in this past (this summer will be our first together, so he will get some natural sun in as well)

As always, your help is greatly appreciated

[Pralina]

about wattage, I usually use lower wattage (20 watts for the spiral bulbs) as otherwise I find these lights too bright ... even for myself.

Another concern that I just remembered I had is that someone pointed out to me that perhaps the birds might be able to see the flickering of the fluorescent lights... thus making it very annoying for them, as they see with a higher rate of fps than us humans....
However, I never managed to find out a conclusive article that would answer that question... I still have my spiral bulbs, my birds still spend time standing near them "tanning" (as I call it) and they don't seem bothered by the light... but what if they DO see the flickering? Which fluorescents don't flicker then?

[lifesazoo33]

I have noticed (with reptiles and fish) that if the compact bulbs are on a dimmer switch (or loosely fitted (not screwed in correctly) that the lights will flicker. Same thing with florescent tubes. If they are on a dimmer (not usually the case) or not in properly, then they can flicker. It is annoying to me, I can just imagine to the birds, who see a broader light spectrum than we do.

[Pralina]

I have noticed (with reptiles and fish) that if the compact bulbs are on a dimmer switch (or loosely fitted (not screwed in correctly) that the lights will flicker. Same thing with florescent tubes. If they are on a dimmer (not usually the case) or not in properly, then they can flicker. It is annoying to me, I can just imagine to the birds, who see a broader light spectrum than we do.

I think you are not supposed to use compact bulbs with dimmers anyway... I read that somewhere on a wrapping...
Mine are not on a dimmer, on and off switch, but have individual timers into the electric outlets.

[lifesazoo33]

I think you are not supposed to use compact bulbs with dimmers anyway... I read that somewhere on a wrapping...

You are right. All the compact bulbs recommend not using dimmers, and I feel that the reason is because of the flickering. I think that the flickering may also diminish the life time of the bulb and its efficiency as well. Just my thinking

[Passerine]

Despite this being an older thread, I thought I would comment since I have been studying lighting non-stop for the last few weeks (trying to avoid making any mistakes while I get my new bird room set up with lights!) I

Flickering can be a problem with magnetic ballasts, so you want to make sure to get fixtures with electronic ballasts. (My impression is that most ballasts now are electronic.) Also, tube lighting is superior because they last longer than CFLs and distribute the light more evenly/naturally. (Its the bends and curves in the CFL tubes that cause more rapid deterioration. Dual tube lights are ideal for the best light distribution.

Distance from the bird? A good rule of thumb is to position the light so your bird's area is well-lit, but not over-lit. If it seems too bright to you, its probably too bright for your bird. Provide areas in the cage where they can get away from the light (like shade in nature).

I have found that a lot of 36" fluorescent tube fixtures are hard to find bulbs for (18", 24" and 4' are far easier to fit) and that T12 sized bulbs are getting phased out, so go for T8 and T6.

Everyone seems to agree that a CRI of 90+ is best (the higher the better), so aim for at least 93 CRI but opinions vary about Kelvin temperatures. The well known research by Patrick Thrush says to find bulbs between 5000 and 5500 K, but this research is rather old now so you will also run across some that say 6500 is good for birds also. (Others say it is too blue). I am inclined to stick with the original 5000-5500 recommendation, but am still trying to learn if the range can be broadened to 6500.

UVB? A lot of the confusion with lighting comes from confusing lighting for vit. D/calcium absorption with regular avian lighting. Birds with Metabolic bone disease (who have difficulty absorbing calcium) are sometimes prescribed UVB lighting (like is done for reptiles) but the light needs to be kept very close to the bird and monitored carefully...it should be temporary and under veterinary supervision). This is where the mistake of keeping a light too close to a bird comes from. UVB can cause cataracts in birds. Most of our birds will get vit. D from their diets (as someone mentioned earlier) so we want lighting for our birds' general well-being and want to go with a low UVB level for our birds' safety - and keep the light a normal distance above our birds. My understanding is that a UVB level under 5% is safe (I opt for lower).

Hope this is helpful