U.V. Lighting For Lovebird Cage

[Indy]

One thing I sensed intuitively when adopting my lovebirds is to purchase U.V. cage lighting. Pet Club didn't have a specific unit marketed for lovebirds per se, but U.V. lighting is the same for all species. I purchased a flat panel U.V. light for under $50 that uses a U.V. tube that costs under $20, marketed for a reptile aquarium, and placed it on top of the lovebird's cage.

Advice from someone who raised birds for years:

1. Remove the plastic cover for the reptile acquarium U.V. light fixture, because U.V. light rays do not pass through plastic or glass.

2. Since U.V. light does not pass through glass, people who leave their lovebirds are not aware they're not getting the beneficial U.V. rays necessary for healthy bones and vitamin A and D production. Even if the room is well lit, one should have a U.V. light that shines a maximum of 12 hours daily over their bird's cage.

3. Place your hand under the U.V. light. It is not hot like a conventional light. There is no apparent heat! That is why it can be placed over the cage without the necessity of cooling fans or lowering the house thernostat.

A timer from Home Depot turns on the U.V. light in the morning and turns it off exactly 12 hours later, at the exact same times everyday.

The lovebirds are very healthy, play in their cage vigorously and their chirps exude "happiness." Research I've done on the Internet indicates the U.V. lighting is the difference between night and day (no pun intended). It's like giving them vitamins and the cost of 12 hours is low with new technology for these fixtures.

Many pet web sites' bird sections sell U.V. lighting at reasonable prices. Of course you might want to compare the price of a fixture for the cover of a reptile aquarium (I use an 18 inch long U.V. fixture on my 20x20x20 inch cage) and long 18 inch U.V. "reptile bulb" to a fixture marketed strictly for lovebirds. I understand both are the same but the marketing might push up the price of the lovebird fixture. I noticed some online U.V. fixtures for birds (involving a fixture that looks like a lamp with conventional round U.V. bulb) are more expensive than the long bulb. I happen to like the long bulb because it spreads U.V. rays more evenly through the cage.

Have others used U.V. lighting or have any opinions about it one way or the other?

Thanks.

[Joel]

Originally Posted by Indy

One thing I sensed intuitively when adopting my lovebirds is to purchase U.V. cage lighting. Pet Club didn't have a specific unit marketed for lovebirds per se, but U.V. lighting is the same for all species. I purchased a flat panel U.V. light for under $50 that uses a U.V. tube that costs under $20, marketed for a reptile aquarium, and placed it on top of the lovebird's cage.



A timer from Home Depot turns on the U.V. light in the morning and turns it off exactly 12 hours later, at the exact same times everyday.

The lovebirds are very healthy, play in their cage vigorously and their chirps exude "happiness." Research I've done on the Internet indicates the U.V. lighting is the difference between night and day (no pun intended). It's like giving them vitamins and the cost of 12 hours is low with new technology for these fixtures.

Many pet web sites' bird sections sell U.V. lighting at reasonable prices. Of course you might want to compare the price of a fixture for the cover of a reptile aquarium (I use an 18 inch long U.V. fixture on my 20x20x20 inch cage) and long 18 inch U.V. "reptile bulb" to a fixture marketed strictly for lovebirds. I understand both are the same but the marketing might push up the price of the lovebird fixture. I noticed some online U.V. fixtures for birds (involving a fixture that looks like a lamp with conventional round U.V. bulb) are more expensive than the long bulb. I happen to like the long bulb because it spreads U.V. rays more evenly through the cage.

Have others used U.V. lighting or have any opinions about it one way or the other?

Thanks.

Hello Indy..... There are many different opinions about the beneficial qualities of good F.S. Lighting for our birds. To hear many of them, you might try doing a search (using the search feature here) on this Board to read many of these "opinions" and decide for yourself.

My opinion = Proper good quality F.S. Lighting is truly beneficial to all our Fids, I have learned this from not only reading all I can about the subject but I have learned this mostly from first hand experience using the lighting. Many of us on the different parrot talk forums throughtout the internet use a 4ft. long fluorescent fixture (shop-lite type) with an electronic ballast (do not use a magnetic ballast). We burn 2 Philips F32T8TL950 tubes in this fixture (these are considered the best available by some of us).

There is a well known "light guy" (Patrick Thrush) who I hear is coming out with his own product line of F.S. Lighting and he will be marketing it fairly soon I believe. However his tubes are very expensive IMO and he chose not to tell me why, when I asked him why on another bird-related board. I asked him what it is specifically about his tubes that make them better than the others out there, that specifically warrant such a high price - no acceptable response so far? Maybe he has something truly worthwhile - we will see?

[Eliza]

Reading about U.V. lighting makes my head spin.

To be fair, I've not read a negative thing about it; e.g. I haven't yet come across an article or published report that indicates U.V. lighting is harmful, dangerous or fatal.

That said, I've never been able to determine the best way to use U.V. lighting, other than I've always been told to use it during normal daylight hours. Other than that, I've heard varying reports as to how long you should leave the lights on (from sunrise to sunset to only during peak, midday hours or for x-amount of hours depending upon the species*).

If your lovies are happy, healthy and thriving, by all means keep doing what you are doing.

-e-

*Article of that might be of interest in that regard: Site Name - Articles - General Care - The Necessity of Full-Spectrum Lighting

[Indy]

Thanks!

I wanted to add that I use an 18 inch fixture because my cage is a 20 inch cube. If I used a longer fixture (such as the 4 foot or 48 inch fixture) it would hang off each side of the top of the cage by 15 inches in each direction, wasting lighting.

I guess the length of the U.V. tube and fixture is based on the width of the cage, so it spans from one end of the cage to the other.

Of course some web sites are selling U.V. lights that have a stand, with a bulb (similar to a regular light bulb in size) aimed down at the cage. The "dome" of light gives the cage full coverage.

As a side note I have a powerful U.V.C. light that is used by hospitals to sterilize rooms and equipment. You aim the U.V.C. light at the shower, sink, kitchen counter or bird cage (without the birds in the cage!) and it sterilizes all exposed areas in less than 60 seconds. It's even used in basements and other damp areas to kill the fungi that cause dry rot.

I will be using this U.V.C. device to sterilize viruses, fungi and bacteria in my lovebirds' cage. OF COURSE, NEVER POINT THIS U.V.C. LAMP AT YOUR LOVEBIRDS OR YOURSELF. Also, wear safety goggles to filter the damaging U.V.C. radiation from your eyes to prevent permanent damage to your eyesight.

I figure if it's safe to use in hospitals and kills even the Ebola virus and bacteria-resistant staph bacterium, then it's an excellent device to periodically sterilize my bathroom, kitchen, computer keyboard and the lovebirds' cage! (This U.V.C. device even sterilizes the air in a room by aiming the lamp at the room for 60 seconds, but if you want to sterilize your air, I recommend buying a U.V.C. air filter and running it 24 hours a day. I have one in my bedroom and it keeps the air fresh and germ free.)

I would start with a simple U.V. lamp and put it on a timer that turns-on at sunrise, and turns-off at sunset (12 hours on, during the daytime hours). A simple lamp and bulb should not run you more than $75 at a pet store or pet supply warehouse. Don't be afraid to use the one for reptiles but make sure you can remove the plastic cover, because the lamp must shine directly to provide beneficial U.V. rays like the sun does.

Also, NEVER aim a U.V.C. sterilization light at animals, your skin or eyes, because the "C" on the end of U.V.C. is a specific spectrum of the sun's radiation that kills microscoping organisms. It also can damage skin cells so when sterilizing a pet's cage, remove the pet.

Don't confuse U.V. lighting with U.V.C. lighting, the difference is like night and day.

[Lori~D]

I found a WONDERFUL , SHORT, interesting article on how UVA, UVB works on our birds and it was on BirdChannel which is put on by Bird Talk I believe? Talks about how our birds (and diff between Amazons and others) Use the UV to assimilate Vitamin D as they dont just soak it in like we do. I found it very helpful and I DID nOt know how different Amazons were.
Light, You & Your Bird

Walmart now has small 18 inch fixture for around $8 and nice true full spec bulbs for $8 ish now in the hardware dept. They sit nicely on top of all my cages that are flat top.

[Indy]

WalMart is charging $8 for an 18 inch U.V. fixture and $8 for an 18 inch U.V. tube bulb? That's over $20 less than I paid for the U.V. fixture, and over $10 less than I paid for the U.V. tube bulb (both 18 inch) at Pet Club! Maybe I should check WalMart out. Thanks. :-)

[jylu97]

According to some, the coiled compact fluorescents don't have any UVB lighting. I don't have one of those meters to test them, but that's what's claimed.

I have spent quite a bit of time looking into full spectrum lighting and concluded from reading several "experts" (who don't actually have a scientific background), that the people who truly know about full spectrum lighting are the folks who have reptiles. With reptiles, if you don't have the proper UV lighting, they don't thrive.

So you might also look at the lights made for reptiles. I'm not sure which ones are appropriate for birds, however.


Liz

[Flappuccino]

Huntress- are these fixtures sitting directly on cage top, or are they attached to something a bit above the cage itself? Do your birds not chew on pieces they can reach?
I would love to find a way to have the bulbs above my cages while not having them hanging from the ceiling. That's not very attractive.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by huntress

I found a WONDERFUL , SHORT, interesting article on how UVA, UVB works on our birds and it was on BirdChannel which is put on by Bird Talk I believe? Talks about how our birds (and diff between Amazons and others) Use the UV to assimilate Vitamin D as they dont just soak it in like we do. I found it very helpful and I DID nOt know how different Amazons were.
Light, You & Your Bird

Walmart now has small 18 inch fixture for around $8 and nice true full spec bulbs for $8 ish now in the hardware dept. They sit nicely on top of all my cages that are flat top.

Thanks for that link, very interesting.

[dancelady]

To All, you have it right about full spectrum bulbs being around $8, sometimes even less, if you get a Philips "Reveal" 50W normal base bulb that has a small reflector top. It will go in a normal bulb socket and can be put in any type of lamp that you want. The "Reveal" bulb is supposed to be a light that has UVA in it. I have it in a drawing-board 2 part light with a circular fluorescent bulb around the outside with 50W Philips reflector in the middle, but you can put in in a standard desk type light. My light is on a drawing-board extension rod that telescopes over the cage, so I can have it over the birds at a safe distance. This works really well. If you have several cages, then you can use a stand and put the bulb in it. The reflector will expand the light to a larger space.

Dancelady