Last Updated on February 16, 2023 by Mitch Rezman

Victoria K. has an avian lighting question,

hi there, I purchased this hanging full spectrum light for my Eclectus a while ago and can’t seem to find the setup instructions (and don’t see them on your website).

Would it be possible for you to provide it to me?

Green Bean is in his cage 12-14 hours/day and is otherwise on a playstand most days unless I am away from home.

Is it ok for this light to be on for a full 12 hours (I am not often gone that long but just want to make sure because I think one of your articles mentions that retina damage can occur with more than 4-5 hours of UVA/UVB lighting in certain circumstances)?

I’m also looking for lighting while he is on his 6’x6′ PVC playstand that is about 3′-4′ high.

My apartment is pretty dark, and he is very afraid of shadows (and I know he really needs proper avian lighting anyway).

Would you recommend I just buy the Featherbrite bulbs and use them in a torch lamp (I have one that takes 2 bulbs)?

Or would you recommend the light you sell that clamps or the Sunlite standing lamp?

Thank you,

Victoria

Dear Victoria

Don’t make this so hard on yourself. I just responded to another customer (see question below)  who was also confused. This is what I wrote to her.  The birdcage light should be on a timer and it should be on 12 hours and off 12 hours. ALL YEAR-ROUND.

We do 7:30 am to 7:30 am here at this time of year, during DST it is then 8:30 to 8:30.

If your bird spends much of its day away from the cage on a play stand, then you should have a light set up on a timer there too, 12 hours on and 12 hours off.

Don’t be concerned about the time the bird spends on you or your family members. 

(For a female) Don’t let her wander off into darkened areas, corners, No huts, or bedding materials.

This should be all you need to do to keep her from becoming broody.

The Featherbrite lamps have a two-bulb system.

You can go that route or use a single strong daylight bulb like this one.

If you have two sockets in your lamp (the new Featherbrite lamps have two) then you can use one bulb, or two bulbs, especially nice if the cage is large).

Don’t worry about retinal damage, that was a study in which finches were subjected to higher intensity light to see if it would indeed help with vitamin production (light doesn’t do that for birds) and all it did was give the birds cataracts.

Thus proving that the high-end full spectrum bulbs were not needed and instead the bright daylight was sufficient.

All lights should be overhead, aiming downward like the sun.

The lamp you decide on depends on your home layout, budget, etc.

You can find all our lighting for pet birds here.

 

Hi Catherine,

Thanks, that is super helpful. So yeah he is on the playstand for about 10 hours/day. I can get him the standing floor lamp. His whole playstand area is about 6’x5’.

Should I buy 2 standing lights for it or one? Also my apartment is so dim that he really is freaked by the shadows on the walls, and I’m not sure whether light right over his cage is going to resolve that. If you have any thoughts about that please let me know.

I do have indoor lighting but there are a lot of outdoor buildings nearby that create shade.

And I’ll just set the cage timer for 2 hours and the playstand timer for 10 hours. 

Thanks so much,

Victoria

Dear Victoria

I have noticed that in our own home. That the birds prefer to hang out in their brightly lit cages and their play areas that are in lit up areas. If they cannot see as well into the darkened areas of the room, they are less likely to want to go there. The side of the sofa I sit at is not very bright and if I sit down with one of the birds, they usually leave and fly back to their brightly lit cage.

And I find if I have a bird on my shoulder and walk into a darkened room and don’t turn on the light, the bird will fly off my shoulder to go back toward the lighted area.

I have heard customers say that their birds were a bit put off by the bright lights when first placed over their cages and or play areas. but in a short period, they find out they like it better. 

They enjoy playing there more in the light and are more active.

You may be fine with just one light by the playstand. Although he will likely gravitate over to the area that is more lit up.

If you have play top cage, be sure to remove the tray from the top so the light shines through the bars on top. 

The small amount of poop that might drop through is not usually a problem.

Regards,

Catherine

Sherry L. asks,

hi, bought a light from you a while ago. It goes above my parrots’ cage in winter. I live in Maine, the days are quite short, as you know, and yes, I know they will soon begin to grow again, one or two or three minutes per week.

Here’s the question. I know I do this wrong in one way or another, each winter. If my bird needs 6 hours underneath this light in her cage, and the daylight is around 8 hours or less per day, how do I manage both? How do I manage to give her ‘one on one’ special attention, whatever you want to call this- and still give her 6 hours of that light? If I extend her day length, that will trigger egg laying, which I don’t want. At the least, she will go broody.

How do I manage enough light (placed on the cage) and interacting time with me and my family? Tomorrow, I will turn her light on at 7a.m. and will be ready to bring her out at around 10 a.m. That’s 3 hours. Around 1, I will give her another hour of light. Another hour at 4, another hour. Then, somehow, will squeeze in another hour in her cage for the 6th hour……An awful lot of time in a cage! That doesn’t even count towards nighttime sleep…..I mean, I have a life, a schedule, etc. Winters are always difficult in this way, enough light and enough time out of the cage…