Cage Lighting

[The_Mayor]

My living room, which is where my birds live, doesn't get much natural lighting at the best of times. I do have lots of lights on during the day (I start turning them off sequentially as we get closer to birdy bedtime). But, in part because their cage is in a net-covered "safe zone" (I knew I'd never be able to make my apt bird safe, so I just built a PVC enclosure around it and covered it with netting) the inside of their enclosure is dimmer than the rest of the room and the inside of their cage is darker still. I mean, it's not bottom of a well at midnight dark, but it's probably a little gloomy for birds that evolved in the Australian grass lands.

Anyway, they're pretty good about eating pellets, so I'm not worried about Vitamin D deficiencies. I currently have an Avian sun floor lamp that I've positioned to shine into one corner of their cage. But that means that there's one part of their cage that feels like whichever one of them is sitting there is getting the third degree and the other is watching from the shadows. They're Bourke's parakeets, so not big birds and not particularly destructive, so it doesn't have to be engineered to stand up to a gorilla, but of course their safety is the number one concern.

Any recommendations for either lighting that would be safe in/on their cage, or something (that doesn't take up too much room) that I could put in their enclosure to brighten things up?

 

[painesgrey]

I use these - Full-Spectrum (but not UV) LED lamps specifically made for bird cages. They're quite bright and allow for great cage illumination without being hot, so there's no risk of burning. At the time I purchased them, I had a large cage cover over my largest bird cage, and I could keep the cover over the lights without worry of the blanket burning.

This is what it looks like with the cage covered with only the front exposed.

Since the lights can be quite bright, I would recommend putting a piece of paper between the light and the cage if you have a smaller cage. It will still illuminate the cage, but won't be as harsh for birds that are spending time closer to the light.

 

[The_Mayor]

Awesome!

I'd forgotten to mention that the cage cover/paper I use to cover the top so they can run on it was a concern, so that looks perfect for my needs. And bright enough that I'll be able to see them without having to play "hunt the parakeet."

Off to add that to my Amazon cart.

 

[Ripshod]

I use these - Full-Spectrum (but not UV) LED lamps specifically made for bird cages. They're quite bright and allow for great cage illumination without being hot, so there's no risk of burning. At the time I purchased them, I had a large cage cover over my largest bird cage, and I could keep the cover over the lights without worry of the blanket burning.

This is what it looks like with the cage covered with only the front exposed.

Since the lights can be quite bright, I would recommend putting a piece of paper between the light and the cage if you have a smaller cage. It will still illuminate the cage, but won't be as harsh for birds that are spending time closer to the light.

I like those. Especially good is the cable is low voltage so no major problem if it gets chewed. Bookmarked!
I use the Arcadia Parrot Pro setups converted to LED, when it comes to replacing them I may just go for these. Thank you.

 

[painesgrey]

Awesome!

I'd forgotten to mention that the cage cover/paper I use to cover the top so they can run on it was a concern, so that looks perfect for my needs. And bright enough that I'll be able to see them without having to play "hunt the parakeet."

Off to add that to my Amazon cart.

There was an issue a year or two ago where the power adapter for these lights would go bad/break easily. I believe the manufacturer has since corrected this and uses better adapters, but I bought an extra (they're <$10each) so I didn't have the birds in the dark while I waited for a new one to ship. I just learned to be mindful of where cables are so I don't yank the adapters out of the wall when I'm moving cages for cleaning.

 

[painesgrey]

I like those. Where did you get them? Would be handy to know if other members ask.

I believe I got mine off Amazon, but here is their official website - M&M Cage Company

Off topic, but I do have to say that typing all this out with Pippin and Cake bouncing off my mouse and keyboard has been profoundly difficult.

 

[Ripshod]

I believe I got mine off Amazon, but here is their official website - M&M Cage Company

Off topic, but I do have to say that typing all this out with Pippin and Cake bouncing off my mouse and keyboard has been profoundly difficult.

I'm in the UK and haven't found any stockists or equivalents as yet (spent about 20 seconds on Google tbh), it would be easier and likely cheaper to import them from the US amazon.

 

[babypigeon]

I use these - Full-Spectrum (but not UV) LED lamps specifically made for bird cages. They're quite bright and allow for great cage illumination without being hot, so there's no risk of burning. At the time I purchased them, I had a large cage cover over my largest bird cage, and I could keep the cover over the lights without worry of the blanket burning.

This is what it looks like with the cage covered with only the front exposed.

Since the lights can be quite bright, I would recommend putting a piece of paper between the light and the cage if you have a smaller cage. It will still illuminate the cage, but won't be as harsh for birds that are spending time closer to the light.

PLEASE tell me where you got your cage. I'm desperately searching for a similar cage for my conure and can only find them with 1" bar spacing in the US. Every UK store I've found that stocks them doesn't ship internationally. If you see this and respond, please know how much I appreciate you!