Heat for arthritic parrot. hang it high or low?

[Shannan]

OK, So my 38 year old TAG has pretty severe arthritis on one of his feet. As a result his grip is not the best. I have adapted his cage and he sleeps in two places. Often at night he sleeps on his wide vet wrapped perch but during the day he often takes naps on the bottom of his cage (we call them flop naps). Due to his age he takes frequent naps. I have ordered a heater for his cage which attaches to the bars of the cage. I cannot decide whether to put it close to his wide perch (or his platform perch which is close to his wide perch) or to put it close to the bottom of the cage. One one hand, floor level makes sense since he spends most of his time playing on the floor (it's easier for his feet), where he has lots of toys, and low perches and places to find forage and where he naps during the day but he does tend to go to his wrapped perch at night and that is when I think he needs it the most. I will say that we keep the house at 74 degrees and his cage does not seem to have any kind of drafts. I have never used a heater with him but the vet said that it might make his arthritis a bit more comfortable since he is getting up there in years. So should I hang it high. or hang it low?

 

[Blueberry]

I bought a heated perch that seems to really help my middle aged OWA who has arthritis. I have the perch wrapped with vet wrap to make it have a little give and grip.

 

[Shannan]

I opted for the hang on the side of the cage heater since I have finally gotten Walter comfortable with really good perches for his feet but it is good to know that the heat seems to be beneficial.

 

[flyzipper]

I was about to suggest hanging to a side since that allows Walter to control how near or far he wants to sit to the heat source.

Just ensure he can't reach it or its cord through the bars.

 

[Shannan]

I guess I should clarify a little bit. It hangs on the side of the cage and it is designed for parrots. I am trying to decide whether to hang it close to the floor of Walters cage or about half way up near the perch that he sleeps on at night. The sleeping perch is c shaped so he will be able to easily move closer or farther from the heat source. He also has a flat perch near that one that he could move over to if he got too hot although I have never seen him sleep on the flat perch (but its still pretty new)

 

[Blueberry]

Ate you talking about the K&H snuggle up bird warmer? The one I purchased did not get very warm at all. A heating pad on low is a warmer. This has been my experience and others that I know who purchased the same snuggle up bird warmer. Either way though you should plug the hearter you purchased and see how warm it gets. Because it's a cage mount couldn't you bird just move closer and father away on the perch you currently have incase he got chilly or too warm?

 

[MommyBird]

start with it down low as it is easier for him to control how close or far he is from the heater since he has the whole floor to work with.
See if he hangs out close to it and go from there.
If you use a cover to at least partially cover the cage at night, when he's on the higher perch a bit of heat should rise up, especially if the heater is located below the perch.
The Sweeter Heaters used to come with easily movable exterior cage hangers and you could move it between day and night locations. If you purchased one of these I'd be happy to post a picture and you could try to make from a clothes hanger or ss wire.

 

[JLcribber]

Heat rises. Hanging it high up defeats the purpose.

 

[Kassiani]

Heat rises. Hanging it high up defeats the purpose.

That’s what I was going to say, too! Wherever it will do him the most good. And it can always be moved as needed. I have a Sweeter Heater for my naked boy, and I have moved it depending on where he is perching at night.

 

[scrape]

Interesting. There is an arthritic CAG I visit. He is not mine, but I was thinking of ways to make him more comfortable. I was thinking about buying/building him a platform perch...

 

[Lady Jane]

I had the KH heater too and in order to benefit the bird must sit next to it. You must have a different kind. Anyway my budgies would not go near it. A vet wrapped heated perch would be great.

 

[Shannan]

Interesting. There is an arthritic CAG I visit. He is not mine, but I was thinking of ways to make him more comfortable. I was thinking about buying/building him a platform perch...

Walter really likes his platform perch. It is fairly new so he hasn't slept on it but he enjoys spending time on it. He rests on it and plays on it. I am thinking of getting him another one. I may put the heater next to it and see if that encourages him to sleep on it.