Avian lighting

[TINKERTONKER]

Hi everyone! I have been looking at websites for an avian light for my Bill but I'm feeling abit overwhelmed. I really could do with advice on which are the best to get. I don't have a clue XX PS. I live in England.

[Dave007]

I really don't know where to buy avian lighting in England. It's probably in a large pet store. You say you're confused as what type to get so I'll give you he basics as far as what an avian bulb should have===( forget the company because I don't know if you have such a company in England)

 

Zoo Med's new AvianSun™ 5.0 UVB Compact Fluorescent Bulb. This unique lighting arrangement will provide birds with safe levels of beneficial UVB and UVA for physical and psychological health.

UVB enables birds to synthesize vitamin D3 for proper calcium metabolism which is necessary for normal growth, maintenance of strong bones, and egg production. UVA is visible to birds, enabling them to recognize mates, locate food, and identify different species. Others may give you more info. Maybe you can find a company that ships to the UK.

 

PS---I have no idea what XX PS means.

 

One thing----no matter what light you get, it will definitely say AVAIN LIGHT on the package

Edited June 6, 2013 by Dave007

[TINKERTONKER]

Hi Dave. There doesn't seem to be much of a range of lights in England compared to America. But the one you mentioned was one that I was interested in. I sent an email to Zoo Med because I wanted to know what the CRI (Colour Rendering Index)and the Kelvin Temperature Scale (K) were but they never responded. I'm also interested in the Arcadia Parrot Pro UV flood 24W compact lamp. Do you know which one would be better. Ignore the XX PS as this is just the way I finished my message, nothing to do with lights. Tinkertonker.

[Dave007]

Hi Dave. There doesn't seem to be much of a range of lights in England compared to America. But the one you mentioned was one that I was interested in. I sent an email to Zoo Med because I wanted to know what the CRI (Colour Rendering Index)and the Kelvin Temperature Scale (K) were but they never responded. I'm also interested in the Arcadia Parrot Pro UV flood 24W compact lamp. Do you know which one would be better. Ignore the XX PS as this is just the way I finished my message, nothing to do with lights. Tinkertonker.

 

Hi Dave. There doesn't seem to be much of a range of lights in England compared to America. But the one you mentioned was one that I was interested in. I sent an email to Zoo Med because I wanted to know what the CRI (Colour Rendering Index)and the Kelvin Temperature Scale (K) were but they never responded. I'm also interested in the Arcadia Parrot Pro UV flood 24W compact lamp. Do you know which one would be better. Ignore the XX PS as this is just the way I finished my message, nothing to do with lights. Tinkertonker.

 

First off, thanks for the XX explanation. I thought it had something to do with pornograhy:D

 

Yes, I'm familar with Arcadia model avian light. It's a very decent light. I'm sorry that ZOO MED didn't get back to you. Maybe it had something to do with you being in the UK?? I really don't know. There's many companies that sell avian lights as well as stands for different style bulbs. I only put that one in as a basic description of what an avian is as opposed to a regular floursent bulb. One thing I should say to you. Even though you may have heard other things, let me say that it isn't absolutely necessary that yo u have an avian bulb. Loads and loads of people don't have them and never have or had problems with their birds. I have 3 greys and I periodically use one screw in avian bulb on one of them because of a drastic feather/skin problem he had. It took quite a while to straighten that problem out but in the 4 yrs that it took to straighten it out, the one thing I never used was any type of bulb which wouldn't have done any good. The bird was completely featherless except for his neck and head. Today he's fully feathered but once in a while I put the bulb on for him.

If you know of places in the UK that sell avian bulbs, buy it but know that it isn't absolutely necessary.

If you don't know of any places in the UK, then you may have tto find a company that ships. I never looked up those companies so I have no idea what shipping/handling would cost.

You can something as simple as this-----5500K-----screw in-------$20.00 american

Edited June 7, 2013 by Dave007

[TINKERTONKER]

Bill came to me as a rescue and had plucking issues. He is a lot better now but every so often he still plucks on his chest, neck or back and it is distressing to see and I thought maybe a light could help. So do you think it would be worth trying for this reason. Bill doesn't get much sunlight as I live in a flat with no garden. And England isn't a very sunny country anyway.

Edited June 6, 2013 by TINKERTONKER

[Dave007]

Bill came to me as a rescue and had plucking issues. He is a lot better now but every so often he still plucks on his chest, neck or back and it is distressing to see and I thought maybe a light could help. So do you think it would be worth trying for this reason. Bill doesn't get much sunlight as I live in a flat with no garden. And England isn't a very sunny country anyway.

 

Has he been doing this plucking for a long time? Any moving the cage around? Strange people around him lately? Kids darting around him?

 

Very important----has he had this condition looked at by a vet?

If not, make an appointment.

For now I would get this product from a pharmacy. It's a gel, not toxic, sinks right into the skin, won't burn, will relieve itchiness. Lightly coat the bald area 2/3x a week. Don't wash off. There's different companies that make it.

 

Make sure the label says 100%. Ask pharmacist about what percentage is in it if nothing's on the label

 

Another possibility it the room he's in. it may be very dry. It may need more humidity.

[TINKERTONKER]

Hi Dave. He's been doing this as long as I've had him and I know he used to pluck with his previous owners. I know that they never misted/sprayed water on him for the 9 years they had him and he was on a seed diet. I have recently converted him from seeds to Harrison's pellets. The difference to his health since the conversion have been amazing. I don't have any kids or pets that could cause any stress and there have been no changes to his day to day routine. It seems he has more of a problem with itchy skin rather than plucking at the moment. The product your showing looks very good so I shall look for that on the internet. And I must mention I do spray him with water but I also use a product called Rain Topical spray and this has Aloe Vera in it too. I am waiting for a Pak-O-Bird to arrive from America and then I will be able to make an appointment with my vet ( he is an avian vet). Should I get a humidifier? I really appreciate all the help you have given me.

Edited June 6, 2013 by TINKERTONKER

[Dave007]

Hi Dave. He's been doing this as long as I've had him and I know he used to pluck with his previous owners. I know that they never misted/sprayed water on him for the 9 years they had him and he was on a seed diet. I have recently converted him from seeds to Harrison's pellets. The difference to his health since the conversion have been amazing. I don't have any kids or pets that could cause any stress and there have been no changes to his day to day routine. It seems he has more of a problem with itchy skin rather than plucking at the moment. The product your showing looks very good so I shall look for that on the internet. And I must mention I do spray him with water but I also use a product called Rain Topical spray and this has Aloe Vera in it too. I am waiting for a Pak-O-Bird to arrive from America and then I will be able to make an appointment with my vet ( he is an avian vet). Should I get a humidifier? I really appreciate all the help you have given me.

 

I really can't say whether you actually need one but I can tell you that having one in use around a grey that has dry or normal skin is a fantastic thing to do. Greys are known for their itchy skin. Moisture of any kind is very important. I forget whether you said something about your bird hating getting misted or bathed or showered but they do need it and a bird who doesn't like it will squawk, growl, screech while getting bathed. The secret is getting the actual body skin wet, not just the outer feathers. There's a section (sticky) about bathing in the HEALTH ROOM. Check it out and it'll give you a general idea about wetting/bathing/misting/showering a bird. Even though a grey acts like that, there's no hate involved and actually the whole thing is harder on the person who's doing the wetting/bathing/misting/showering. A larger % of greys don't like any bathing or wetting down so it's nothing unusual.

Edited June 6, 2013 by Dave007

[TINKERTONKER]

I totally agree with you Dave about getting the water to reach his skin and not just the feathers. He is semi-tame and does hate showers/misting maybe because the previous owners didn't bother for 9 years. I have to use a towel to hold him whilst i make sure the water penetrates the skin without managing to wipe the water off too. This is obviously stressful for him. Would you advise me to stop doing this? I promise this will be the last question! And thanks for helping me. I forgot to mention using the towel mainly to get to his back and under the wings.

Edited June 7, 2013 by TINKERTONKER

[Dave007]

I totally agree with you Dave about getting the water to reach his skin and not just the feathers. He is semi-tame and does hate showers/misting maybe because the previous owners didn't bother for 9 years. I have to use a towel to hold him whilst i make sure the water penetrates the skin without managing to wipe the water off too. This is obviously stressful for him. Would you advise me to stop doing this? I promise this will be the last question! And thanks for helping me. I forgot to mention using the towel mainly to get to his back and under the wings.

 

***I promise this will be the last question!****

First off, I think that you not asking questions about your bird, especially a pre owned adult bird who hasn't been dealt with properly is a very stupid thing to do. We're here to try to give advice and also trying to make owning a grey a pleasant experience. No one is told that they have only a limited amount of questions even if it's on the same subject. But if you don't wanna ask questions, that's up to you.

 

Towels are usually used to get a bird out of a bad area or to taking it to the vet and also holding a bird down to clip claws. No matter what you do with a towel, you're gonna get a bad reaction. In that sticky, those different reactions are talked about. My advice is to mist your bird while it's in his cage. Instead of squeezing the trigger all the way in, try using 1/2 squeezes. Get as close as possible when doing under the wings. Turn knob on mister and turn to the water pistol setting. Aim at the front of the wing connected to the skin. Your bird will then take care to spread out the rest of the water under the skin. Remember that no matter what you do, it'll cause a bad reaction but most of the time the person is really more freaked out then the bird. People hate to hear their bird growl, squawk, screech etc. People think they're killing the bird.

You can also get a baking dish, fill it with water and put it in the bottom of the cage. Don't expect the bird to immediately jump in. All of these things take time for a grey to absorb. CAGs are very leery, defensive and take quite a while to accept new things. This can apply to toys, new foods, coming out of a cage, stepping on to a playstand.

It's gonna take time but you need to ask questions but again, that's up to you. Others are here and have many tricks up their sleeves concerning dealing with greys.

Person A has one way to do something

Person B has another way

Person C has another way

Person D has another way.

It's your job to try to take little things from A,B,C,D and coming up with things that work for your bird.

Your bird is an individual. The only thing he has in common with another grey is the color of the feathers

Edited June 7, 2013 by Dave007

[TINKERTONKER]

Hi Dave! I absolutely agree with what you have mentioned. I shall look around the forum and get more information on African Greys. And if I need to ask questions then I will do. Thank you.

[judygram]

Never be afraid to ask questions and if you are like us you will find that the more you know the more you find you don't know about greys.