UV LIGHTING
(READ THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY)
IT WILL SAVE YOU HUNDREDS OR EVEN THOUSANDS OF POUNDS IN VET BILLS, OR MORE IMPORTANTLY YOUR BIRDS LIFE!!
VERY IMPORTANT IFORMATION FOR THE WELL
BEING OF YOU PET & BREEDING BIRDS
ESPECIALLY AFRICAN GREY PARROTS
THE ARCADIA BIRD LAMP FOR HEALTHY BIRDS
PRODUCES EXCELLENT NATURAL COLOURS AND IRIDESCENCE
2.4% UVB & 12% UVA FOR OPTIMAL AVIAN USE
IMPROVES FEEDING & BREEDING BEHAVIOUR
WHY A DEDICATED BIRD LAMP....?
UNLIKE HUMANS, BIRDS CAN SEE THE UV LIGHT THAT IS PART OF NATURAL SUNLIGHT. THE BIRD USES THIS LIGHT FOR BEHAVIOURS SUCH AS REPRODUCTION & FEEDING - LIFE WITHOUT UV WOULD BE THE EQUIVALENT OF HUMANS SEEING EVERYTHING IN BLACK & WHITE, ONLY WORSE. WITHOUT UV WE ARE ABLE TO RECOGNISE THE SEX OF ANOTHER. IN SOME BREEDS, BIRDS REQUIRE, UV TO DIFFERENTIATE THE SEXES. WHERE A BIRD IS NOT KEPT OUTSIDE, UV LIGHT SHOULD BE PROVIDED. NORMAL DOMESTIC LIGHTING DOES NOT DO THIS. MOST DOMESTIC LIGHTS DISTORT THE NATURAL CLOUR OF THE BIRD. THE ARCADIA BIRD LAMP HAS BEEN DEVELOPED IN ORDER TO PROVIDE AN ARTIFICIAL SORCE OF ULTRAVIOLET (UV) LIGHT, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL TO CAPTIVE BIRDS DENIED EXPOSURE TO DIRECT SUNLIGHT.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY FULL SPECTRUM:
BY FULL SPECTRUM, WE MEAN A BALANCED LIGHT OUTPUT ACROSS THE FULL SPECTRUM, INCLUDING THE UV SEGMENT. MANY MODERN TRIPHOSOR TUBES HAVE THREE PEAKS OF ENERGY THAT MATCH THE THREE COLOURS THAT OUR EYES PERCEIVE. THUS THE TUBES EFFECTIVE OUTPUT IS MAXIMISED TO THE HUMAN EYE, AND THE TUBE WILL APPEAR VERY BRIGHT, THESE PEAKS DO NOT NECESSARILY MATCH THE AVIAN EYE, AND THERE WOULD BE NO UV PRESENT
THE TRUE FULL SPECTRUM TUBE OFFERS A BALANCED SPECTRUM, WITH THE GAPS BETWEEN THE TRIPHOSOR PEAKS BEING FILLED IN WITH LIGHT EMITTED FROM A HALO PHOSPHATE MIXTURE. IN ADDITION, UV EMITTING PHOSPHORS HAVE BEEN ADDED, WHICH GIVE ACCOUNT FOR SOME 15% OF THE TUBES OUTPUT.THIS IS SPLIT INTO 12% UVA & 2.4% UVB
THE IMPORTANCE OF FULL SPECTRUM LIGHT
WITHOUT A BALANCE SOURCE OF LIGHT, THE OCULOENDOCRINE CYCLE (LIGHT TO THE PITUITARY & PINEAL GLAND) IS AFFECTED. THIS AFFECTS EVERY ASPECT OF A BIRDS LIFE. SKEWED LIGHTING CAN RESULT IN AGITATION, PICKING BEHAVIOURS,WEAKNESS, BREEDING PROBLEMS AND METABOLIC DISORDERS.
VITAMIN D3 SYNTHESIS:
VITAMIN D3 IS REQUIRED BY BIRDS FOR HEALTHY BONE DEVELOPMENT. MANY SPECIES CAN SYNTHESIZE VITAMIN D3 FROM SUNLIGHT THROUGH THEIR SKIN, SPECIFICALLY, IT IS THE UVB LIGHT WITHIN THE SPECTRUM THAT ENABLES D3 SYNTHESIS
AS BIRDS ARE COVERED IN FEATHERS, THEY ARE UNABLE TO USE THEIR SKIN IN THIS WAY. IN MOST BIRDS, THEPREEN GLAND COLLECTS THE PRECURSOR D3 FROM THE BLOODSTREAM, AND CONCENTRATES IT IN THE GLAND OILSON TO ITS FEATHERS DURING PREENING. THE BIRD THEN INGESTS THE UV EXPOSED METERIAL WHEN IT PREENS ITSELF AGAIN, AND OIL ENTERS THE BODY AS PREVITAMIN D. THE LIVER & KIDNEY THEN CONVERT THIS TO VITAMIN D3.
HOW A BIRDS VISUAL SYSTEM DIFFERS FROM THE HUMAN SYSTEM:
THE RETINA OF THE EYES CONTAINS CONES, WHEN STIMULATED BY DIFFERENT WAVELENGHTS OF LIGHT, TRANSMIT COLOUR INFORMATION TO THE BRAIN. IN A HUMAN, THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF CONES, ENABLING US TO PERCEIVE THREE PRIMARY CLOURS: RED, GREEN, AND BLUE.tHIS IS KNOWN AS TRICHROMATIC VISION.THE COMBINATION OF THESE COLOURS ENABLE US TO PERCEIVE THOUSANDS OF DIFFERENT COLOURS. BIRDS HAVE A FOURTH CONE, WHICH IS SENSITIVE TO UV LIGHT, AND CAN PERCEIVE FOUR PRIMARY CLOURS, THE ADDITIONAL COLOUR BEING UV. THIS THIS IS KNOWN AS TETRACHROMATIC VISION H.
THE LATEST RESEARCH HAS DISCOVERED THAT SOME BIRDS CAN EVEN SEE FIVE PRIMARY COLOURS (IE HAVE PENTACHROMATIC VISION), BEING ABLE TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT WAVELENGHS OF UV.
THE AFFECT OF DAYLIGHT HOURS ON A BIRD:
BIRDS PERCEIVE LIGHT IN TWO WAYS. FIRSTLY THROUGH THE EYE. THE RETINA OF THE EYE IS CAPABLE OF TRANSMITTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE INTENSITY, COLOUR COMPOSTION, AND POLARISATION (DIRECTION) OF LIGHT. THIS INFORMATION TRAVELS IN TWO DIRECTIONS: TO THE BRAIN VIA THE OPTIC NERVE, AND THROUGH A SPECIAL PATHWAY TO THE PITUITARY GLAND.
BIRDS HAVE AN ADDITIONAL WAY OF PERCEIVING LIGHT, A SPECIAL GLAND MEASURES THE DURATION OF LIGHT A BIRD EXPERIENCES, KNOWN AS THE PHOTOPERIOD, AND PASSES THIS INFORMATION ONTO THE PINEAL GLAND. BOTH THE PITUITARY GLAND AND THE PINEAL GLAND ACT AS REGULATORS TO THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM AND THUS EFFECT THE WHOLE METOBOLISM OF THE BIRD. TO ENSURE THAT THE BIRDS HEALTH IS OPTIMISED, YOUR LIGHTING SHOULD BE TURNED ON ONE HOUR AFTER SUNRISE AND TURNED OFF ONE HOUR BEFORE SUNSET. THIS MAY BE FACILIATED BY USING A TIMER. THUS THE NATURAL ANNUAL CYCLE OF DAYLIGHT IS MAINTAINED, AND THE BIRDS NATURAL CYCLE FRO REPRODUCTIVE CONDITIONS, AND CONSEQUENTLY FEATHERING CYCLE, IS MAINTAINED.
BREEDERS WILL BE AWARE THAT BREEDING BEHAVIOURS CAN BE INDUCED BY ARTIFICIALLY EXTENDING THE PHOTOPERIOD TO 14-16 HOURS. IN MOST CASES THIS SHOULD BE DONE GRADUALLY. WHERE THIS FAILS, A SUDDEN INCREASE MAY WORK .
UV/UVA LIGHTS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE SHOP, OR OUR OFFLINE STORE.
THERE ARE 4 DIFFERENT TYPES AVAILABLE
2 WHICH SECURE ON TOP OF THE CAGE
ONE WHICH MOUNTS ON A STAND OR A CEILING
AND THE 4TH IS BEST SUITED FOR BREEDERS
IF YOU NEED ANY MORE HELP ON THIS SUBJECT
PLEASE CONTACT US.
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We are now stocking the new Parrot Pro UV Flood light.
The Parrot Pro can be attached to a ceiling above the birds cage,or suspended using thin wire or heavy gauge fishing gut.
There is also Parrot Pro stand avialable as an optional extra.
We are still holding a small stock of the old type screw fitting UV bulbs for the old style UV compact sets,but anyone requesting the old compact sets will be a special order,as we have decided the new Parrot Pro sets are the best option all round,and are more cost effective.
We also supply
UV strip lights in all 3 sizes, and
the reflectors.
Please contact us for more info