Want to make your birdie love you? I mean really really love you? Give them some heat! We all know to put a sick bird somewhere warm at 30-32c to help them out, but even healthy birdies will like a chance to get nice and toasty. A parrot's body temperature is 41c, while a human's is 37c, which is quite a difference. A room temperature of 21c is comfortable for people, and your birds will do fine with this, but they will definitely appreciate the opportunity to get a little warmer. Remember, these birds come from a tropical clime! And in the cold winter days, room temperature can often drop quite low, especially at night. For instance, my aviary rooms usually run around 25 to 26c, higher in the hot summer days, but can go down to 20 to 21c on the colder winter nights with all the ventilation that is running.

Most birds do just fine with a cooler night for a little while each year, but I like to take extra special care with my breeding pairs that need to have the nest box removed after a clutch to prevent them from overbreeding. This is where cage heating coming in. I like to use a wall mounted heating square (the grey rectangle in the video on the cage wall) that the birds can snuggle up to. I will also use a heating lamp that allows them to bask, and can be easily moved from cage to cage. Giving the birds some extra heat means that they can use their body's energy fully for recovery, weight gain and healing, instead of using it to maintain their body temperature. This is also extremely important if your birdie is not feeling well, is dealing with an injury, an infection or even just an upset tummy or other source of stress.

Heating lamps can be bought at any pet store, get the ones made for reptiles and make sure it has a clamp for easy placement, and please never use a desk lamp or anything not made for use as a heat source. I use the infra-red basking bulbs at either 25 or 50 watts, as the red color does not interfere with a birds sleep cycle like a blue or white bulb will. I also do not trust the ceramic heating elements, as you cannot tell at a glance if it is working, and some harmful offgassing is possible. The heating squares are great as well, and you can also get heated perches which the parrots just love. You can get the squares and perches off the internet, or cheaper at West Coast Tropical Bird Studio in Vancouver.

Make sure that only a portion of the cage is heated, and that the birdies always always have the option to move out of the heat when they want. Also make sure to test the heat coming off the lamps at the closest point the birds can get to, just to be sure that there is no chance of singed feathers, burns, or overheating. Also check the temperature of the cage bars, to prevent any chance of burned toes and feet, and place the lamp out of reach of any splashing water from the cage during bathtimes.

As always, this is just my opinion on something that works well for me, and wish I had known more about long ago. Stay safe everyone!

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