Monitoring Safe Conditions for Birds
Monitoring Safe Conditions for Pets
If you want your pets to be happy and healthy, it’s important to maintain proper environmental conditions. Whether we’re talking about dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles, small mammals or even horses, the wrong conditions can lead to illness, poor general health…or even worse. Depending on the animal, it may be highly sensitive to temperature and/or humidity. And if your pet lives primarily outdoors, it’s crucial to keep a close eye on weather conditions to make sure they are safe. Your best bet is to educate yourself on the specific environmental conditions your pets require, and then closely monitor those conditions with your own pet monitoring equipment.
Monitoring safe conditions for birds
Problem
While most birds can be comfortable in conditions similar to humans, they may have special environmental needs. For example, some species require regular exposure to either natural or artificial sunlight. Other species, such as tropical birds, may require higher humidity levels than we typically keep in our homes. A most serious concern to many bird owners, however, are drafts. What this means is anything from an open window to an air conditioner vent can create a situation inside a bird cage where the animal is experiencing two separate temperatures. This can put stress on the animal and lead to illness.
Solution
Fully research the needs of your pet birds, then maintain the correct habitat to keep them healthy. Closely monitor the temperature and humidity of the bird cage, and keep birds away from windows, vents and other direct sources of heated or cooled air. Regular use of misters and/or humidifiers as well as daily exposure to sunlight may also be required. Thankfully, birds can be good at letting you know when they are uncomfortable. They might fluff up feathers when cold, or hold their wings out and pant when hot. Always pay attention to signals they are sending you.
AcuRite Solutions & Tips
- Monitor Temperature and Humidity Conditions: Position an AcuRite Room Monitor near the bird cage or habitat to track indoor ambient air conditions.
- As an alternative, you can use a Monitor with a wired Spot Check Sensor positioned inside the cage to view air temperature / humidity, and also the bird cage temperature from inside the cage (measured by the wired sensor).
- Use a Home Environment Display for convenient viewing of conditions measured by multiple Monitors and Sensors in multiple rooms around your home.
- Set alarms on the display to alert you of hazardous conditions. These can include dangerously low or high temperatures and/or humidity.
Learn More About Safe Pet Habitats
There are many great resources on maintaining a healthy pet habitat. Here are a few examples:
- Petco offers series of guidelines for setting up a habitat for a variety of pets:
- PetSmart offers a resource page, organized by species, which includes information on terrariums, nutrition and more:
- The Humane Society offers these guidelines on building a shelter for outdoor cats:
