https://www.mmlights.com/Lumichrome%201XC.html Here is a link to purchase bulbs for birds. I think I am going to try to find out where they sell these or something comparable in Canada.

Thank you Kate for all the info

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I believe reptile lights contain the full spectrum of UV's.

That post is very interesting, not something you think of with indoor pets,but it makes a lot of sense. I have just been found to be short of vitamin D3 myself. Britain is in quite Northern latitudes and our weather can be very overcast.
I think I will get some of these lights for my pair.
A treat coming for you Daisy and Barry. I hope it wont scare you off the cage top!

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My birds Daisy and Barry say I am well tamed and that I do just what they want me to.

I know that I don't get enough sunlight either nelliemoser so I take a D3 capsule daily to compensate. Luckily from recent x-rays taken I have no sign of Osteoporosis at the age of 60.

As a child though I did get plenty of sunshine and calcium which has helped a great deal. Apparently with humans you have a greater chance of Osteoporosis if you don't get sufficient sun and calcium as a child so it has to come from a very early age as well.

Very interesting article. I just got my first budgie, and definitely want to make sure he doesn't develop a vitamin deficiency!

If I supplement his food and/or water, will that be sufficient, or do you guys think a UVB light is necessary? I keep reptiles, so I'm already familiar with the concept. However, I know the animal needs to get within 8 inches or so of the bulb to properly absorb the rays. And I've read that it's stressful for a budgie to shine a light directly on them...

You need to get a specific Vitamin D3 supplement and not a multi-vitamin. Multi-Vitamins don't have sufficient D3 in them. Of course Sunshine is the best source and if you can get your birds outside for some periods of time it is best. But not always possible in the winter period.

With the lights it is not only UVB that is necessary, you need one that has the full spectrum, UVA, UVB and UVC.

If you want to go with the supplement, Vetafarm Australia put out one that was specifically designed with budgies in mind, that is Soluvite D. I cannot access the International site as it detects I am in Australia. You can purchase the Soluvite D via mail order from there and I think you can do a search to find a distributor in your area in America. They are usually pretty prompt with their mail orders.

What about the countries that dont get much sunshine even in the summer like England where i live.What is this productthat you can sprinkle on their food.Can anyone tell me?

Don't know about one that you can sprinkle over food but you can get the Vetafarm Soluvite D that goes in the water.

They only need about 15 minutes of sunlight a day but you can combine that into a couple of days a week, like an hour every few days.

Well, now I've heard from another source (a local budgie breeder) that TOO much D3 is bad for them, so I'm not sure where the line between ideal and over-doing it would be. Thinking about just going with a multivitamin and some avian lighting. Natural sunlight might be an option for me in the summer, but definitely not in the colder months (and it doesn't even warm up until July where I am).