How many hours of sunlight do lovebirds need daily for good health?

Unless you plan on breeding Ringo, a 12 hour photoperiod is sufficient. A breeding canary needs 14-15 hours of daylight, natural or artificial. The bottom line is Ringo is yours now, he doesn't belong to the breeder. Provide as much or little sunlight as is convenient for you and him.

Congratulations on your new pets! Lovebirds can live between 10-15 years if properly cared for. You should have several perches of different diameters and materials in their cage, a cuttlebone to keep their beaks trimmed, and some toys that are variable (some destructible toys such as crinkle paper are okay as well). You can also offer some leafy greens and fruits/veggies. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Thanks fore reaching out about Ringo. The basic photoperiod should be well but including a light source with UVB spectrum would be better suited for all-around well being. Ideally, that photoperiod could be seasonally varied pecking at around 16 hours of light in summer, decreasing to 8-10 hours in winter. This will provide some seasonal variation to the photoperiod. Good luck.

As long as your bird gets between 8 and 12 hours of sleep, he should do fine. That sleep doesn't have to be in one stretch, but when you wake him up to play or handle him, don't just stick your hand in the cage, like people, they need time to wake up and become alert, so give him about 30 minutes before handling him. Letting him sleep someplace that is absolutely dark and quiet is ideal, and cover his cage too, even if his sleeping area is dark to minimize distractions and disturbance. Once you're done playing and interacting, he should have no trouble going back to sleep.

Natural sunlight can be substituted for artificial UV light as long as the light is not filtered. If the light has to travel through glass, or a mesh covering, then it will not allow UV light through and an artificial source will need to be substituted. If the sunlight is completely unobstructed, then you can subtract the amount of time that sunlight is available from the 10- 12 hours and have an artificial UV source for the rest of the time. The UV light will be limited, or nonexistent in the shade, but it's expected that he will not spend the entire day basking in UV light, so it's OK if he spends some time in the shade. Make sure that there is a good area of unobstructed light in the enclosure and he should get the necessary amount of UV rays. I hope that helps and all is well with Loki.

Hello, Good question! Yes, it would be good for her to get either direct sunlight OR you can use a UVB light bulb over her cage. If you take her outside for sunlight I would do it in small increments at the coolest part of the day - example, 15 minutes 2 to 3 times per day. That should be sufficient.

As long as the light isn't right up against Sunshine's cage it should be fine. If you need to work in the room while she is still sleeping, a cover can be placed on her enclosure to help keep her quiet and sleeping without bothering her from the light change. Placing a cover on at night and removing it in the mornings can also help set a good sleep schedule and reduce night terrors as well.