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Humidity and Dust: Improving Air Quality for Birds and Bird Owners

 

Overly-dry indoor air is a common throughout much of the US, particularly in the colder months when naturally arid air and house-heating systems are both at work.  Bird and human skin can suffer as a result.  Daily misting of your pets can help, but in some cases it might be wise to consider a humidifier.  Zoo Med’s Habba Mist  is ideal… designed for use with pet birds and reptiles, it has 4 different interval and spray duration settings and is easily moved from place to place.

The fine powder down produced by cockatoos (including the cockatiel) is a quite necessary grooming aid but can pose a health concern to people with allergies or compromised lungs.  Feather dust can also be a concern with other birds (i.e. the African gray parrot), especially if large numbers are kept. Installing an air purifier can make a great improvement in indoor air quality…even if you are not overly sensitive to dust, you will likely notice and enjoy the difference.

 

About Frank Indiviglio

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I believe that I was born with an intense interest in animals, as neither I nor any of my family can recall a time when I was not fascinated by creatures large and small. One might imagine this to be an unfortunate set of circumstances for a person born and raised in the Bronx, but, in actuality, quite the opposite was true. Most importantly, my family encouraged both my interest and the extensive menagerie that sprung from it. My mother and grandmother somehow found ways to cope with the skunks, flying squirrels, octopus, caimans and countless other odd creatures that routinely arrived un-announced at our front door. Assisting in hand-feeding hatchling praying mantises and in eradicating hoards of mosquitoes (I once thought I had discovered “fresh-water brine shrimp” and stocked my tanks with thousands of mosquito larvae!) became second nature to them. My mother went on to become a serious naturalist, and has helped thousands learn about wildlife in her 16 years as a volunteer at the Bronx Zoo. My grandfather actively conspired in my zoo-buildings efforts, regularly appearing with chipmunks, boa constrictors, turtles rescued from the Fulton Fish Market and, especially, unusual marine creatures. It was his passion for seahorses that led me to write a book about them years later. Thank you very much, for a complete biography of my experience click here.
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