Scales and Tales - Captive Raptors and Toxic Teflon

Welcome to guest blogger,  Ranger Sarah Milbourne.  Ranger Milbourne is the lead for the Scales and Tales program statewide, so watch our blog for periodic postings from her on all things Scales and Tales.

Captive Raptors and Toxic Teflon™

 

With colder weather just around the corner, our next few Scales and Tales blogs will center on winter preparedness and maintenance.  With the impending need for creating warmer environs for some of our animals, these preparations take place for various purposes and under various time frames (e.g. migration, size, metabolism). More often than not, bringing them indoors is not feasible; therefore, we encourage the use of heat lamps when an animal’s body heat needs to be artificially maintained by external sources.

 

Teflon™ is unsafe for birds.

 

Historically, shatterproof bulbs coated with Teflon were used in the mews as supplemental heat sources for our captive raptors during cold weather.  What we have learned over the years is that Teflon fumes emitted by those bulbs pose a surprisingly lethal threat to all birds. Even pet birds (e.g. parrots) in a dwelling can be killed by the fumes from overheated nonstick cookware.   As the Teflon coated bulb heats up, fumes escape into the surrounding air. When a bird is exposed to the fumes, it may first show signs of respiratory distress such as open mouth breathing or raspy breathing. Or it may simply drop off its perch followed quickly by death. Bird owner groups say thousands of birds have been killed by Teflon fumes. DuPont says this occurs because birds have small and sensitive lungs. 

 

    Some bulbs do not indicate the use of Teflon and are not safe.    

 

Shatterproof bulbs are recommended as supplemental heat sources in mews, but it is not always easy to tell if the shatterproof coating on a bulb is Teflon. Safer silicone can also be used as a coating, but Teflon is much more common. Many bulbs available are coated by a company that is not the bulbs’ manufacturer, so there may be no warning on the label, or even any indication of the type of coating at all. The individual bulbs with a coating will not contain a warning on the bulb, so one cannot easily check shatterproof bulbs currently in use to see if they are coated in Teflon.

 

 

  

 

 

 Emitters safe to use in mews.

What’s the solution?  Remove any bulbs that you are not sure are safe and order ceramic heaters (ceramic emitters).  Bulbs should be mounted in a reflector (hood or tin can) and a box/screen that protects the bulb from breakage and prevents the bird from coming in contact with the bulb.  ExoTerra™ produces professional grade ceramic heat emitters that screw into a standard bulb socket. They heat with a natural-like infrared heat with no light to disturb photo periods and are safe in humid weather conditions (rated for high humidity and misting systems).  Keep in mind any heating system using electricity must be kept from getting water in the contact points (where the ceramic heat emitter screws in) and must be plugged into a properly wired ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). If you aviary does not have GFCI outlets, in line GFCI outlets can be purchased and installed between the heat source and the wall outlet. This is necessary to prevent severe electrical shock or electrocution. Visit www.exo-terra.com to get your safe bulbs today!

 

 

Do you have questions?  Post them in the comments section, so everyone can see the answers.