Best Humidifier for Parrots | A COMPLETE Guide

Best Humidifier for Parrots | A COMPLETE Guide

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Best Humidifier for Parrots

It is said that a parrot and its owner quickly become alike, reflecting each other in appearance and behavior.

When it comes to humidity, that adage might be more true than we think!

Our feathery friends need a comfortable indoor climate too, and especially a comfortable humidity level!

If not, they start hurting and acting weird in all sorts of ways. 

Moreover, as pets, parrots are completely reliant on the owner to provide them with the ideal indoors climate.

Accordingly, here are the best humidifiers for our lovely little birds.

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Why do our parrots need a humidifier?

During the winter, the temperature drops and the air suddenly dries out, irritating a parrot’s feathers, skin and airways.

This can make the parrot pluck out its feathers, scratch itself, or try picking its nostrils with its claws.

For bigger parrot species, low humidity can also lead to problems such as behavior issues, acting out, and anxiety.

Similarly, when humans are hit with cold weather and dry air, we sneeze, cough, experience congestion, cracked lips and much more. 

However, we often power through without a second thought.

Best Humidifier for Parrots

While we may have a remarkable tolerance for bad weather, our beloved parrots do not and suffer greatly.

They have no way to explain what’s troubling them, so if we don’t pay attention to their symptoms the same way we’re not paying attention to ours, they’ll be in a whole heap of trouble.

To prevent these problems, pay attention to your parrot to see if the air is drying out.

If you notice a troubling pattern, perhaps it’s time to invest in a humidifier. 

The Best Humidifiers for Parrots:

Second Best

Best Overall

Third Best

Header
Cell

TaoTronics

Warm & Cool Mist Humidifier

TTLIFE

Ultrasonic Humidifier

Miroco 

Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier

Price

Mist

Warm & Cool

Warm & Cool

Cool

Run Time

45 hrs

45 hrs

60 hrs

Tank Capacity

1.4 gal
(5.5 L)

1.4 gal
(5.5 L)

1.6 gal
(6 L)


1. Overall Best for Parrots: TTLIFE Ultrasonic Mist Humidifier


TTLIFE | Ultrasonic Mist Humidifier

  • Sizable water tank and many settings
  • Remote control
  • Digital display for accurate real-time information
  • Smart Humidity Sensing mode automatically replenishes moisture in the air
  • Bulky due to size and weight
  • Black color only

TTLIFE's Ultrasonic Humidifier has a sizable water tank with a range of settings allowing for great customization. You can fill it, set it and forget it.

This unit has excellent variability. It can disperse (warm and cool) mist of up to 104°F (40°C) for 40 hours while maintaining the relative humidity anywhere between 30 and 80%. 

TTLife Ultrasonic - Display

You can also enjoy your rest or play with your parrot thanks to the Smart Humidity Sensing function. The unit decides on its own whether to release mist or not, meaning not having to micromanage the unit.

With all this information readily available at a glance via a digital display on the unit, you could conceivably install a webcam and remotely check up on its status.

There’s a remote as well, so if you’re handy with electronics, you might be able to adjust the unit over the internet too.

Taken together, this huge range of values lets you experiment to find what works for your parrot.

The TTLIFE Ultrasonic Humidifier's built-in water filter on the cover minimizes scale buildup, which removes the need to constantly clean the unit. A huge plus is the manufacturer will send every customer a free replacement filter if contacted through their official email address.

You can also rest easy knowing that the running time for a filter is around 3-6 months depending on frequency of use. No need for constant replacements!

Two rotatable nozzles increase the range of surfaces you can place it on, again allowing for a lot of flexibility.

TTLife Ultrasonic uses a Remote

Among the 180 positive Amazon reviews, the most common praises are functionality and the low amount of noise it makes, meaning TTLIFE Ultrasonic fits right in and will not disturb your bird.

TTLife Ultrasonic - 360 and disperses warm and cool air

On the flip side, the 13 negative Amazon reviews ranged from: having the smell of burning plastic, to too much condensation, to the unit not shutting off properly when the water ran out.

The good thing is that each criticism is different depending on the user and there is no particular commonality to them - suggesting one off cases. 

Overall, the $94.99 price point and 4.7 out of 5 stars in 197 user reviews confirm this humidifier is an affordable, dependable, and suitable humidifier for your parrot.

Other Great Humidifiers for Parrots (Honorable Mentions)

2. TaoTronics Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier


TaoTronics | TT-AH018 Warm and Cool Mist Humidifier

  • Great range of settings provides great flexibility
  • Warm mist reaches up to 60 °C (140 °F) for quick heating
  • Easy to refill for less micromanagement of the humidifier
  • Covers up to 50 square meters (538 square feet) for full home coverage
  • Warm mist is automatically disabled during sleep due to safety reasons
  • Doesn’t support essential oils

3. Miroco Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier (MI-AH001)


Miroco | Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier (MI-AH001)

  • Customizable light modes allow soft illumination for the birds and owners
  • Carry handle for one-handed transport
  • Dustproof filter sponge for extra clean mist
  • Sleek design fits into the room even when not in use
  • Extremely quiet (26 dB)
    for those more sensitive to noises
  • Manufacturer recommends only distilled water
  • Doesn’t support essential oils
  • Only cool mist

Considerations when Buying the Best Humidifier for Parrots

a) Humidity level for your parrot

Caring for parrots to keep their feathers strong, skin moist, and bird bouncing around happily, involves setting up the relative humidity to suit them.

The ideal humidity for parrots is the one closest to their native climate. In general, this means dry, hot areas, where they find food, shade, and water sources.

When their living area gets too cold or dry, parrots will migrate up to 124 miles (200 kilometers), such as those that cross the Bass Strait from Tasmania to Australian coast.

parrots in their natural environment

Parrots undertake this treacherous journey only in the direst of circumstances: such as during a lack of food and shelter, or dropping temperatures.

Parrots do have ways to deal with excess moisture that are common to all birds (eg: they have what’s known as “uropygial gland” located above the tail which produces oil that the parrot scoops up with its beak and smears all over itself, providing its feathers with a waxy, water-repellent coating).

However, when the living environment suddenly changes, our feathered creatures have very few ways to adapt unlike humans who can adapt to a wide range of environments.

For example, while we have sweat glands even on our fingertips, parrots don’t have sweat glands and can’t get rid of excess heat as well as humans can.  Hence, whenever you see your parrot preening, it’s preparing for a tropical storm but in actual fact, it has almost no defense against a chilly blast from an AC unit.

This is also especially so when the humidity drops. 

When the humidity is too low, dry air lets dust float around freely, which enters both a human’s and parrot’s airways to irritate them and trigger a sneeze - one of the body's great defense mechanisms. 

However, while the dust is thrown out after sneezing, the action also brings up more dust if the air is too dry, which again floats in the air to trigger another sneeze and another.

Bacteria floats around in the air too. So, when the occupants start sneezing, they share the bacteria and increase the likelihood of getting sick.

What is the ideal humidity for Parrots?

This would include a higher temperature and humidity to resemble tropical conditions, which the parrot handle more easily than low temperatures and low humidity.

Therefore, anything around 50-70% relative humidity should be fine for a parrot. So, what does that mean for us?

What is the ideal humidity for humans?

For humans, the ideal humidity that causes the least amount of irritation at any given temperature mostly lies around a relative humidity of 40-50%.

The further away the relative humidity is from that range, the more problems happens that occur.

So, what humidity level should you set your unit at?

A humidity that is tolerable for humans might be unbearable for parrots.

We often overestimate their ability to cope with the environment - just because we can handle something doesn’t mean our pets can endure it too. 

Always pay attention to your bird and adjust the level accordingly for both your comfort.

However, as a rule of thumb, consider setting your unit around 50% relative humidity.

b) Should you get a warm mist, cool mist, or evaporative humidifier for parrots?

There are three types of humidifiers:

  • Warm Mist
  • Ultrasonic/Cool Mist
  • Evaporative

There are pros and cons to each humidifier type.

For example, in cases where your living space is already properly heated and you aren’t bothered by cleaning the unit, a cool mist humidifier will do.

In other cases where you want to distribute some heat along with moisture, a warm mist humidifier will be better.

For our lovely pet birds, a warm mist humidifier is likely to be more helpful!

Warm mist humidifiers excel at dispersing heat, which can help parrots sensitive to bacteria, because they produce a sterile mist. 

best humidifier for parrots

Cool mist humidifiers also tend to be noisier than warm mist humidifiers or evaporators because they use a fan to disperse the moisture.

TTLIFE's Warm And Cool mist Humidifier delivers sterilized air!

Some parrot owners prefer warm over cold mist humidifiers, because cool mist units run a higher risk of aspergillosis developing  (a fungal disease caused by the spores of the common mold).

As cool mist humidifiers lack a way to sterilize the water, there will eventually be a mold overgrowth inside the water tank if not properly maintained.

Therefore, look for a warm mist humidifier for your parrot first, then a cool mist one, and only then for an evaporative humidifier.

c) Importance of cleaning

A higher humidity makes the spores and other microorganisms stick to any nearby surface, neutralizing them.

However, without cleaning, mold can start growing and be dispersed through the air.

All bacteria and fungi thrive in moist conditions. As soon as you run your humidifier for parrots, you should plan on how to get it cleaned.

best humidifier for parrots

BeCalmingHaven / Amazon

This can lead to aspergillosis or some other infections for parrots causing them to be lethargic, lose their appetite, and have trouble breathing.

Hence, be sure to regularly clean your humidifier.

It also helps if you’re already using an AC unit that filters air, and if you can use filtered water too, you’ll minimize the amount of cleaning needed!

d) Where to position the unit

Humidifiers for parrots should be positioned in such a way to counteract the effects of dry air, which is most commonly caused by the heating unit.

For example, if you use a furnace for heating, consider getting a whole-house humidifier that attaches to the furnace.:"They're actually not that much more expensive than a nice free-standing unit, and it definitely does a much better job of maintaining a constant and even level of humidity."

Always keeps in mind, when installing your humidifier, to keep an eye out for your feathered friend's behavior and adjust to it. 

We've seen parrots attacking humidifiers; which ranged from temperature issues to the parrot being bored and just wanting attention.

e) Using essential oils/ chemicals/fragrances

Essential oils/chemicals/fragrances in the humidifier can irritate the parrot’s sensitive airways but can also help it feel right at home.

In the wild, parrots are exposed to essential oils, chemicals and fragrances all the time.

Drug store brands are typically harmful for parrots but vets use medical-grade ones for parrots to good effect.

Hence, the best way to use essential oils with parrots is through an ultrasonic humidifier.

best humidifier for parrots

What harms our birds are actually the toxins found in low-quality products we commonly use.

Start with a few drops and gradually increase the amount if the parrot doesn’t react negatively.

Bottom Line - What is the Best Humidifier for Parrots?

We adopt parrots and consider them family members. They bring us immense joy and companionship unlike anything else!

Based on what we’ve learned so far about parrots and humidity, they can have trouble in an environment that feels perfectly fine to humans, and have no way of expressing it.

Best Humidifier for Parrots

Thankfully, they are helped greatly by warm mist humidifiers.

The main difficulty in finding a solid warm mist humidifier is that they often don’t have enough capacity and lack features, meaning you have to constantly oversee them.

Well, the TTLIFE Ultrasonic Humidifier is one that does the job best for your parrot.  

Don’t ignore the early warning signs of low humidity but also don’t overreact.

Even if you decide that TTLIFE Ultrasonic isn’t the best humidifier for your parrot, now you know the fundamentals of what helps and what harms parrots regarding humidity.

Find a simple, affordable and convenient solution that can help your feathered buddy in a pinch! Trust me, you'll both be happier in no time.