Piggies and Light

[JaneDoe]

The three of us are living in our new home (a basement apartment) which is a lot darker than the first floor apartment the boys grew up in. Since then the pigs seem to be spending more time in their pigloos--maybe it's because I'm not home as much and there's not as much noise/activity or light. Are they scared maybe? Is my unhappiness with the new apartment affecting them?

When I lived in the old place I always left one light on, even when I was out. Now when I leave the porch light is on but there is usually no light in the unit.

My question is how much light do piggies need? Should I keep it pitch dark at night?

Should I leave a light on for them?

[pigjes]

It can take several weeks for the pigs to get used to the new place. Pigs are crepuscular, so they don't care about pitch dark, although they seem to appreciate my tiny nightlight that's on in my place, so we can find our way at night in the dark to to go to the toilet. They do need 20 minutes of direct sunlight a day, for vitamin D, which also would do you good. So, if you can find a daylight bulb or device, that's recommended. No more than 20, as too much vitamin D influences calcium levels, which is more important to them than to us humans.

[JaneDoe]

See Pellegrino's medical thread--I think the issues are related.

[JaneDoe]

This is interesting: my landlady has her home office directly over the pigpen. The light goes down the stairs as there is no inside door to the basement where we live. The pigs seem to like it. The landlady says the bulbs she uses in the office are "expensive." Not sure if it's the kind of light they like or the direction from which it comes.

[Sef]

Interesting indeed! I have often wondered about our ops folks at work down in the basement. No access to sunlight all day, every day. From what I can tell, it's just run-of-the-mill fluorescent lighting. That said, though, I've heard that most windows block UV rays (?), so the windows I have upstairs probably aren't much help from a vitamin D standpoint. I've often wondered if that's why I'm often prone to D deficiency.

[JaneDoe]

When I broke my foot it was probably partly due to a vitamin D deficiency. I live in a basement and work at night so I get very little light. And working seven days/week doesn't make it better.

[Lynx]

I believe there are some cool led lights that provide especially healthy light.

[JaneDoe]

For me or the pigs? :)

I have a "Happy Light" that I bought at Bed Bath N Beyond but it hasn't made me any happier. Not sure if I'm using it right, though.

[Sef]

Vitamin D deficiency can wreak havoc on the body, that's for sure. Several years ago I was diagnosed with D deficiency that presented with extreme fatigue, making normal daily function quite challenging (I recall sitting in the car one day after a trip to the grocery store, feeling as though turning the key in the ignition was too much effort). I had to take something like 50,000 IUs of D weekly for 3 months to get my levels back where they needed to be. Scary stuff.

[Bookfan]

My daughter's therapist suggested this one:
Carex Day-Light Classic Plus Bright Light Therapy Lamp - 10,000 LUX - Sun Lamp Mood Light

Not cheap but the sort doctors recommend. You also need to have it at the right angle & height for a certain time of day for a set amount of time - instructions come with it. I'm not sure the cheap ones actually do anything. My daughter never used it much because her sleep is free cycling & that doesn't work.

[rjespicer]

We have a plug in Nightlight for at night but leave the main lights on during teh day.

You shoudl check out something like Wyze Light Bulbs. You can get 4 for about $40, they connect to your wifi and you can control them remotely and change brightness and hue, from Soft White to brighter Daylight style, not sure if it is genuine daylight i.e. provides Vitamin D though. If you get one of their Webcams (Another $40) you can also keep an eye on them when you are out using the same app.