Basking Bulb Problems

I got a Zoo Med light fixture that came with a 60 watt daylight blue and UVB. I was worried that the daylight blue wouldn't provide enough heat for my chameleon. After a little research I found out that the daylight blue bulbs provided insufficient heat. However, my light fixture says to reduce the chance of a fire to not use a bulb over 60 watts. Would a 75 watt bulb be okay or would it cause fire damage?
 
I got a Zoo Med light fixture that came with a 60 watt daylight blue and UVB. I was worried that the daylight blue wouldn't provide enough heat for my chameleon. After a little research I found out that the daylight blue bulbs provided insufficient heat. However, my light fixture says to reduce the chance of a fire to not use a bulb over 60 watts. Would a 75 watt bulb be okay or would it cause fire damage?
Why not stick with the 60Watt regular house white light bulb within the warning guideline, and then raise ur branch (basking spot ) higher,just to be benefits with the heat n uvb in the same time.
 
Ok, I'll do that. Thanks!
Ur welcome ,and u can use the digital temperature thermometer gauge to test the proper temperature depending on what type of the chameleon u have by reading the forum source chameleon care sheet ,it will give u some guide line to follow.
 
You can also use a halogen bulb, they are shaped to reflect light straight down directing more of the heat to one spot
 
Thanks for all the ideas! I just put in a halogen that I had in cabinet yesterday. It seems like every site I visit has a different idea of what is the best bulb. I'll just keep trying things until I find what works for me.
 
Hi! Sorry I didn't put this in my earlier post, but I was wondering if there was any difference between a spot bulb and an incandescent or halogen, other than the shape. I had heard that a 75 watt spot bulb was the best, but it doesn't fit in my light fixture. I need to know that the spot bulb really is the best before I buy another fixture.

Thanks!
 
Hi! Sorry I didn't put this in my earlier post, but I was wondering if there was any difference between a spot bulb and an incandescent or halogen, other than the shape. I had heard that a 75 watt spot bulb was the best, but it doesn't fit in my light fixture. I need to know that the spot bulb really is the best before I buy another fixture.

Thanks!
You can get "spot" in any style, you just have to watch out for beam angle/width. A narrow 35 watt might be too hot, yet a 75 watt wide might be perfect. I run 35watt narrow halogens but i place them off set of the branch, so they have to vertical bask to get full sun. This helps me because it prevents them from getting the top of their head burnt. However some chams are not smart enough to find and vertical bask using my setup. Just have it at an angle so its not directly pointing down on their head.
 
Hi! Sorry I didn't put this in my earlier post, but I was wondering if there was any difference between a spot bulb and an incandescent or halogen, other than the shape. I had heard that a 75 watt spot bulb was the best, but it doesn't fit in my light fixture. I need to know that the spot bulb really is the best before I buy another fixture.

Thanks!
Any of those bulbs are good there is no best bulb when choosing a basking bulb you just want to make sure that the "basking spot" is the correct temp depending on what kind Cham you have,this will differ with species. Also you want your Cham to be able to move away from his basking spot to a shaded area or lower in the cage if he's to hot or if he just wants to sit under uvb light. Main objective when choosing basking bulb=correct basking spot temperature, you can achieve this by moving the basking branch up or down and checking it with a probe or a IR temp gage. If you have a IR temp gage you can check your chams temp directly when he/she is basking, point the gage at his side that faces the basking bulb and it will give you a accurate readout. Proper basking temps for you Cham help digestion, easiest way to check for proper digestion is POOP. Check out some threads on here about poop lol. I would save your money for something else for your Cham don't buy a new fixture...many people just use regular 60 watt house bulb so I wouldn't go out of my way buy a new fixture just for a spot light bulb! Good luck hope this helps. post a pic of your setup and people on here can give you some really good advice as to what to do.
 
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If you are going halogen, a flood light is better than a spot light IMO. the spot light focuses the light on a specific spot, whereas the flood light spreads the light
 
I just put in a 75 watt incandescent yesterday morning. It feels a lot warmer and my new cham ate more the day I put it in than he had the entire previous week. I think I will stick with it for now. Thanks for all your help!
 
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