How many hours a day should I keep my chameleons reptisun bulb and basking light on during the day if I let my chameleon get direct sunlight when I keep him outside?
depends, general rule is 12hrs on 12hrs off. to get technical, some leave it on less if their cham gets regular sunlight (not to common) some will leave it on more more than 12hrs in the summer and fall, and will shorten during winter and spring. but requirements for basic husbandry is 12/12
I run about 11 hours on.... The chams get to wake up to light coming into the room... then the UVB lamps turn on. 45 minutes later the heat lamps come on. at night the lights do the reverse... heat off, then UVB and the chams go to bed with the sun setting.
you just need two timers.... I plug all of my UVB lights into one timer, and then all of the heat lights into another. use a digital timer so it's more accurate. dial timers don't always work great.