could anyone help me with an heat/lighting question?

[kingjohn]

hi everyone,

ive had my chameleon around 18months or so and always just had one bulb its a zoo-med powersun 100w, its what the man i bought it from told me i needed, and my chameleons always been fine (touch wood)

but i never see anyone else set up this way... should i have a strip light for UV and a normal house light for heat? is there any right or wrong way?


thanks in advance

john

 

[cambech]

I am curious as to what some will say about this as well. I have used the powersun type bulbs for years and never had any issues. However, I also use the linear 5.0 bulbs and regular old heat lamps as well. However, if you're saying your bulb is 18 months old, then you need a new one asap, as that one at this point is merely providing a heat source but no UV.

 

[kingjohn]

sorry forgot to add i change it every 6months as it has a guarantee so its alwats free aswel

just curious if the other way is better or not as im almost done on a new cage im building and wana get evrything done spot on

thanks

john

 

[boj3434]

Some people like to just use the mercury vabor bulbs but most poeple recomend the linear and the heat bulb because sometimes they like to bask in just heat and then jsut uvb so with the one bulb they cant do that since it is combined. Im sure you will be fine but i wouldnt use one but thats just me

 

[kingjohn]

you know whats weird is if i knew there were these 2 ways in the begining i would of done with 2 bulbs also i think,

just to clarify would i use a normal 100w bulb in the big reflector thing (outside the cage) and the uv light is a strip light, but placed in what sort of holder? and isit in or out the cage?



thanks agen

john

 

[cambech]

regular bulb in a reflector dome and the linear bulb would just be in a strip light fixture you can pick up at any lowes, home depot or pet stores if you wanna pay an extra buck. always keep the bulbs outside of the cage.

May just be me but I keep a mercury vapor bulb around for 1 reason. when i had veilds back in the day and one would refuse to eat for some reason. I'd switch to that sucker and within a few hours he was eating whatever I could throw in the cage. Might just be coincidence, but it worked on more than one occasion. I just felt at the time that it was closer to being what the sun actually is.(an all in one deal)

but like i said, both ways have worked great for me.

 

[kingjohn]

thanks alot cambech thats cleared it all up for me just how to set up the other way if i do change my mind

 

[SliK JiM]

I used to use a megaray to provide UV in my enclosure as the penetration is much better than a liner tube. My setup used to be like this (it was winter hence the extra basking bulb!):

It worked great and I'm sure it was a key factor in my guys growth! I've had to switch to the liner tubes now though as my enclosure is just too tall that I cant house the megaray far enough above the top of the enclosure for it to be safe!

It's now like this:

The light fixtures are from Wickes and are dead cheap compared to the normal reptile starter units. When you get it, just wire it up with a plug and a 5A fuse and you're laughing!

 

[kingjohn]

thanks again slik! them pics are great too very helpful

im really liking this website get alot more help than others ive been a member on

 

[SliK JiM]

No worries mate! Glad to be of help!

Yeah, this is definitely the best website out there! I'm on the captivebred chameleon uk forum too, but it's normally Cham related problems, rather than projects and the such, so it's not that great! Plus, there are so many people on here who know there stuff!

 

[jp279]

...if you're saying your bulb is 18 months old, then you need a new one asap, as that one at this point is merely providing a heat source but no UV.

Not so, the Power sun mercury vapour bulbs have an average useful output life of 10,000 hours, which is around 2.7 years of 10 hours a day use.
The only problem I have with my one is that it keeps my tank a shade on the hot side, but being from Yemen my cham seems to be fine with that.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy John,

Here's some info that was added onto the UV Guide UK site in 2008 and more in 2009 about some issues with the ZooMed Powersun mercury vapor lamps. I think these issues are still the case today.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercvapourfloods.htm

You can also search/read through posts on the UVB Meter Owners group site:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/

Example: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/message/6304