heating & hotspot - what wattage?

[cnocgreina]

hello!

as mentioned in my first post in this forum, a veiled chameleon is living with us since a few days.

so far, i replaced the fake plants with real ones, bought her a new UVB light (5.0 repti glo - pls let me know if that is the right one) and got rid of the fountain in the bottom of the cage - uuuuugh, it was gross!!!!!

i got a combo deep dome from the previous owner for the heating, one side was empty, in the other side a lightbulp made out of red glass without any further information. i stole one of the night glo 40 watt bulps from the snakes and put it into one side of the dome, so mrs chameleon does not get cold during the night, but she seems to be cold durig the day? she sits right under the basking spot abut 95% of the day, seems to be sleepy and not very alert in general.

again, i unfortunatelly have no idea what light bulp the previous owner used in the dome, but i think i go ahead and replace the bulp as well - making sure mrs. chameleon got everything she needs. would the exa terra heat glow infrared bulp be a good choice for example? or would a common basking lamp be the better choice? what wattage/brand would you reccomend?

thank you everyone for your help!
nadine

 

[Carlton]

It is really hard to tell what wattage bulb you will need, because it will be influenced by the temp range in the room, your daily weather, and the cage setup. You don't need any special type of "basking bulb" for heat. A regular incandescent white or clear household light bulb will work. You could start off with a 30 or 40 watt bulb, but test before you put the cham in it. Set up your cage entirely with the perches, plants, etc. Measure the temp at the perch right under the bulb where your cham will bask. The most accurate way to get this temp is by using a non-contact infrared temp gun. They measure the surface temp of whatever you point it at. They are a fantastic tool and you can get them pretty cheaply at good herp supply stores. Then check the desired basking temp for your species based on the info on the forum. If the temp at the basking perch is too hot, raise the lamp away from the cage top. If the temp is too cool, try the next higher watt bulb.

 

[Carlton]

hello!

as mentioned in my first post in this forum, a veiled chameleon is living with us since a few days.

so far, i replaced the fake plants with real ones, bought her a new UVB light (5.0 repti glo - pls let me know if that is the right one) and got rid of the fountain in the bottom of the cage - uuuuugh, it was gross!!!!!

i got a combo deep dome from the previous owner for the heating, one side was empty, in the other side a lightbulp made out of red glass without any further information. i stole one of the night glo 40 watt bulps from the snakes and put it into one side of the dome, so mrs chameleon does not get cold during the night, but she seems to be cold durig the day? she sits right under the basking spot abut 95% of the day, seems to be sleepy and not very alert in general.

again, i unfortunatelly have no idea what light bulp the previous owner used in the dome, but i think i go ahead and replace the bulp as well - making sure mrs. chameleon got everything she needs. would the exa terra heat glow infrared bulp be a good choice for example? or would a common basking lamp be the better choice? what wattage/brand would you reccomend?

thank you everyone for your help!
nadine

!!! Get rid of the red light at night! Chams see full spectrum color and the light will keep it awake. Chams also need at least a 10 degree temp drop at night. If your room doesn't get colder than 60 at night you don't need any heat at night!