Panther678
Member
How long has he not eaten food for and with the basking I'm pretty sure they bask to help with digestion so if he hasn't eaten I doubt he would bask.
Help with new baby veiled chameleon!!! Please!!
- Thread starter C0nwayy
- Start date
PabloTheCham
Chameleon Enthusiast
That's like saying since your pet human slept and sleeping helps recover from injuries that your human is injured...
Chameleons are reptiles. Reptiles are cold blooded. Reptiles bask to regulate their temperature, wether they eat or not they will bask to not be cold.
The enclosure really is not ideal.... Looks to be a T8 UVB bulb and at that distance he is not getting much UVB at all. I would get a new enclosure so you can have lights on the top and this way utilize the top portion of the enclosure and have proper air flow.
I would start reading through this husbandry program https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
C0nwayy
Member
Yeah it’s a T8. It’s a 5.0 but I’m getting some money this week so I’ll get a 10.0. I’m gonna take the top glass off and put mesh so I can place the lights outside. The guy who sold the UVB lamp holder to me has bred chameleons with the T8 tubes, but I’m guessing they were 10.0.
Panther678
Member
Ah okay sorry I gave the wrong advice I read this online that you shouldn't feed them before your about to turn off the light because heat helps digestion but you are the expert. Sorry again.
PabloTheCham
Chameleon Enthusiast
I'm not an expert lol... And yes it does help with digestion. That doesn't mean they won't bask if they don't need to digest. For example, Ball pythons. They can go on food strikes for months, yet they still go on their heating pad a few times a day to thermoregulate.
C0nwayy
Member
He did bask today, just not too much as other days. Only.. 2-5 minutes? Maybe more because I took a nap and ofc didn’t watch him. As I mentioned he’s been avoiding me so he then went to the plant to hide between the leafs. Maybe it’s also because I moved the basking branch a bit lower to lower the basking heat to 27°C
A 10.0 T8 wont reach those distances either..... You need a t5HO fixture with a 5.0 bulb. And it should be on top of the enclosure through screen with the basking fixture. Then you want a 9 inch drop to basking for the correct UVB level and appropriate distance for the basking fixture to avoid thermal burn risk.
C0nwayy
Member
I mean the enclosure isn’t that tall, it’s only 60 cm tall. I’ve been told I can use the 10.0?
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I reviewed his husbandry yesterday...he said he wasn’t able to get a T5...only a T8. I told him I believed a 10.0 bulb would be ok...I was going to call you in about it too. Sorry I didn’t.
@C0nwayy, Beman knows so much more than I do, especially about uvb.
C0nwayy
Member
Oof
I’ll be looking at T5 fixtures rn. As well as a lamp. How long can he stay with the 5.0? I’m at 0€ rn. I got 10€ from a commision to buy crickets.
C0nwayy
Member
Although some breeders here in Spain say their chams do good with T8 10.0
I do not know distances on T8's without screen this is the issue. I can not provide assistance with that. The 5.0 won't work but I do not know if you can get the distance he needs which looks to be a good 12 inches with a 10.0 T8.
Thatwizard420
Chameleon Enthusiast
Is that a 10G with a gecko conversion kit?
C0nwayy
Member
Almost everyone here in Spain, breeders included, have their chameleons with T8s and the breeder who gave me my cham had him with a 10.0 bulb (E27)
The brand that most breeders use here is Repti Glo by Exo terra, they recommend it a lot as the people who own these tubes use 5.0 or 10.0 on their chams
It’s really difficult to find T5 fixtures and T5 tubes here. Stores only sell T8s.
C0nwayy
Member
No no no, it’s all stuff I had lying around in home. The tank was an axolotl’s and the thing holding the bulb is an arcadia ballast.
Then you should contact the breeder and ask them if they use a solarmeter 6.5 to know distance to basking with a T8 10.0 bulb without screen blocking it. Your looking for a 3 UVI at basking level.
With a T8 and screen in between... Using a 5.0 bulb the cham has to be 2-3 inches below the screen for a 3 uvi. With a 10.0 bulb through screen it is 5 inches below.
I can't give you the exact distance using a t8 without screen. I do not have those numbers. Maybe your breeder would.
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/
C0nwayy
Member
Tysm!Welcome to the forums!
C0nwayy
Member
Thing is. The breeder had a bulb, not a tube. So I waslike “woah”. I’m still informing myself on spanish forums on whether to upgrade to a 10.0 or stay with the 5.0.
