Is this light too strong?
- Thread starter Daniel Martin
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CharlieCharmingo
Avid Member
No it's too strong. They need 5.0.
Link
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Someone who has better experience with that breed will help
Alexander1
Avid Member
I have a 12% Arcadia bulb for my veiled because of the size of my enclosure, some may say it's ok because of the uv strength loss though the screen and distance, if he has foliage to hide under, but again your cage is not that big, a 5.0 maybe a little more in the safe side.
Remember the sun is a lot stronger than any of the bulbs anyone can produce so I don't think it's dangerous at 10.0
Remember the sun is a lot stronger than any of the bulbs anyone can produce so I don't think it's dangerous at 10.0
Lathis
Chameleon Enthusiast
Exactly. Even though the strongest UVB lamps are much weaker than natural sun light, the key thing to remember is that this is a close proximity point source, unlike the sun which is diffused and ambient. Too strong a light at too close a distance can be detrimental. There are some "rules of thumb" you can follow for guidance: 5.0 for smaller cages (24-36" tall) and 10.0 for larger cages or heavily planted ones (48" tall and up). Generally, the UV lamp should be 10-12" from the highest perch.
I just posted these two links on another thread, but they are useful here, too.
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...ead-everything-you-really-need-to-know.80869/
This image from UVGuide was very helpful to me to understand how UV light is distributed through a cage when I was just starting out. You can see how the UV light is very intense right at the top and dissipates quickly with depth. The exact numbers on this type of chart are unique to the type of bulb you are using, so this is just a rough guideline. If you have a solarmeter, you can build your own chart to determine level of shade needed (and also use it to gauge when your bulb needs to be replaced).
Another isoirradiance map I found while digging:
You can see that for the compact bulbs, the UV is more intense at the source so that it can spread even a fraction of the distance. This is one of the reasons experienced keepers recommend the linear tubes over the coiled compact tubes. UVGuide has crowd sourced information on UVI maps for different bulbs, but it is down right now while they update the information. I hope it comes back soon.
trickedoutbiker
Avid Member
This actually depends on the size of your cage and how much foliage you have in it. I use a 10.0 and have never had any issues, as have lots of other people.
My UVB 10.0 is about 8 inches above the highest perch in my cage. There is a piece of plastic that came with my quad light from LightYourReptiles though and I have it inserted under about 1/3 of the fixture to block out the UVB rays coming from a third of the light so it's not too strong when he is sitting on the highest branch. I also have lots of foliage in my cage that my lil one can go and hide in if he ever wants to get out of the rays.
CharlieCharmingo
Avid Member
This actually depends on the size of your cage and how much foliage you have in it. I use a 10.0 and have never had any issues, as have lots of other people.
My UVB 10.0 is about 8 inches above the highest perch in my cage. There is a piece of plastic that came with my quad light from LightYourReptiles though and I have it inserted under about 1/3 of the fixture to block out the UVB rays coming from a third of the light so it's not too strong when he is sitting on the highest branch. I also have lots of foliage in my cage that my lil one can go and hide in if he ever wants to get out of the rays.
That's interesting, clearly I didn't know that. Thanks for alerting me to the biz.
Link
Avid Member
Was that sarcasm haha
Link
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CharlieCharmingo
Avid Member
No haha. I was being honest. I honestly didn't know that. I thought 10. Was only for the bearded dragon.
Link
Avid Member
Link
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2 chameleons enter ,one chameleon leavesHaha
That's funny I thought we were going to have chameleon battles
Haha
That's funny I thought we were going to have chameleon battles
No need. My chameleon wins every time...
Nursemaia
Chameleon Enthusiast
Your Cham hasn't fought mine. He's buff and gets all the ladies. It's from being under that quad light with the 12% bulb. He's the man.
Link
Avid Member
Zaphod also uses a quad 12% with 2 6500k and plant pro. Ask Todd, Zaphod is the Arcadia poster child.
Mine fight dirty. They gang up 12 of them. Not a fair fight
You will need all those panthers to take on this grumpy veiled!!!
Link
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Dr. Evil takes chunks of me. Funny when they look like they should run on batteries
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Just a flesh woundDr. Evil takes chunks of me. Funny when they look like they should run on batteries
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