lighting crisis/ first post

[Drachen Zor]

Hey guys im having a lighting crisis & due to money right now i've really got to get this right this time around. I have a 260 APOGEE REPTARIUM 29X29X72" it's got a 4ft ficus, 2 hibiscus 12", 2 pothos & the cage itself is 6ft tall. My lighting setup was all out of wack & using old bulbs(repti-glo YUCK) from my last veild so im going for a total overhaul. what would my ideal setup be? Im thinking a 4 tube setup & one basking lamp, but this whole mesh top penetration issue t8 vs t10, Arcadia vs repti sun & proper lighting for plant growth has got my mind doing circles. So Ive finally decided to stop being stubborn & ask for help in my first ever post. I care deeply about my 3-4 month old veild chameleon his name is loki & hes is in terrific shape, each day he gets to go outside with me for an hr or so n eat his lunch (today he caught a fly outside sooo cool ) & i give him a few ml of water through a eye dropper to ensure hydration plus his daily misting. Im very watchful of him & im seeing some hints of potential problems with some recent eye wincing ( got rid of the old bulbs & re washed ficus an cage) & more concerning holding his mouth open(i have Exo Terra Solar Glo Mercury Vapor Bulb 160w in a 10" dome) its a super hot bulb & i swear it was far enough away on the top of the mesh but to figure out what was going on i raised another 1½ ft off the cage it measures 90° at the lid or top hes another almost 2ft from that on his branch making about 3.5ft maybe more away from the heat bulb. All this has been within the week & hes very strong so i know if i correct his situation promptly everything will be fine. puzzles me why the setups been fine till now but i don't care i see slight irregularity so im making immediate changes. plz give me a 123 ur done kind of thing for the lights my heads gonna exploded from info & worrying i might need a doctor for myself soon & next week its the humidity project ugh lol -Lee... p.s.-sorry for spelling & or punctuation im very tired an its all just one big run on sentence in my head right now hehe PICS- http://s774.photobucket.com/albums/yy25/Lee_S_Edgar/Chameleon/


This is what im thinking
- 2 36" fixtures
-1 Arcadia(t8 or t10?) & 1 plant bulb (not sure what kind to get?)
-1 Zoo Med 36" Repti Sun 10.0 Fluorescent Bulb (t8 0r t10?) & 1 plant bulb?
-1 zoo Med powersun heat bulb (100w or 160w? very large cage)

 

[carol5208]

You really only need one uvb, one plant bulb and one basking. You do not need the 10.0 uvb AND the t8 or t10. The majority of us use the Reptisun 5.0's, some use the 10.0's and there are some who also use the t8's and t10's. Never having used the latter two I cannot comment on them but I know it is either or and not using two sources for UVB. Have you checked the temp at the branch where he sits to bask and not at the lid? I would be curious to see what the temp would be from 3.5 feet away. I would get a dome fixture for the basking bulb and just use a white housebulb(cheap and efficient) so it is concentrated to one area of the cage. Honestly I did not know they made basking bulbs in tube style.