Lighting for my cage. Need advice, please.

[Alex_Boris]

Hello, everyone.
I know this was discussed multiple times but more I read, more I get confused and it is driving me bananas lol
I have veiled cham, male, 3-4 months. The cage is 2W 1.5L 3H. I will post a few pics of my cage, greenery inside and what kind of bulbs I have.
So far I have:
Dome lamp with basking uvb light and ceramic heat bulb;
Uvb long bulb and I’m not sure if it gives enough light.
I have hibiscus plant inside and I’m planing to add dracaena and umbrella plant. So I need something to give enough light for plants So they can thrive and good temperature for basking spot and keep it warm in cage.
Thank you, guys so much!

 

[Dhannah]

For plant growth there are many options out there. You can buy grow bulbs at most big box stores. I use a 2’ft T5 Sunblaster for my plants, personally, but any bulb with a rating of 2800K - 7000K spectrum will produce healthy plants as they utilize light in this range. As far as UVB I use a T5HO 5.0UVB bulb. The coil UVB bulbs aren’t worth it, and better to invest in the T5. Your little buddy will thank you for it. As for heat, you typically only want a ceramic bulb if your place gets really cold at night, and you need to heat your enclosure at night. If your place doesn’t get below 60 at night, you likely don’t need a ceramic. A temp drop is a good thing. Most incandescent bulbs will produce enough heat to keep your Cham happy. You can get a reptile basking bulb, the only difference in reality is price. And you can adjust the temp by wattage and how far you keep the dome from the top of the enclosure. Make sure it’s not too hot for the little guy. Hope this helps a little bit, and didn’t confuse you more. And on a side note, when your veiled gets full grown you’re really going to want a bigger enclosed for him. You’re going to want a MIN of 2x2x4ft. Cheers.

 

[Alex_Boris]

For plant growth there are many options out there. You can buy grow bulbs at most big box stores. I use a 2’ft T5 Sunblaster for my plants, personally, but any bulb with a rating of 2800K - 7000K spectrum will produce healthy plants as they utilize light in this range. As far as UVB I use a T5HO 5.0UVB bulb. The coil UVB bulbs aren’t worth it, and better to invest in the T5. Your little buddy will thank you for it. As for heat, you typically only want a ceramic bulb if your place gets really cold at night, and you need to heat your enclosure at night. If your place doesn’t get below 60 at night, you likely don’t need a ceramic. A temp drop is a good thing. Most incandescent bulbs will produce enough heat to keep your Cham happy. You can get a reptile basking bulb, the only difference in reality is price. And you can adjust the temp by wattage and how far you keep the dome from the top of the enclosure. Make sure it’s not too hot for the little guy. Hope this helps a little bit, and didn’t confuse you more. And on a side note, when your veiled gets full grown you’re really going to want a bigger enclosed for him. You’re going to want a MIN of 2x2x4ft. Cheers.

Awesome! Yes, we are absolutely planning to go with bigger cage once he gets big! thank you for detailed answer)))