Lighting, Heating, And A Few Other Questions!!!

[dindy]

i am using a 10.0 uvb coil light in a reflector dome.....is this too much uvb for my panther??? is this the best type of uvb??? i was told that a ceramic heat bulb is not good for my cham... i was using a 100 watt one...can someone please comment some more on that.......i was told to just use a common 40 watt light bulb.....will this really be enough to heat the whole cage??? do i need any other lights??? and dioes any body else use just a normal light bulb??? if so please send a pic if possible and please tell me some more about this...if this is so i bet ill be saving alot more money soon he he he.....also wat temps should the cage be in what parts for a male rainbow panther cham.....also is a rainbow panther an ambanja???...thanks for everyones help and i will be more than happy to read all of your responses...looking forward and thank you!!!

 

[Julirs]

The Compact (coil) UVB lights have been shown to be causing many problems with burns, eye issues, and even death. I would swap it out for a linear tube UVB. I use common household bulbs, from 40W to 100W depending on the chameleons and the space away from the cage. How old is your chameleon? Any pictures?

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."i am using a 10.0 uvb coil light in a reflector dome.....is this too much uvb for my panther??? is this the best type of uvb???"...here's the link so you can read about it...
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm

You said..."i was told that a ceramic heat bulb is not good for my cham... i was using a 100 watt one...can someone please comment some more on that"....chameleons are looking for a light source as a heat source.

You said...."i was told to just use a common 40 watt light bulb.....will this really be enough to heat the whole cage???"...if your cage is large you can always use more than one bulb to produce heat. To get the basking area in the right temperature range, experiment...and use a larger wattage if needed to get to the appropriate temperature. Just be careful that the bulbs are not so close that they will burn the chameleon or that it couldn't burn itself by climbing on the cage to get close enough to the bulb to burn itself.

You said..." do i need any other lights??? "...need a UVB light and the incandescent...the UVB light should not have any glass or plastic between it and the chameleon.

You said..."dioes any body else use just a normal light bulb??? if so please send a pic if possible and please tell me some more about this"...I do. I have a double fluorescent fixture across the cage lid with one Repti-sun 5.0 UVB bulb in it. I have a plain white fluorescent bulb in it too. I have an incandescent (regular light bulb) of the appropriate wattage to provide the proper basking temperature over one corner of the lid of the cage. This allows for a range of temperatures from side to side and top to bottom. If your cage is really large you may need to add more lights.

I keep the basking area for an adult panther male in the mid to high 80'sF. I keep hatchlings at about 80F.

 

[joefarah]

You said..."dioes any body else use just a normal light bulb??? if so please send a pic if possible and please tell me some more about this"...I do. I have a double fluorescent fixture across the cage lid with one Repti-sun 5.0 UVB bulb in it. I have a plain white fluorescent bulb in it too. I have an incandescent (regular light bulb) of the appropriate wattage to provide the proper basking temperature over one corner of the lid of the cage. ...

That is EXACTLY how I have mine set up and I would never do it any other way.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Same here.
The regular full spectrum fluorescent really helps with the plants.
I have bougainvilla and hibiscus thriving all winter in my enclosures.

-Brad