Amy J
New Member
I am about to get my first chameleon. I'm not positive whether to get a Jackson's or a Veiled (I seem to change my mind everyday), but right now I'm leaning toward a juvenille male Jackson. I've been doing so much research in the last few days that I feel very well-prepared. I even pointed out my concerns with the care of the chameleons in my local petstore today. I can't wait to get one. We just need to finish building the cage and setting things up.
My dad has been building a wooden cage with aluminum mesh siding with a 16" x 48" base and a height of 40". I know the dimensions are a little odd, but we're setting it up to fit on a former plant bench in our sun room. The sun room is surround by glass windows on one side and on the ceiling and can get very hot in the summer, so we plan to take the cage outside in a shady area during the summer months (I live in Pennsylvania if people were wondering). I feel like we have just about everything we need as far as supplies goes including three methods of hydration, several insect feeders in our backyard alone (we have a mulberry tree that silk worms congregate in and another tree that moths lay eggs in, etc.) as well as a cricket cage which we already use for our gecko, and have several non-toxic plants prepared. I can post a photo of the cage set-up in a few days when everything is done.
But the one thing I am still confused about is lighting. I think this is because the placement of our cage is a bit unusual. It is in a sunroom, so I don't believe we need a UV light. I guess I might need a basking light for cloudy days and for the colder months, but I am confused about what to get here. Can I just get a regular 40-60 watt bulb that I would put in a household lamp or is this a big no-no? Would florescent be better? Or do I need to get one at the petstore? I saw a 2.0, 5.0, and something else today, but they were all coiled UVBs. I think I heard that was bad...Yes so I'm a bit confused. I just don't understand lights at all. Please help.
My dad has been building a wooden cage with aluminum mesh siding with a 16" x 48" base and a height of 40". I know the dimensions are a little odd, but we're setting it up to fit on a former plant bench in our sun room. The sun room is surround by glass windows on one side and on the ceiling and can get very hot in the summer, so we plan to take the cage outside in a shady area during the summer months (I live in Pennsylvania if people were wondering). I feel like we have just about everything we need as far as supplies goes including three methods of hydration, several insect feeders in our backyard alone (we have a mulberry tree that silk worms congregate in and another tree that moths lay eggs in, etc.) as well as a cricket cage which we already use for our gecko, and have several non-toxic plants prepared. I can post a photo of the cage set-up in a few days when everything is done.
But the one thing I am still confused about is lighting. I think this is because the placement of our cage is a bit unusual. It is in a sunroom, so I don't believe we need a UV light. I guess I might need a basking light for cloudy days and for the colder months, but I am confused about what to get here. Can I just get a regular 40-60 watt bulb that I would put in a household lamp or is this a big no-no? Would florescent be better? Or do I need to get one at the petstore? I saw a 2.0, 5.0, and something else today, but they were all coiled UVBs. I think I heard that was bad...Yes so I'm a bit confused. I just don't understand lights at all. Please help.
