Looking for lighting recommendations.

[Darc777]

Hello forum,

My girlfriend and I are happy owners of two veiled chameleons (male/female) and a panther chameleon sired by Dr. O's Pixel. I've come a long way in getting together good enclosures for my chameleons and a proper varied diet, but the last thing they're really lacking is good lighting.

Each enclosure has a uvb and uva/heat lamp, so they are getting what they "NEED", but my problem is the bulbs and lack of great lighting. The typical basking bulbs and such from petsmart short out and die like two-three weeks after buying them and with the money I've spent on them by now I could have invested in a 100-200$ nice lighting system.

Does anyone have any recommendations on good lighting that gives good uva/uvb in one? I'm using DIY cages, so the top dimensions are comparable to theirs. I know the site has sponsors who sell lights, but I am looking for an affordable solution that will last for a long time and get my chameleons to be as healthy as possible.

 

[Darc777]

So, does anyone have any tips on good/reliable light fixtures? Where to buy?

 

[KingJulian]

Congrats on your new chams I'm not too sure about the veileds, as far as what they need for lighting. We have 1 1/2 year old panther in a 2x2x4 foot cage with a 30" terranium hood from petsmart and a 5.0 reptisun uvb bulb. We also got a dome light fixture from home depot and just put a regular 75 watt house bulb in that for heat.

 

[moogle73]

if you have the 24x24x48 DIY cage, then I would say get 1 48" dual T5 light fixtures to go across both cages (one with a uvb bulb, one with 6500k bulb) "Lightyourreptiles.com" has a ton to choose from with Arcadia uvb bulbs
here's an example
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/48hot5dobufi.html

then you can just run that 1 light fixture across the top of both your enclosures, covering uvb for your chameleons and full spectrum for your plants. And then just get 2 additional 75-100 watt from home depot for your basking spots. They have a ton to choose from usually.

They also throw off a good amount of "general light" as well making the enclosures pretty well lit.

 

[asongforyou]

Make sure your basking bulbs are compatible with the lamps. Some of the smaller lamps cannot support high wattage bulbs which makes the bulbs die faster.