My Cham Loves the light a bit too much.

KevinN1

KevinN1

Member
Hey everyone, I'm new to this site and was wondering if anyone could answer a few questions for me. I recently bought the Reptisun UVB 10.0 light and was wondering if it's too much UVB light for my 7-week-old panther chameleon? Not only that, but he loves to climb his cage and remain 'frozen' while hanging upside down directly under the light. When I turn the light off while he's hanging under it he finally starts to move around. I've taken him down and placed him at lower parts of the cage, but he always climbs back up to hang right under the light. Is this normal? If not, what should I do?
 
Maybe it's too cold for him in his cage and he is trying to get closer to the heat.

Try lowering the bulb a little bit.

EDIT: Nevermind.

Try making his basking spot closer to the light though.

Can you pst a picture?
 
Welcome to the forums! 10.0 is a little much. Most people use the 5.0 UVB. And yes it's normal for the babies to hang upside down under the light, but he can burn himself if he keeps doing it. Is there anyway you can suspend the light so it's not directly on the cage?
 
Yeah, I also thought he might be cold, but the temperature is consistently above 80 degrees, and the humidity is around 65. What can too much UVB do to him?
 
found this on Kammerflage Kreations website...hope it helps.

During periods of time when regular sunlight exposure is not possible, indoor setups should have two lighting sources in place. One should provide for UVA/UVB exposure and the other is a basking site for heat regulation. These are two separate requirements that should not be confused. Our #1 recommended UVA/UVB light is ZooMed's ReptiSun 5.0 fluorescent bulb. An important WARNING to mention is to NEVER use a 10.0 bulb on a chameleon. "More" is not better in this case. The phosphorus levels that are emitted are much too high for a chameleon, and this output of UV can actually harm or even kill your chameleon! Change the UVA/UVB bulbs periodically as recommended by the manufacturer. The life span of the bulb will vary according to its usage. UVA/UVB lighting sources do not emit adequate heat for your chameleon to warm up under, so you will need to provide a separate basking site for this purpose.
 
That's very helpful, thanks! So first thing I need to do is replace the 10.0 UVB bulb to a 5.0. Still though, would it be healthy for him to remain hanging under the light even after I replace the bulb?
 
No because he can get a thermal burn. I would recommend putting something between the cage and the light...maybe build a small stand just to suspend it up so he can't burn himself...as they get older, they stop climbing upside down on the screen like that, so it gets less stressful :)
 
You can stop him from getting to the roof by keeping all the branches far enough away that he cannit stand up and grab the ceiling, and by adding some packaging/shipping tape along the inside of the cage. This way, when he tries to grab the screen on the sides, his feet cannot get ahold of the screen because of the slick tape. Two strips one above the other, a few inches down from the top, on all sides of the cage should keep him from getting to the top.
 
I would try to get the heat lamp about 6 inches off the screen if you can...just measure the temp between the light and his basking spot and make sure it's warm enough.
 
I forget how far you should keep the uvb 5.0 should be from the cham, is it like 2-4 inches? Mine hangs out close to the bulb, but not on the screen. I have mine right on top of the screening, probably a bit above it, not touching the screen and the plant he hangs out on/in is probably around 2 in from the light.

I just checked zoo med, and they say for the cfl 5.0 is 6-10in. Here is the link http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=49&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=20&SearchContext=YTo1OntzOjQ6IlBhZ2UiO3M6MToiMSI7czo4OiJTZWFyY2hJRCI7czoyOiIyMCI7czoxMDoiRGF0YWJhc2VJRCI7czoxOiIyIjtzOjc6IkhlYWRpbmciO3M6OToiVGVycmFyaXVtIjtzOjE1OiJQcm9kdWN0Q2F0ZWdvcnkiO3M6ODoiTGlnaHRpbmciO30=
 
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