New Member - Have a few questions

[TheOtherOne]

Hey guys, I've been lurking these forums for a bit before I decided to get my first chameleon. I purchased a Veiled Chameleon from Petco about a week and a half ago. Since than I have built her the cage shown in the pictures. I have a few questions regarding the setup.

1. Does the light look far enough away from where she basks to be safe? She usually hangs out on the dowel that runs through the middle of the cage, but yesterday I decided to raise the light an inch or two because I saw her basking in the light with her mouth open (meaning she's too hot) and getting close to the top of the cage (where she is in the last attached picture) and I don't want her to get burnt or scratch her casque!

I think I might put another dowel running horizontal just below the other one, I would put it in between the two horizontal beams on either side of the cage. I also might lower the vine that is attached to almost the roof of the cage to limit her from going up so high and bring it down to attach it to where the dowel meets the cage. Would you suggest that?

2. I have an infrared thermometer and when I check the temperature of the basking area, the dowel reads anywhere from 74-80 degrees, is this why she is getting closer to the light, to get more heat? I'm pretty sure when she is directly in the light she can get up to 92+ degrees. The reason I moved the light higher yesterday is because I saw her basking in the light with her mouth open for a bit. I am almost positive the bulb is a 100w zoo-med basking light that I used to use on my bearded dragon.

3. I'm pretty sure my UVB light is good, it was previously from a freshwater fish tank I had that had a bunch of live plants in it, so it is definitely giving off some good UV. Might just need to get some new t5 light bulbs. I see a lot of people talking about the arcadia one's and I have been looking into them. Which would you recommend.

4. I also see people that recommend different things at night. So far she has been sleeping fine with a red light I put on at night for heat. But some people say you don't even need a light at all. She is located in my basement and I don't really think it drops below 70 degrees down here. Any advice?

5. Lastly, how old do you think she is? I was told she was 5 months old from the worker at Petco.

Also I can't wait until the Golden Pothos grows in and fills up more of the cage with its vines!

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Lovereps]

Welcome to the forum!
It's always nice when people ask questions and try to learn as much as possible before their cham has any problems.

You will probably enjoy this very informative forum page about Veiled chameleons https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

You are right that a cham will gape when it's getting too hot.
A basking spot temperature of 85 is ideal for a female. Maybe the 80 degrees is just a little below what she would like, so you could lower the light a smidge.
It can also be an indication of a respiratory infection--but if the only time she gaped was when she was basking close to the light, it is likely to have been the heat alone.

UVB lights are a little strange in a way. They will light up and look just fine to our eyes--because we can't see UV light---but after they are in use for about 6 months, they begin to put out too little UVB.
The safest bet for a growing girl especially, is to get a brand new Reptisun 5.0 or an Arcadia.

Without enough UVB your cute cham will develop a debilitating illness called MBD. MBD results when a cham isn't able to use the calcium it eats either because of too little UVB (essential for calcium absorption), too little calcium in the diet, too low temperatures or lack of D3.

Petstores are notorious for selling people red "night lights" for reptiles, erroneously claiming that reptiles need them and that they can't even see the red light.
Neither of those is true.
Chameleons most often fare poorly when a nighttime light is used. They can see even infrared light and it intereferes with their sleep.
Exhaustion takes its toll and the cham gets sick.
In addition to this health hazrd, chams actually do better when the temperature drops at night.
Even Veiled and Panther chams can handle temps in the 50s during the night, so long as daytime temps are warm enough.

Your new cham girl will appreciate it if you add some more foliage--either artificial or another real plant.
It helps them to feel more secure--less stressed.
Here's an excellent page in the Resources area about enclosures https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/- --and there are a number of other excellent pages to peruse in that section of the forum.
Info is there on topics such as feeding, health, watering, lighting, etc.

I hope you are aware that her tail has been severed and that it will never grow back.

I don't have any real idea of her age, as I don't have any Veiled chams, but I'm sure someone who is more familiar with Veileds will chime in and let you know.


Congrats on getting a lovely little cham!
With a concerned caretaker like you, she can have a long, healthy life in your care.

 

[sharp229]

Congratulations on your new chameleon! I agree with Lovereps' advice. You will want to make sure your UVB bulb is less than 6 months old, and it is best if it is either a ReptiSun 5.0 or an Arcadia 6%. Plants actually do not use UV, photosynthesis occurs using the visible light spectrum, so it is impossible to judge UV quality by good plant growth.

Adding some more dowels and fake foliage would definitely help, especially horizontal and vertical ones since it looks like currently they are all diagnonal. You can easily attach the dowels to the screen using small thumbtacks that you can get at a hardware store/etc.

She looks healthy in the pictures. Is the tail fully healed on the end? If it was severed a long time ago it should be fine, but just want to make sure there are no remaining wounds. Chameleons cannot regrow their tails like many other lizards, although I wouldn't be surprised if Petco is not aware of this. You'll definitely do a lot better listening to advice here since the chain pet stores often have very little knowledge of their reptiles.

She looks about 4-5 months old. You will want to look into getting a laying bin in the near future since female chameleons lay eggs whether or not there is a male. There is good information about this on these forums. You can also check out the veiled care sheet:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on your new little veiled girl. Does she have a name yet? I just love veileds and have a little girl myself. She looks pretty good considering she came from a pet store. Did they say what happen to her tail? My guess would be she's 3 to 4 months old. You have received some excellent advise above and I will also add my blog for how I keep my veileds and a couple of blogs about female care, egg laying and the laying bin. Females do lay eggs without a male even being around so it's recommended to keep a laying bin in their enclosure at all time after they reach 5 months old.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...ng-veiled-panther-chameleons.html#comment1721
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/

 

[TheOtherOne]

Welcome to the forum!
It's always nice when people ask questions and try to learn as much as possible before their cham has any problems.

You will probably enjoy this very informative forum page about Veiled chameleons https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

You are right that a cham will gape when it's getting too hot.
A basking spot temperature of 85 is ideal for a female. Maybe the 80 degrees is just a little below what she would like, so you could lower the light a smidge.
It can also be an indication of a respiratory infection--but if the only time she gaped was when she was basking close to the light, it is likely to have been the heat alone.

UVB lights are a little strange in a way. They will light up and look just fine to our eyes--because we can't see UV light---but after they are in use for about 6 months, they begin to put out too little UVB.
The safest bet for a growing girl especially, is to get a brand new Reptisun 5.0 or an Arcadia.

Without enough UVB your cute cham will develop a debilitating illness called MBD. MBD results when a cham isn't able to use the calcium it eats either because of too little UVB (essential for calcium absorption), too little calcium in the diet, too low temperatures or lack of D3.

Petstores are notorious for selling people red "night lights" for reptiles, erroneously claiming that reptiles need them and that they can't even see the red light.
Neither of those is true.
Chameleons most often fare poorly when a nighttime light is used. They can see even infrared light and it intereferes with their sleep.
Exhaustion takes its toll and the cham gets sick.
In addition to this health hazrd, chams actually do better when the temperature drops at night.
Even Veiled and Panther chams can handle temps in the 50s during the night, so long as daytime temps are warm enough.

Your new cham girl will appreciate it if you add some more foliage--either artificial or another real plant.
It helps them to feel more secure--less stressed.
Here's an excellent page in the Resources area about enclosures https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/- --and there are a number of other excellent pages to peruse in that section of the forum.
Info is there on topics such as feeding, health, watering, lighting, etc.

I hope you are aware that her tail has been severed and that it will never grow back.

I don't have any real idea of her age, as I don't have any Veiled chams, but I'm sure someone who is more familiar with Veileds will chime in and let you know.


Congrats on getting a lovely little cham!
With a concerned caretaker like you, she can have a long, healthy life in your care.

Thank you for all the great responses and excellent information!

Her name is Josie, and yes I am fully aware that her tail won't grow back and I made sure that it was fully healed when I saw her. They said it happened during an early shed in her life, the tail turned black and they amputated it due to lack of circulation. However, she is friendly and as happy as could be! As soon as I saw her in the store she was reaching for the glass towards me and walked right onto my hand when I reached in! It doesn't seem to hurt her too much when climbing around, seems a little wobbly sometimes, but it might just be her trying to look like a leaf hahah

And yes the only time she gaped was when she was basking and as soon as i raised the light she shut her mouth, I only raised it about an inch. Right now the light is about 8" off the dowel spot, and 4 1/2" off where shes basking in the picture.

I will definitely look into the arcadia bulb, and should I get two of the same one than? And I will ditch the red night light for sure haha.

And I have been doing a lot of research on the laying bin's and other signs of egg bearing and what to do, thank you!

Here's her drinking water from my hand!

 

[jamjam]

everyone else has pretty much nailed your questions no point in repeating, however one thing that didnt sit with me was. you said you built the cage within the past few days. is it sealed with anything? if not the constant heat and mistings will take its toll on the wood and could cause mold, wood rot and what not.

i think the enclosure could also use many more branches.sticks going across

 

[sharp229]

I'm glad she is doing well. She should be perfectly fine and experience no pain from missing a tail since it is healed. Many people have had chams missing a tail.

What are you doing for misting/watering? In that last pic she looks slightly dehydrated (sunken eyes) but in the original pics you posted she looks fine.

If you end up getting Arcadia, I would highly recommend LightYouReptiles. The following double-bulb fixture with one Arcadia 6% and one 6500k plant light is great:

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/24hot5dobufi.html

If you want more light (for plants or aesthetics) you can look at the quad-bulb fixture:

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/trblhot524qu.html

Todd has some of the best customer service I have seen and the prices are very good.

 

[TheOtherOne]

everyone else has pretty much nailed your questions no point in repeating, however one thing that didnt sit with me was. you said you built the cage within the past few days. is it sealed with anything? if not the constant heat and mistings will take its toll on the wood and could cause mold, wood rot and what not.

Yes I definitely thought of that and the wood is treated and I put waterproof stain on, it should be fine. Thanks!

 

[TheOtherOne]

I'm glad she is doing well. She should be perfectly fine and experience no pain from missing a tail since it is healed. Many people have had chams missing a tail.

What are you doing for misting/watering? In that last pic she looks slightly dehydrated (sunken eyes) but in the original pics you posted she looks fine.

If you end up getting Arcadia, I would highly recommend LightYouReptiles. The following double-bulb fixture with one Arcadia 6% and one 6500k plant light is great:

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/24hot5dobufi.html

If you want more light (for plants or aesthetics) you can look at the quad-bulb fixture:

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/trblhot524qu.html

Todd has some of the best customer service I have seen and the prices are very good.

And yes I mist her 2-3 times a day and I also put ice cubes on the screen a couple times a day to drop onto the leaves. I see her drink all the time and even yesterday she drank right off the tip of the squirt bottle. Her eyes do look sunken in that picture you're right, maybe it had to do with her being outside or maybe because of some of the water dripping on her face out of my hand?

And I already have a double bulb t5 fixture so I will look into the 6% and the 6500k plant light. That should be sufficient UVB?

Thanks

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the world of chameleons!

Do you know about feeding/gutloading the insects, appropriate supplementing, that veiled females can lay eggs even without mating?

She's a cutey with her little stubby tail!

 

[jamjam]

dont think being outside would have anything to do with it, however see a drip down her face so maybe was just bad timing of a picture and just finished an eye swish. yes the arcadia will put out sufficient amounts of uvb. its what alot of people on the forums use and the arcadia put out more than the 5.0 does.

 

[TheOtherOne]

Welcome to the world of chameleons!

Do you know about feeding/gutloading the insects, appropriate supplementing, that veiled females can lay eggs even without mating?

She's a cutey with her little stubby tail!

Hahah yea I can't wait till she gets bigger! And yea I've done a lot of research before I got her. I feed her gutloaded crickets, superworms, and wax worms. She seems to like and eat more superworms than crickets haha. Should I leave any worms in a dish at the bottom or anything? And I'm dusting with calc w/o d3 almost everyday, calc w/ d3 twice a month, and multi w/o d3 1-2x a month.

 

[sharp229]

Yes, a single 22" Arcadia 6% bulb will be plenty of UVB as long as you keep it at the proper distance, and 6500k bulbs are great for plants. Just make sure your fixture is T5 HO and not regular T5 since these are high output bulbs.

Just think of mealworms/superworms/waxworms as a treat. They are not as healthy but many chams like them the best. My male panther will not eat anything but superworms if I give him too many so I have to use them very sparingly. Hornworms and silkworms are healthier, but a variety of everything is good. Crickets and dubia are the best staple items.

 

[TheOtherOne]

Yes, a single 22" Arcadia 6% bulb will be plenty of UVB as long as you keep it at the proper distance, and 6500k bulbs are great for plants. Just make sure your fixture is T5 HO and not regular T5 since these are high output bulbs.

Just think of mealworms/superworms/waxworms as a treat. They are not as healthy but many chams like them the best. My male panther will not eat anything but superworms if I give him too many so I have to use them very sparingly. Hornworms and silkworms are healthier, but a variety of everything is good. Crickets and dubia are the best staple items.

OK thank your for that information on the lights, and I knew the worms should be just a treat every now and than and have the crickets as her staple. I was eventually planning to breed my own feeders so I don't have to buy them and maybe even sell some on here super cheap if I have too many haha. I have also heard that hornworms are very fast growers? And how large do silkworms get? Since she isn't that big right now I don't want to give her something too big for her.

My main concern was really with the basking light and her gaping her mouth, and than getting super close to the top of the cage when I raised the light. It's like she wants it super hot, but I don't want her to be hot so I can reduce the chance of her having eggs haha. I think tonight after my exam I will put in a few more horizontal dowels and maybe see about getting some more foliage tomorrow.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Lovereps]

I'm glad you're heeding the advice given to get rid of the night lights.
It is much more important than you might think.
It's nice to know that you were told the right things about her tail and that it has apparently healed well.

Your Josie is a cute little one nonetheless!

Whenever you get a plant for your cham, be sure to wash the leaves well with dishsoap and water, then rinse very well.
This will remove any pesticide and fertilizer residues which could otherwise harm you cham. You want to be sure the plant's soil doesn't contain things that can accidentally be ingested, like small pieces of sticks or pine bark, pebbles or perlite, etc.
More details can be found here https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/
[url]http://www.mulberryfarms.com/ [/URL]carries a variety of feeders, some are postpaid, some are not.
Silkworms and phoenixworms http://www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/StoreFront are rich in calcium and relatively low in fat, so they're good choices.
Silkworms can grow large but you can buy small ones or hatch your own silkworm eggs and feed them off at the favored sizes. Even large phoenixworms are rather small.
Hornworms rapidly grow very to be large in diameter and fairly long.
You can get silkworm pods which contain silkworms and food--same for hornworms.
Even so, the silkworms are so soft, they generally don't pose a significant risk of choking, unless the silkworm is huge compared to the cham's mouth.
I offer them to my chams sparingly, since the chams will act like spoiled children and refuse anything else if fed supers too often.

Here's the forum's page about food https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

 

[TheOtherOne]

I'm glad you're heeding the advice given to get rid of the night lights.
It is much more important than you might think.
It's nice to know that you were told the right things about her tail and that it has apparently healed well.

Your Josie is a cute little one nonetheless!

Whenever you get a plant for your cham, be sure to wash the leaves well with dishsoap and water, then rinse very well.
This will remove any pesticide and fertilizer residues which could otherwise harm you cham. You want to be sure the plant's soil doesn't contain things that can accidentally be ingested, like small pieces of sticks or pine bark, pebbles or perlite, etc.
More details can be found here https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/
[url]http://www.mulberryfarms.com/ [/URL]carries a variety of feeders, some are postpaid, some are not.
Silkworms and phoenixworms http://www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/StoreFront are rich in calcium and relatively low in fat, so they're good choices.
Silkworms can grow large but you can buy small ones or hatch your own silkworm eggs and feed them off at the favored sizes. Even large phoenixworms are rather small.
Hornworms rapidly grow very to be large in diameter and fairly long.
You can get silkworm pods which contain silkworms and food--same for hornworms.
Even so, the silkworms are so soft, they generally don't pose a significant risk of choking, unless the silkworm is huge compared to the cham's mouth.
I offer them to my chams sparingly, since the chams will act like spoiled children and refuse anything else if fed supers too often.

Here's the forum's page about food https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

Thank you for all the information on different feeders!

And yes she is a cutie, I'm already starting to see some light blue come out in her sometimes.

I washed the leaves like you said and re potted the top half of the plant and covered the soil with river rocks. She shouldn't be able to get to any of the dirt now.

I was definitely planning on getting some silk worms for her, but now these phoenix worms are looking good. I might get both and use the phoenix worms until I get a nice colony of silkworms going. I would like to breed them so I don't really run out of feeders. Once she gets bigger I will probably start breeding dubia's as her staple and have some super/silk/horn worms as treats.

Also, for some reason around here not one pet store carries Calcium w/o D3. And they all tell me that they've had chameleons and used it with D3 and they were fine. Of course I don't believe them at all haha I'm about to order some online along with some of those phoenix worms.

 

[Lovereps]

You're very welcome!
I'm glad to know that you've been doing good things for her!

Crickets are actually good to use as part of the diet, along with various other feeders.
The more dietary variety the better.
Sandrachameleon's write-ups on feeders and gutloading are some of my favorites.
I think you'll find this info useful, too https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
I don't calcium dust the phoenixworms or silkworms, since they're already high in calcium.

It is no different here in NY with the local petstores.
I got looked at like I had 3 heads when I asked if they had calcium without D3 at a local petshop.
They then said, "Why would you want that?"

The Arcadia 6% provides plenty of UVB and the 6500k is just for the plants' benefit plus more ambient light which is good for your cham, too.
I use the Reptisun 5.0 bulbs plus regular 6500K fluorescents, as I already have the T8 fixtures.

This weekend is supposed to be nice and warm in your area, so you can give your new little cutie a little natural sun, if you're so inclined.

If you do, then just be sure to do so safely--with a cage and access to shade, plus you can use a cup with a pinhole in the bottom and let the water drip onto the leaves for her to drink., so some bird doesn't swoop down and grab her.

The benefits of natural sunlight are both psychological and physiological.
Chams' bodies actually make their own D3 when exposed to the UV rays of unfiltered sunlight.
Sunlight that passes through glass or plastic does not provide any UV---because the UV actually gets converted into heat, instead.
The same is true of UV lighting---there must not be any plastic or glass between the UVB light and your cham.
This is why you bake in your car with the windows closed in the summer but you will never get a sunburn while in it.

 

[TheOtherOne]

You're very welcome!
I'm glad to know that you've been doing good things for her!

Crickets are actually good to use as part of the diet, along with various other feeders.
The more dietary variety the better.
Sandrachameleon's write-ups on feeders and gutloading are some of my favorites.
I think you'll find this info useful, too https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
I don't calcium dust the phoenixworms or silkworms, since they're already high in calcium.

It is no different here in NY with the local petstores.
I got looked at like I had 3 heads when I asked if they had calcium without D3 at a local petshop.
They then said, "Why would you want that?"

The Arcadia 6% provides plenty of UVB and the 6500k is just for the plants' benefit plus more ambient light which is good for your cham, too.
I use the Reptisun 5.0 bulbs plus regular 6500K fluorescents, as I already have the T8 fixtures.

This weekend is supposed to be nice and warm in your area, so you can give your new little cutie a little natural sun, if you're so inclined.

If you do, then just be sure to do so safely--with a cage and access to shade, plus you can use a cup with a pinhole in the bottom and let the water drip onto the leaves for her to drink., so some bird doesn't swoop down and grab her.

The benefits of natural sunlight are both psychological and physiological.
Chams' bodies actually make their own D3 when exposed to the UV rays of unfiltered sunlight.
Sunlight that passes through glass or plastic does not provide any UV---because the UV actually gets converted into heat, instead.
The same is true of UV lighting---there must not be any plastic or glass between the UVB light and your cham.
This is why you bake in your car with the windows closed in the summer but you will never get a sunburn while in it.

Haha yea I've recently made crickets her main diet, along with a couple super/waxworms here and there. I figured I shouldn't dust the phoenixworms because the Ca ratio is near perfect.

I actually had her outside a couple days ago and she was loving it. The second the sun came out from behind a cloud she puffed herself all up and turned right towards the sun.

On my UV light fixture, there is a thin plastic sheet that looks almost frosted between the light bulbs and the cage, should I remove this to let the UV through? I feel like it's kind of stupid for them to even put that on the light than haha.

 

[Lovereps]

Haha yea I've recently made crickets her main diet, along with a couple super/waxworms here and there. I figured I shouldn't dust the phoenixworms because the Ca ratio is near perfect.

I actually had her outside a couple days ago and she was loving it. The second the sun came out from behind a cloud she puffed herself all up and turned right towards the sun.

On my UV light fixture, there is a thin plastic sheet that looks almost frosted between the light bulbs and the cage, should I remove this to let the UV through? I feel like it's kind of stupid for them to even put that on the light than haha.

I wish the weather in my area was always good cham weather--not just for the chams , though

Definitely remove the plastic sheet and replace one bulb with a UVB bulb.
The plastic was probably put there just to prevent splash from your fishtank.
Neither the fish nor the plants need UV , unlike your cham and so the bulbs don't produce UVB anyway.
Just so you're aware, a daylight bulb, actinic blue bulb, Reef Sun bulb, etc is not a UVB bulb.
UVB is essential to reptile health.


UVB is essential for chams to utilize the calcium they ingest.
Without it, their bodies don't make the substances necessary for calcium metabolism, so MBD sets in. More about exactly what MBD is , written by a veterinarian here https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-metabolic-bone-disease-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/

A new Reptisun UVB bulb every 6 months is well worth the price.
Even the more costly Arcadia bulbs are much cheaper than even a single vet visit in my area.

If your bulb is actually a designed for reptile use UVB bulb, the fact that it was used means that it most likely already puts out insufficient UVB for your cham.

Since we can't see UV light, the bulbs light up just fine--to our eyes--but the UVB output gradually diminishes so that after about 6 months of use, the UVB output is typically no longer enough to sustain a cham's need for UVB.
If you're a technophile, you might enjoy getting a Solarmeter to measure UVB from Todd at Light Your Reptiles http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/miac.html --which is also a good source for Arcadia bulbs.

Why all the fuss about a lightbulb? It's because it is that important to chameleon health to have the right amount and type of UVB.


Most of my chams are Jackson's--true sunloving chams-- and it never fails to amuse me when they flatten laterally, darken their skin and tilt sideways so as to absorb the most heat and UV from the sun.

 

[TheOtherOne]

I wish the weather in my area was always good cham weather--not just for the chams , though

Definitely remove the plastic sheet and replace one bulb with a UVB bulb.
The plastic was probably put there just to prevent splash from your fishtank.
Neither the fish nor the plants need UV , unlike your cham and so the bulbs don't produce UVB anyway.
Just so you're aware, a daylight bulb, actinic blue bulb, Reef Sun bulb, etc is not a UVB bulb.
UVB is essential to reptile health.


UVB is essential for chams to utilize the calcium they ingest.
Without it, their bodies don't make the substances necessary for calcium metabolism, so MBD sets in. More about exactly what MBD is , written by a veterinarian here https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-metabolic-bone-disease-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/

A new Reptisun UVB bulb every 6 months is well worth the price.
Even the more costly Arcadia bulbs are much cheaper than even a single vet visit in my area.

If your bulb is actually a designed for reptile use UVB bulb, the fact that it was used means that it most likely already puts out insufficient UVB for your cham.

Since we can't see UV light, the bulbs light up just fine--to our eyes--but the UVB output gradually diminishes so that after about 6 months of use, the UVB output is typically no longer enough to sustain a cham's need for UVB.
If you're a technophile, you might enjoy getting a Solarmeter to measure UVB from Todd at Light Your Reptiles http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/miac.html --which is also a good source for Arcadia bulbs.

Why all the fuss about a lightbulb? It's because it is that important to chameleon health to have the right amount and type of UVB.


Most of my chams are Jackson's--true sunloving chams-- and it never fails to amuse me when they flatten laterally, darken their skin and tilt sideways so as to absorb the most heat and UV from the sun.

Thank you so much for all of your quick and informative responses. I really appreciate it and I'm sure Josie does as well.

I went ahead and removed the plastic on the UV light fixture and I am picking up a reptisun 5.0 T5 HO bulb after work today. I will use this one for a couple months so I don't need to rush to get the Arcadia in the mail.

I guess it's good that I've been giving her Calcium w/ D3 than because if my bulb isn't giving off too much UVB the extra D3 is good correct? I currently have some phoenixworms and Calcium w/o D3 on its way.

Thanks,
Steve