New to this... Lighting?

[Pap]

Ok, so I got my male ambilobe panther chameleon right after Christmas. I believe he was about 4 months old when I got him. I started him in 16"x16"x29" He has gotten bigger in the 2 months I've had him and I'm ready to move up to his mid sized cage. For this I bought a Zoo Med ReptiBreeze 18"x18"x36". I currently use a Reptisun 5.0 uvb bulb/ a Zoo Med 60 watt daylight blue blub in a 5.5" dome for basking/ and another 5.5" dome with a 75 watt Zoo Med Nocturnal Infrared to keep the night time temps up.

So the question is, should I just upgrade the two domes to 8" or do 10" domes so they will cross over once i go to his full sized adult cage. Do is stick with the same companies/style and just get bigger watt bulbs or is this better out there. I guess i started this to see what other types of set ups you guys use and what you think works the best.

 

[Video Master]

Hi Pap,

From everything that I have read in the care sheets and from everyone else on here, there is no need for the night time light. They should actually cool off at night and not keep the temp as warm as during the day.

There should be no need to get a higher wattage bulb as long as the basking spot stays at the temps that it should.

Have you had a change to check out the care sheets on the panthers? Here is the link to it if you have not. It has all kinds of great information on it.

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

Have a good one and post some pics of your cham.

 

[Pap]

How it going man. I had never check out that care sheet but I have now and it does have some good info on it for sure. Do you have any idea who made that? I'm sure there are plenty of different opinions on things and its kind of up to you how you implement them. I was using the night time light because I live in PA and it is winter time here so it does get pretty cold at night and his cage was dropping down into the low 60s range.. and from what i had read you didn't want it to drop below 65 at night but this sheet says it can go down into the 50s and still be safe. As far as the dome sizes and watts of the blubs i can see where you are coming from as long as the temps stays the same i should be good. I was just thinking with a bigger cage you would want a bigger area to be heated as a basking zone requiring a bigger dome and possibly a higher watt bulb to achieve that.

I will be adding pics soon. I just joined the site a few days ago and haven't had the time to make my "welcome dexter to the forum" thread yet but it will be coming soon so keep an eye out.

 

[imcurt]

Panthers need to cool off at night. My house drops to 60 in the winter time I use NO night heat bulbs for my panthers. I do use a dome w/ basking bulb during the day.It has a 60watt household bulb in it.As far as your uvb source go's. Once you get the XL cage. Go to a dual florecent fixture. One for a uvb and one for a 6500k plant bulb or you could run 2 uvb bulbs in the winter months.Dual UVB bulbs work well if you live where it gets cold in the winter and your chameleon gets no real sun.

 

[pepezkakap]

Hi Pap, I am curious with your cham development. Do you have pics when he was 4 mo and now?

Do you weigh him? I am worried coz mine seems underweight and not adding weigh in a week.

Thanks.

 

[Pap]

Panthers need to cool off at night. My house drops to 60 in the winter time I use NO night heat bulbs for my panthers. I do use a dome w/ basking bulb during the day.It has a 60watt household bulb in it.As far as your uvb source go's. Once you get the XL cage. Go to a dual florecent fixture. One for a uvb and one for a 6500k plant bulb or you could run 2 uvb bulbs in the winter months.Dual UVB bulbs work well if you live where it gets cold in the winter and your chameleon gets no real sun.

Hello imcurt,

After reading the care sheet and your comment last night i unhooked my night light.. I don't think the temp probes ever dropped below 62... I honestly think he might have been even more alert this morning.. Guessing that when the lights kick on and start heating the cage up that is his cue to go on the hunt. So from now on I will be taking your advice and going without the night light... As far as your suggestion of the dual florescent would you get a dual ballast fixture or two singles and spread them apart?

Ive got one more question for you while I have your attention. If it is ok to let the temps drop at night is it ok for the humidity to drop off too? I have live plants and an auto mister to control the humidity during the day... It stays right around 40% all day only spiking up when the misters go off but im sure that is fine and normal... but at night it was dropping down to the 15-20% range.. I have been using a Reptifogger on its lowest setting at night to keep the humidity up some.. about the 30% range... Should i stop doing this as well or do i want to keep a constant 40% humidity for the most part?

Thanks for all the help guys... Like the post says I'm new to this and having people on here that are willing to help out makes a world of a difference

 

[Video Master]

Hey Pap!

Glad to hear you disconnected the night light and the temp dropped to that range. Even more glad to hear your cham was more alert this morning because of it.

I am new as well and I learn from every post that I come across. I think this forum is great and like you said there are tons of people on here to learn from.

Keep up the good work!


Dave

 

[Pap]

Hi Pap, I am curious with your cham development. Do you have pics when he was 4 mo and now?

Do you weigh him? I am worried coz mine seems underweight and not adding weigh in a week.

Thanks.

Whats up pepezkakap

I do have some pics from when i first got him and what he is looking like now... They are on my phone and i haven't had a chance to upload them to my computer and post them on here... I will do that for you when i get some free time.. I don't weigh him weekly or anything like that but i can tell you he has def grown a little bit in the time I've had him. He was at the Vets about 2 weeks ago and was weighed there but i can't remember the exact weight but i wanna say he might be 12grams.? I have to stop by there again this Thursday so i can ask while I'm there and get back to you on that.

 

[pepezkakap]

Update me on his condition. Glad you made that trip to the vet

No need to hurry. I am feeling better now after knowing that cham grows at various rates

PM sent to you.