New Veiled, is my set up okay?

[halself]

So, i got a female veiled chameleon yesterday. her previous owner had very very little in her cage and her heat lamp didnt work. i had to make an emergency run to pet smart and buy a basking bulb. i ended up buying more plants too. theyre fake which isnt ideal, but im going to buy some real ones when i can. my main concern is that i havent given her a nice enough heat gradient. her basking spot is about 88degrees but im worried theres too much heat at the top and not enough room thats ambient temperature. shes my first reptile and i would love a second opinion.
Im going up to the pet store again on wednesday and i have to buy a UVB light and im thinking one of those parrot ladders since i dont have much horizontally across her enclousure.
what do you think?
by the way, its an 18x18x36in.
( ill attach a picture of her enclousure before and after i got her)
( sorry if this is the wrong thread for this!)

 

[halself]

oh by the way, the fruits are because the second i misted her after i got her, she started drinking like she hasnt seen water in forever, so i put it in there to see if shed bite some to rehydrate.

 

[alphakenc]

my main concern is that i havent given her a nice enough heat gradient. her basking spot is about 88degrees but im worried theres too much heat at the top and not enough room thats ambient temperature.

From the pics that I saw,she is still a young chamy,you can play with the wattage on the light bulb or even the distance in between the heat lamp and the branches ,maybe drop it down a bit to 85F ,sometimes you can tell by her opening mouth display under her basking spot,that probably mean its little bit too hot in her expression.do the daily check routine,as long you can see her normal poop color and misting her for her hydration needs,other than that u can always add little more branches for her to climb on,list goes on and on....but u can always read up more valuable information in this forum,enjoy ur stay.

 

[KLowery88]

In the future, you can always just use a regular incandescent house bulb to save a bit of money. They work just as well at putting out heat. For the UVB, I'd recommend the tube bulbs rather than the coils. The tubes, particularly the T5 style bulbs, are better at throwing out more even UVB rays.

alphakenc is right about moving the bulb around to adjust the heat. If you want to try and spread it out more, you can get a lower wattage bulb and get a larger dome for it to reflect the light/heat in a wider circle. Just be careful not to make the whole top of the cage hot. What is the ambient temperature at?

I'd also look at getting her a pothos or some other live plant, since live plants hold water better to give her more chances to drink.

 

[halself]

In the future, you can always just use a regular incandescent house bulb to save a bit of money. They work just as well at putting out heat. For the UVB, I'd recommend the tube bulbs rather than the coils. The tubes, particularly the T5 style bulbs, are better at throwing out more even UVB rays.

alphakenc is right about moving the bulb around to adjust the heat. If you want to try and spread it out more, you can get a lower wattage bulb and get a larger dome for it to reflect the light/heat in a wider circle. Just be careful not to make the whole top of the cage hot. What is the ambient temperature at?

I'd also look at getting her a pothos or some other live plant, since live plants hold water better to give her more chances to drink.

her ambient temperature about 75/76. i say about bc the thermometer i got came from her previous owner and i dont think its top notch. i moved it around and now her basking is a little lower