Newbie trying to do it right

[theintouchable88]

Hello everyone,

We'll as I mentioned, I'm a newbie to chameleons and I have not gotten one yet because I am in the process of obtaining all the accessories and setting up his cage and testing it before he comes. my question is on regards of plants. I've read numerous articles but still have some doubts/don't quiet understand. I plan on having a pothos and schefflera but idk what lights to use for them exactly. would a cfl bulb that provides 5000k and 1900 lumens be enough for the plants? I read 6500k is somewhat better but could be too bright and makes plants grow like crazy and plants do well with 5000k and. Grow moderately. My cage is 18x18x36 and while he gets bigger I'll custom make a 2'x2'x48'
TIA!

 

[Virgil1972]

Lightyourreptiles.com has a plant grow light called the jungle dawn. I do not have one yet but have heard from many that it makes plants grow like crazy. The faster your plants grow and fill in the cage the better so I recommend getting one if its in your budget.

 

[JacksJill]

If your plants grow too much you can just prune them back a bit. I like this better than replacing dead plants.

 

[theintouchable88]

If your plants grow too much you can just prune them back a bit. I like this better than replacing dead plants.

Haha that makes sense but what do u think about using a cfl bulb for the plant light? And is 1 only enough? I could get a 6500k 2800 lumens. Finding a single one with high lumens seems troublesome and I've read the plants thrive with higher lumen too

 

[theintouchable88]

Lightyourreptiles.com has a plant grow light called the jungle dawn. I do not have one yet but have heard from many that it makes plants grow like crazy. The faster your plants grow and fill in the cage the better so I recommend getting one if its in your budget.

Thank you, yeah I checked them out yesterday but almost $80 for a light fixture seems exaggerated to me honestly. Once I make his big boy cage I could find the excuse since I'll be doing it little by little but for a temporary cage where the fixture would come out to the sides I don't see a point. Thanks thou

 

[theintouchable88]

Seem

Lightyourreptiles.com has a plant grow light called the jungle dawn. I do not have one yet but have heard from many that it makes plants grow like crazy. The faster your plants grow and fill in the cage the better so I recommend getting one if its in your budget.

Seems like I was looking at the wrong one lol the one u said is $30 so it's not bad at all. Would it suffice in a 2'x2'x4' cage?

 

[JacksJill]

Have you read this yet? https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/lighting/

 

[theintouchable88]

Have you read this yet? https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/lighting/

Yeah I've read that. I understand the lighting for the chameleon as I already have a bearded dragon and read quiet a bit before getting him too but since I wanna use live plants I wanted to make sure.

 

[Virgil1972]

Seem

Seems like I was looking at the wrong one lol the one u said is $30 so it's not bad at all. Would it suffice in a 2'x2'x4' cage?

I believe it would be plenty for that size cage.

 

[Teency]

Just out of curiosity. Can you use a UVB light for your cham and a 6500k for your plants at the same time?

 

[Nursemaia]

So yes a jungle dawn is an $80 bulb. The price deterred me at first too but I eventually broke down and bought one. I can't tell you how much I love it. It's super bright and my plants have gone wild. It's great for plants that need high light like hibiscus and ficus. It's also supposed to last 10,000 hours or more

 

[Big Gulp]

Just out of curiosity. Can you use a UVB light for your cham and a 6500k for your plants at the same time?

Definitely. That's what most folks do.

This is an excellent setup.

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/24...-arcadia-6-and-6-5k-day-light-bulbs-included/

Or, you can go more extravagant and do the quad.

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ho...b-2x-daylight-bulbs-plant-pro-built-in-timer/

 

[theintouchable88]

So yes a jungle dawn is an $80 bulb. The price deterred me at first too but I eventually broke down and bought one. I can't tell you how much I love it. It's super bright and my plants have gone wild. It's great for plants that need high light like hibiscus and ficus. It's also supposed to last 10,000 hours or more

Oh ok. Well I'm definitely going to look into that now. Or get the dual fixture with the 6500k and Arcadia 6%. I'm sure there investment will pay off in the long run. Thank you

 

[theintouchable88]

Definitely. That's what most folks do.

This is an excellent setup.

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/24...-arcadia-6-and-6-5k-day-light-bulbs-included/

Or, you can go more extravagant and do the quad.

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ho...b-2x-daylight-bulbs-plant-pro-built-in-timer/

So I ordered the dual t5 fixture you pointed out. I have a baby cage for now 18x18x36, so it'll be a bit too big but I don't see an issue with that as the cage I plan on building will most likely be 2x2x4 or 3x3x4. zilla timer is already on the way along with some aquarium silicone for the ropes I plan on making. Read a simple diy about them and I thought it was so much better since I could make them as long as I want. Got a couple manzanita trees on the way too and my local nursery always has the plants I will use in Stock so everything is going as planned. I got a mistking at the reptile expo just passed and my dubias colony is going crazy. Might have to drop the Temps so they stop breeding since my bearded dragon stopped eating them as often. Soon I'll be picking the lucky one. I think I'll go with kammers unless someone has other suggestions