question on basking
- Thread starter perca05
- Start date
SaintJimmy
Avid Member
Usually younger chameleons do not have the thermoregulation skills that an adult would have.
That is why it is crucial that you make sure the temperatures are JUST right so they don't cook themselves or make themselves sick.
If the temperatures are too high, it would not take more than 5 minutes of your time to raise the heat lamp around 3-5 inches up, or lower the basking spot so he may not reach those high temperatures.
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Even as adults, chameleons don't just "move away" from the too hot spots. If you have an adult veiled, their highest temperature should be 96-98 degrees f. If you have a 120 degree f basking spot, they won't immediately know to move. It is a slow process. They CAN and WILL burn themselves by the time their whole body heats up and then by that time the 120 degree f scales have already been severely burned.
They aren't like humans. They don't just touch a hot pan and say "OW" and yank their hand away. They do not have the same sense of touch and therefore you have to have the right temperatures otherwise they can burn themselves.
Even adults with advanced thermoregulation skills won't know to move until the majority of their body is too hot.
That is why it is crucial that you make sure the temperatures are JUST right so they don't cook themselves or make themselves sick.
If the temperatures are too high, it would not take more than 5 minutes of your time to raise the heat lamp around 3-5 inches up, or lower the basking spot so he may not reach those high temperatures.
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Even as adults, chameleons don't just "move away" from the too hot spots. If you have an adult veiled, their highest temperature should be 96-98 degrees f. If you have a 120 degree f basking spot, they won't immediately know to move. It is a slow process. They CAN and WILL burn themselves by the time their whole body heats up and then by that time the 120 degree f scales have already been severely burned.
They aren't like humans. They don't just touch a hot pan and say "OW" and yank their hand away. They do not have the same sense of touch and therefore you have to have the right temperatures otherwise they can burn themselves.
Even adults with advanced thermoregulation skills won't know to move until the majority of their body is too hot.
Do you know the exact amount of sunlight so you move away before you get sunburned? Same type of response...sometimes you don't know it's too much until it's too late.
