Timer on light fixtures

Vincentuanluu

Vincentuanluu

Member
i know it should be first thing to get when getting chameleons.. But getting new strip bar with timer on it and wondering what times do you have it on,

Reason why I'm asking is because it's summer time so sun comes up around 530-6am till 9-10pm.
I live in Canada, Vancouver.

Currently my light schedule is 7am - 7pm. I wake up an hour early to hand mist and turn lights on and feed my chameleons. I leave house at 8 am and get home around 6pm so I have an hour to mist last time before turning lights out. So I rarely get to take them out or watch them unless I get a day off which is Sunday.

I know the light should only be on 10-12 hours a day and wondering how you guys work around summer time since sun comes early and leaves late.

( ordering mist king starter kits with few extra nozzles and rain dome. It will have a humidity control and spray when humidity hit a certain low since I have a montane. )

Ordering a 48" tropic quad fixture from Todd (lightyourreptile) :D which will be over my divided enclosure with 12% Arcadia, 2x 6.5k light, and a plant grow light. Also 10" dome light that will have a zoo med halogen basking light. 100W for veiled side and 75W for the Fischer.
 
I find that no matter what I set the lights for my chameleon has his own idea of when bedtime is. My lights go out around 7:15 but Zaphod is already in his sleepingspot by 5 or 5:30.
 
Decadancin said:
I find that no matter what I set the lights for my chameleon has his own idea of when bedtime is. My lights go out around 7:15 but Zaphod is already in his sleepingspot by 5 or 5:30.
Click to expand...
I've been having that too but only my Fischer and juvi veiled but I think that's because their cages are across a window and sun comes up at 530-6am.. So they are always awake before i turn their lights on.

If I turn lights on even when they already awake, does it count as hour towards light out? Or only count when I turn it on and off?
 
When I get my set up, I was thinking about getting a cover to place over the cage to give the cham total darkness during the entire sleeping period and also to help keep the temperature warmer during the cold winter months here in Hong Kong. I got this idea from @Lathis. I think it would help with the sun rising before the lights are turned on. Reptibreeze LED - Good or just a gimmick?
 
Vincentuanluu said:
I've been having that too but only my Fischer and juvi veiled but I think that's because their cages are across a window and sun comes up at 530-6am.. So they are always awake before i turn their lights on.

If I turn lights on even when they already awake, does it count as hour towards light out? Or only count when I turn it on and off?
Click to expand...
Really, there is no definite lights on, lights out formula. I like to try to mimic what is going on outside, but I'm not sure if there is any real benefit for the chameleon. I could try to mimic the native range, but still don't know if there would be a real benefit. Many just do 12 hours on and 12 off, but again thereally may not be a bonus from this.
 
I nerded out on my setup and automated everything. I use a herpkeeper system, this lets me set my main (heat/sun) basking light to my actual daylight savings time. You actually input your longitude into the system, it then automatically adjust sunrise/sunset based on the time and date. My chameleon always beds down soon after sundown. I have secondary lighting to mimic prolonged sunrise and sunset.
 
Decadancin said:
Really, there is no definite lights on, lights out formula. I like to try to mimic what is going on outside, but I'm not sure if there is any real benefit for the chameleon. I could try to mimic the native range, but still don't know if there would be a real benefit. Many just do 12 hours on and 12 off, but again thereally may not be a bonus from this.
Click to expand...
Make sense, I guess I'll try 9am-9/10pm
7am - I turn on Arcadia and plant grow
9am - I turn all lights on including basking light
7pm - I turn off Arcadia, 1 of 6.5k light, and basking light.
8pm - I turn off the other 6.5k light and turn on the LED blue light that the quad has built in.
9pm all lights out.

Would this be okay ? It kinda mimic sun rise and sunset in a way.. And I'm trying not overexposing UV.
 
Vincentuanluu said:
Make sense, I guess I'll try 9am-9/10pm
7am - I turn on Arcadia and plant grow
9am - I turn all lights on including basking light
7pm - I turn off Arcadia, 1 of 6.5k light, and basking light.
8pm - I turn off the other 6.5k light and turn on the LED blue light that the quad has built in.
9pm all lights out.

Would this be okay ? It kinda mimic sun rise and sunset in a way.. And I'm trying not overexposing UV.
Click to expand...
That sounds pretty good, I know the quad setups from Todd are basically two lights (2 sets of t5's). You said you're getting the 12% option? You must have a large enclosure. He only recommended the 6% for mine.
 
I use 12/12 in winter and 14/10 on/off summer with a gradual change of about 15 mins a week in between. Keeps things consistent with the sun since I move my chameleons inside/ outside pretty frequently. I don't mess with multiple lighting times for specific cages other than basking spots but I do stagger the on off times of the different racks so the room gets gradually brighter and darker in am and pm.
 
I do 14 hours of light / 10 hours of dark in the summer.
I do 12 hours of light / 12 hours of dark in the winter.

I do this because naturally, there is more sunlight in the summer. A few hours more. So I try to simulate this a bit by offering the slightly extended lighting periods during summer. As it gets closer to changing seasons, I slowly change the light schedule by half hour every few weeks until I am at the schedule I want for that particular season. Works great for me and my cham doesn't seem to mind.
 
Rayzilla said:
When I get my set up, I was thinking about getting a cover to place over the cage to give the cham total darkness during the entire sleeping period and also to help keep the temperature warmer during the cold winter months here in Hong Kong. I got this idea from @Lathis. I think it would help with the sun rising before the lights are turned on. Reptibreeze LED - Good or just a gimmick?
Click to expand...
I might
Goose502 said:
That sounds pretty good, I know the quad setups from Todd are basically two lights (2 sets of t5's). You said you're getting the 12% option? You must have a large enclosure. He only recommended the 6% for mine.
Click to expand...
Yeah it's a divided enclosure so each side gets 2.5 ft wide x 6 ft high with 2 ft depth. :)
Thanks for your help :D
 
Decadancin said:
I find that no matter what I set the lights for my chameleon has his own idea of when bedtime is. My lights go out around 7:15 but Zaphod is already in his sleepingspot by 5 or 5:30.
Click to expand...
i am hopefully going to get a cham soon, and i have done a lot of research, but i was wondering if it would be okay if their light's went out around 8pm, or is that too late ?
 
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