Turning black

[Beman]

@Beman do you know the distance that an arcadia 7% would need to be from the basking site? How similar would it be to a 6%?

So per the lighting.... I have no hands on experience with the shade dweller bulbs. But they are designed differently then the 6% bulbs. The UVA amount is lower with these by half if I remember correctly for . But I do not know the exacts with distance for UVB. But they are designed and supposed to be used for diurnal species not chameleons. Since chams are out during the day.

I would switch this bulb to a reptisun 5.0 or arcadia 6% and have basking 9 inches down for a 3 UVI.

The T8 12% you would want about 7-8 inch drop to basking for approximately a 3 UVI level.

The T8 will give you lower heat output. Really I need to know the length of these fixtures... You want to use the one that is the longest so it covers more of the cage.

Per her solid black color. Personally I have only seen this once with a Veiled chameleon. It was due to extreme stress from seeing a Panther chameleon for the first time. So something really really stressed her out. I would get husbandry in order and back off handling.

Is there a reason her cage is wrapped up in sheets rather then being open? Is it always like this?

 

[wprazak]

The curtains are there for night time. So me having lights on won’t fit urn her sleep. It’s only for the night. Shadedweller is 12” and the t8 is 18”

 

[Beman]

The curtains are there for night time. So me having lights on won’t fit urn her sleep. It’s only for the night. Shadedweller is 12” and the t8 is 18”

Then you need to be using the T8 fixture with the 12% bulb. And you want the measured distance to the branch below it to be 7-8 inches with the fixture sitting directly on the top.

Then get a 6500 daylight bulb for the shade dweller fixture because the 7% is lower in UVA output then we use normally use. And since these bulbs are not used with chameleons I do not know what the distance would be for basking to get the right UVI level. I know that the UVA output has a direct impact on feeding, diurnal activity, and mating behaviors. So since that bulb is about half of what a 6% bulb's output for UVA you will get different behaviors. But you can still use the fixture if you get a 6500 daylight bulb which will help with plant growth.

 

[wprazak]

First thing she does to her new plants is poop on them