Uvb differences

Rhea’s mum

Rhea’s mum

Established Member
I currently use a T5Ho fixture with a 6% Arcadia bulb with the correct distancing that everyone on here advocates.
Im based in the Uk and everyone in uk based online groups recommend using the 12%. Their reasoning is 6% isn’t strong enough to get through the mesh.

This really has me wondering do we get different strength bulbs in the uk to the US and does our mesh differ?
 
Rhea’s mum said:
I currently use a T5Ho fixture with a 6% Arcadia bulb with the correct distancing that everyone on here advocates.
Im based in the Uk and everyone in uk based online groups recommend using the 12%. Their reasoning is 6% isn’t strong enough to get through the mesh.

This really has me wondering do we get different strength bulbs in the uk to the US and does our mesh differ?
Click to expand...
Arcadia bulbs are the same, the world over. What might be different is the commonly used screening material, but I’m a bit doubtful about that too. Do you have a solar meter?

In any case, so much depends on your setup. If you have foliage that casts dappled shade over part of your main basking area, that will affect the bulb required. For instance, I use 2 uvb bulbs over each of my adult enclosures: a 6% and a 12 or even 14%. This is because some of the climbing vines I use obscure full exposure to the bulbs over some of the basking areas (and because my enclosures are 6’ high).
 
Rhea’s mum said:
I currently use a T5Ho fixture with a 6% Arcadia bulb with the correct distancing that everyone on here advocates.
Im based in the Uk and everyone in uk based online groups recommend using the 12%. Their reasoning is 6% isn’t strong enough to get through the mesh.

This really has me wondering do we get different strength bulbs in the uk to the US and does our mesh differ?
Click to expand...

"online groups" LOL

Without a meter you will never know. You will find plenty of threads here with store bought screen cages and 12%, and the cham starts getting edema in a few months from having too much UVB and D3 suppliments.

I would never install a 12% without a meter. Even a 6% can create conditions were you need to raise the hood 5cm or more above the screen so the cham can not receive 7 UVI + which is damaging.
 
nightanole said:
"online groups" LOL

Without a meter you will never know. You will find plenty of threads here with store bought screen cages and 12%, and the cham starts getting edema in a few months from having too much UVB and D3 suppliments.

I would never install a 12% without a meter. Even a 6% can create conditions were you need to raise the hood 5cm or more above the screen so the cham can not receive 7 UVI + which is damaging.
Click to expand...
What is the 7UVI limit based on?
 
I've heard some keepers like Mario Jungmann say the same thing on Bill's podcast and describe UVB burns especially in Panther's at high UVI levels. He also notes many of the montane chameleons tolerate and probably benefit from higher UVI levels, but I agree having a solar meter is the only way to be sure.
 
The uvi indexes provided by madcham (https://www.madcham.de/en/furcifer-pardalis-ambilobe/) for F. pardalis ambilobe can exceed 10, even in the morning hours. Now, to be sure, no chameleon is sitting in full sun, all day...especially at high noon, but I think the data suggests that wild pardalis get occasional blasts of high uvb, while they move around the understory. That’s not to say we should all be providing uvi’s of 10, all day, but there might be a middle ground for those hobbyists who like a challenge.
 
nightanole said:
In chameleon land (at least yemen and Madagascar) they do not get hit by more than a UVI of 6.5, and that is top dead summer noon. So Bill and i assume a few others set a soft upper limit of 6.0 UVI, with a goal of 3.0 UVI.

https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/
Click to expand...
ferretinmyshoes

See also the study kinyonga posted suggesting much lower UVI values for Madagascar chams.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...species-of-chameleons-from-madagascar.178769/
 
I know we’re talking chams in general here, and not just pardalis, but as it turns out, that species has been the subject of a lot of research. So, as it turns out there is evidence that pardalis will regulate its own exposure to uvb in relation to dietary d3 (apologies, I can’t link this because you need a subscription to the journal I got it from)

Karsten, K., Ferguson, G., Chen, T., & Holick, M. (2009). Panther Chameleons, Furcifer pardalis, Behaviorally Regulate Optimal Exposure to UV Depending on Dietary Vitamin D3 Status. PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ZOOLOGY: ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONAL APPROACHES, 82(3), 218-225.
 
Rhea’s mum said:
I currently use a T5Ho fixture with a 6% Arcadia bulb with the correct distancing that everyone on here advocates.
Im based in the Uk and everyone in uk based online groups recommend using the 12%. Their reasoning is 6% isn’t strong enough to get through the mesh.

This really has me wondering do we get different strength bulbs in the uk to the US and does our mesh differ?
Click to expand...
I agree a UVI meter (e.g. Solarmeter) is the best way to tell both strength & distance.
I have an Arcadia 6% through screen, and while some sources cite a guideline of 9-10" (23-25 cm) for a UVI of ~3.0 the Solarmeter indicates the same UVI at a distance of 12" (30 cm).
 
Last edited:
Kaizen said:
I know we’re talking chams in general here, and not just pardalis, but as it turns out, that species has been the subject of a lot of research. So, as it turns out there is evidence that pardalis will regulate its own exposure to uvb in relation to dietary d3 (apologies, I can’t link this because you need a subscription to the journal I got it from)

Karsten, K., Ferguson, G., Chen, T., & Holick, M. (2009). Panther Chameleons, Furcifer pardalis, Behaviorally Regulate Optimal Exposure to UV Depending on Dietary Vitamin D3 Status. PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ZOOLOGY: ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONAL APPROACHES, 82(3), 218-225.
Click to expand...
Yes I like that study very much. :) I think a lot of people don't offer enough cover in their cages to adequately allow panthers to regulate as much as they should because if they cannot avoid UVB exposure then they can't regulate like they should.
 
ferretinmyshoes said:
Yes I like that study very much. :) I think a lot of people don't offer enough cover in their cages to adequately allow panthers to regulate as much as they should because if they cannot avoid UVB exposure then they can't regulate like they should.
Click to expand...
Agree 100%! My enclosures always have foliage all the way up and oscillating fans that move the leaves, so the is never a fixed constant blast of uvb, it’s always somewhat dappled. And I don’t use any d3.
 
Klyde O'Scope said:
Their other link:
https://www.arcadiareptile.com/lighting/guide/
goes to the same link you posted for panther or veiled.
Trying a few other species, it does lead to different charts.
Click to expand...

It does have different charts based on what category they fall in. So three-toed box turtles and panther chameleons both fall in the "Medium UV Species" category so their recommendation is the same, for example. So they evaluate a species and place it in a category based on the data available. What I was trying to say, albeit poorly, is that I haven't explored that site well enough to see how specific the categories are vs other categories. They don't seem to be too broad based on what I'm finding so far. It's one I was recently introduced to and I like it but need to get more familiar with the methodology.
 
Rhea’s mum said:
I currently use a T5Ho fixture with a 6% Arcadia bulb with the correct distancing that everyone on here advocates.
Im based in the Uk and everyone in uk based online groups recommend using the 12%. Their reasoning is 6% isn’t strong enough to get through the mesh.

This really has me wondering do we get different strength bulbs in the uk to the US and does our mesh differ?
Click to expand...
This is a really good question.
 
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