uvb lamps and screened cages

herpboi

New Member
I am setting up an enclosure for a baby veiled, and i was wondering how do you all set your uvb lamps up. i dont want to place it on top, but the screen cage is only 13x25x15 and i cant place the uvb lamp inside . would it work if i just put a 18" lamp across the top of the screen and just go with a 10.0 rather than a 5.0 repti-glo uvb tube lamp? i know the screen would block some or most of the rays. would i be able to place it inside and just place it vertically? I would like the setup to be perfect!
 
just placing it on top is fine. you never want to put the bulb inside the cage. your cham could fry itself (like electic shock-wise), plus it'd be bad if your spray the bulb when misting. as for the uv being stopped by the screen, if you can see you chameleon clearly through the mesh, the light will hit it just fine :)
 
I have done what you have and gone with a 10.0 on top of screen, just my own personal thinking.
He has loads of plants to get out of the uv if he wants and iv read they will do this.
 
Since your cage is so small I would still go with a 5.0 just so the baby can get out of the UVB if he/she wants, but it will go down far enough that it won't have to travel far.
 
I just got my Repti-sun 5.0 tonight.

No chameleon yet, but i got all the stuff.
Zippie comes home on Saturday. :D

I am wondering about putting the UVB bulb on top of the cage because of the thermal heat and UVB intensity at near contact with the bulb that is sheilded only by a quarter inch of air and some screen mesh.

I am considering placing a spacer on the fixture in order to get it another 1/2" or 3/4" away. In the morning, I will take a thermal reading at near contact with the bulb (on the screen mesh) to see what my Pal will be exposed to.
I just dont want him burned from climbing around upside-down on the mesh ceiling.

I will let you know what I find.

Clarification: I ha.... Well, I knew I wrote it somewhere. The type of light I got is in my title.... silly me..
 
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A linear tube fluorescent resting on top of a screen cage is actually ideal.
It provides a little heat (not enough to burn) and allows for plenty of UVB ray penetration through the screen.
Reptisun 5.0 is the only one I use. If I had an enclosure that was 20 feet tall, I would use a 5.0.
Chameleons climb up to bask under UVB. The height of the cage does not matter, where you place the branches below the light matters.
The only time I would consider using a 10.0 would be with a Reptarium .... I do not plan on getting a Reptarium

-Brad
 
No heat issues

I was able to put my hand right on the screen at the top of the cage with no problems at all. It actualy seemed cool to the touch.

Intuitively, it seems like that Repti-sun 5.0 would be hot, but it wasnt at all.

:D:)
 
I was able to put my hand right on the screen at the top of the cage with no problems at all. It actualy seemed cool to the touch.

Intuitively, it seems like that Repti-sun 5.0 would be hot, but it wasnt at all.

:D:)

Once it has been operating all day it'll be warm. I just took a reading on one of my lamps and it is 106*F and it has been on for an hour now.

You can take a look here... at the UV Guide and read about UVB through mesh. The entire site is full of info!
 
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correct me if im wrong but, I have read that a cham can tell if it has had enough UVb and will move away from the the light and they also can convert a lot of UVB....more than they need.... without any harm.

So if this is right, why would it be a bad idea to have a 10.0 instead of a 5.0? would it not be a better idea to over do it rather than chance under doing it so to speak.....Or am I missing something?

I have a veiled cham btw.
 
Black light tubes??

What kinds of rays do Black light tubes put out? Would those rays be harmful to a cham?

I have a flourescent black light tube in Zippies room about 2 feet to the side of his cage. I thought I might sneak in and look in on him at night.

There are incandescent black light bulbs, and then there are the Black light flourescent tubes. I have a Flourescent tube.

I also have a Red flourescent tube.

I am not trying to keep him warm or anything, just adding a bit of light, so I can see him when I check in at night.
 
I wouldn't use any light at night. They can see colors so a colored light of any kind has the potential to stress them out.
 
If you wanna check on him at night just flip on a normal lamp.... not something super bright.... but it's ok to shine some light on him. some chams sleep heavier that some... so he may or may not wake up. I have some heavy sleeping chams that can sleep through a few flashes of the camera AND having a room light on.....
 
What kinds of rays do Black light tubes put out? Would those rays be harmful to a cham?

I have a flourescent black light tube in Zippies room about 2 feet to the side of his cage. I thought I might sneak in and look in on him at night.

There are incandescent black light bulbs, and then there are the Black light flourescent tubes. I have a Flourescent tube.

I also have a Red flourescent tube.

I am not trying to keep him warm or anything, just adding a bit of light, so I can see him when I check in at night.
To answer your question, blacklights put out mostly UVA, which wouldn't be harmful as long as it's not on all the time as far as skin exposure, but many reptiles can see light at those wavelengths, and chameleons being very visually based animals would probably be able to see the light put out by the blacklight, so it might bother the chameleon to have that light shining on it while it's trying to sleep.
 
oh, i'm sure chams are very aware of how much UV they get. the last week or two my chams have been huddling closer to the UV bulbs as if to say, hey, these won't last the whole 6 months like you hoped, pumpkin, you gotta buy us new ones now, 2-3 weeks early...............
 
apparently i have the wrong uvb light because its not the tube....so im gonna get the tube now....im gonna get the reptisun linear tube with the hood of course but im not sure what size to get.....i have the 24x24x48 cage.....so im not sure what size tube to get 18 or 24 inches...?????
 
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