whats also weird is that rn at the peak of the day readings are around 2.5-2.7 outside for about 2 hours of the day , the rest of the day readings are 1.0 or less with temps at 80 or so . people who keep their chames inside have there uvb lights of for 8-12 hours a day reading at 3.0 so how do they get enough d3 in the wild when uvb levels are lower during the winter time ?even if readings are at 3.0 this will only be at the peak of the day for about two hours .?
If I get a sunny patch today I will test mine here. LOL I have not tried it in winter months yet. So my thoughts on it... Have you always used the tarp during the rainy season? If you have been doing this for years and they are totally healthy because they are outside year round then you are doing something right. Gotta figure in the wild they don't have someone tossing D3 at them lol. The sun is far better at providing what they need. Throughout the year the sun shifts and weather changes they make up for it.
Honestly I think it has something to do with the UVB bulb. They are saying with a UVB bulb you need a 3-4 range. There is only so much they can do to try to replicate what the sun gives them.
last year I covered the cages when it rained with regular plastic and uncover them when the sun would come out(maybe one day out of the week ) . all my chames made it through the rainy season but I would lose sleep not knowing if they needed d3 supplements or not .. I did supplement a couple times a month just to be safe. so this year I hope to keep track of uvb levels during the winter months . I know my chames made it threw the winter but I want to know when d3 will be needed !
Yeah I wish I could be of more use to you. You might reach out to Bill Strand. He keeps his chams outside and is in So Cal. You can reach him through his contact us on his Dragon Strand page. He is one of the kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of speaking to. He is one of the few people that has a higher standing in the community that does not mind helping and sharing his knowledge. Not full of Ego like some and actually looks at every angle of a situation to provide the best feedback for the keeper. He also has the Chameleon Breeder Podcast which has some absolutely amazing episodes.
Honestly I think it has something to do with the UVB bulb. They are saying with a UVB bulb you need a 3-4 range. There is only so much they can do to try to replicate what the sun gives them.
In the wild the UVI changes through out the day based on the time of day and position of the sun. With this the temperature changes as well. They have multiple signals from nature... So they are out basking when the sun is not as intense which happens to also be the hottest time of day. They will move into the shady part of the trees to stay cooler. While they still may be getting lower levels of UVB there they are not getting hit with the high levels that cause damage. I heard in a podcast that they are actually out basking only a few hours each day.
Yours is a valid point though. I think we do what we can to ensure that they do not develop mbd and with so many recommendations it is hard to know who is right and who is wrong.
Yea i think the last study i read they bask till its UVI 4 at around 9am, then they start basking at again at the end of the day when the UVI drops back down to 3 again. I guess its steady UVI 3 till around 9am, then it jumps a lot to UVI 6-7 by 10am.
Since you still get sun you could do a science experiment, measure at sun up, then every hour
I don't even have a compact anymore lol. But this is a great video that was done by Frances Baines
Hi y'all! I wanted to make videos with the solarmeter 6.5 to provide a better explanation.
Ok so we see so many threads with UVB issues, questions, and well confusion. For me UVB was the hardest thing to grasp. Since we can't see it but we see the light we think "ok cool its good to go"... In fact when I first got my quad I was told to get a 6% bulb for it. I kept thinking it did not seem right and after a few weeks of obsessively freaking out I broke down and bought a solarmeter 6.5. I was thankful I did because I was barely getting a 1 UVI reading using a quad fixture (4 bulb fixture). Yes, they are expensive but the peace of mind it gives is amazing. I use it to check the bulbs every 2 weeks. I use it outside to make sure the UV index is not too high when I take Beman out for real sun. And I am now using it to show y'all so you have a better idea.
I want to stress that the fixture, number of bulbs, quantity and quality of reflector, UVB bulb position, along with the type of cage all will impact UVI readings. This is why it is very important to get the correct UVB bulb and not one that will under expose or over expose your cham. The only way to know exactly what you have is to have a solarmeter 6.5 to test with. HOWEVER you can mimic others setups and hopefully will be close on the correct UVI level you would get. But please even the bulb position in the fixture can change the UVI level. So mimic as close as you can if your using this method.
I also want to stress that your supplementation plays into the picture as well when we talk about the UVI level at basking. This is why you have to follow the correct supplementation. I personally shoot for a 3-4 UVI level at basking and no lower then a 2 UVI at basking. Because I supplement very very little calcium with D3. He gets what he needs from light conversion. I follow some of what Arcadia teaches in their books and incorporate repashy calcium plus LoD as my only supplement.
Species type does matter! it is not a one UVI for all species so make sure you know what UVI level your species should have along with proper fixture type.
I run a Quad T5HO fixture with single reflector and my cage is a dragon strand. My basking level sits 7-8 inches below the top of the screen. My UVB bulb is in an outside edge position and is a 12% Arcadia.
Ok so two videos here. The first one shows you a UVB bulb that is a year old and in the second video I have changed to my brand new one and how different your readings are for old vs new bulbs. plus more showing the different levels and how fast UVI levels decrease the further you move away from the bulb.
In the second video I did include readings without the screen and readings with the screen. Most of the time this is going to be about a 40% decrease under screen for UVI level. And my favorite I wanted to show you why we say plant out heavily. I have my right side denser with plants and it is also my wet side of the cage. Also showed you the levels moving away from the bulb as in the first video but with the new 12% bulb installed.
I really hope this explains more about UVB and UVI levels.
This is the solarmeter 6.5 I have.
View attachment 251321
Video 1
Video 2
Me too. This was the very first thing that helped me understand better but it does not account for the screen but it does show how bad compact bulbs are imagine having a screen there cutting the uvb light even more then it already is
Most mesh filters out about 40 percent so what ever levels she says subtract 40 percent from that distanceMe too. This was the very first thing that helped me understand better but it does not account for the screen but it does show how bad compact bulbs are imagine having a screen there cutting the uvb light even more then it already is
Even outdoors in the beaming sun it filters out about 40 percent ! I thought it would filter out less as the sun is powerful but it's about the same indoor and out door !Wow ,yesterday was a clear day about 84 degrees and my uv readings were at 2.6
Most mesh filters out about 40 percent so what ever levels she says subtract 40 percent from that distance
Well the green house plastic went up yesterday here are my readings this morning@coastal_chameleon ok well I was hoping to get you some of my readings here today since I live semi close to you. But the fog is relentless and will not clear today
Yeah It was cloudy ! Will do more test when the sun's out sometime this week . And inside the cages readings were at .4 .3
