Veiled Basking Question

[dlaunde]

So I'm working on getting my basking temps just right for my Veiled. Right now, with a 75w bulb, the temp in the area of where his body occupies under the bulb is around 88-92 degrees. From advice of members and reading the Chameleon Academy guide, I am trying to get my temps down to around 82-85. Ambient temperature in the cage away from the bulb is around 72-74.

However, with the current high temps, my Veiled spends a major portion of the day under the bulb as it is. According to the Chameleon Academy guide, a healthy/warm chameleon will usually only spend 30mins or so basking before going back to roaming the cage or going into the shade. And if they spend a large amount of the time under the bulb, it is suggested to get a higher wattage bulb or move the bulb closer.

He is a juvenile veiled. Is it normal for them to spend so much time basking, even if the temps are rather high?

 

[Beman]

So IME when they are younger they bask more but we also feed more when they are younger so that makes sense to me. I find that my adult male that only eats 3 day a week really spends maybe a total of an hour a day if that under the heat bulb. He will bask under the UVB but the heat not as much. When he was younger he spent a lot of time under the heat bulb though.

You will still want to drop your temps back by getting a lower wattage bulb or trying to drop the branch down further away. Using a regular incandescent is better then using a spot heat bulb...

 

[nightanole]

If you move the bulb farther away, and hit the cage at an angle, you will create a much larger basking area. I call this a "hot air pocket" vs a basking zone.

But really juveniles do not need a basking bulb if cage temps are in the 70's the majority of the day.

 

[Mrjamwin]

If you move the bulb farther away, and hit the cage at an angle, you will create a much larger basking area. I call this a "hot air pocket" vs a basking zone.

But really juveniles do not need a basking bulb if cage temps are in the 70's the majority of the day.

Do you have a picture of your basking light at a angle? I'd like to see that if I could.

 

[nightanole]

Do you have a picture of your basking light at a angle? I'd like to see that if I could.

 

[nightanole]

So in both cases the "stick" is at a 45 degree angle to the lamp. Either the stick or the lamp is angled. This creates an ellipse or oval vs a round hot spot.

 

[Mrjamwin]

Thank you! One more question. Are you afraid at all that your cham could get burned by the lights being there?

 

[nightanole]

Thank you! One more question. Are you afraid at all that your cham could get burned by the lights being there?

Its hard to tell from the angles, but the cham can not get any closer than he already is. Now if i had a real climber, i would have to put up more precautions to keep him from getting too close, such as a wire frame around the bulb, or a "lamp shade" to keep him from climbing on the fixture. My one buddy got a vinyl record and drilled a 1" hole in it to make a lamp shade/barrier prevent a certain cham from climbing onto the dome down the electrical cord.

This is why we dont recommend setting the "dome" directly on top of a screen cage, incase the cham is still small enough to climb up the side and then under the bulb.

 

[CasqueAbove]

One thing to concider in captive chameleons is options. Especialy in a 2x2x4 cage. It is difficult to discern basking from just sitting at high ground. I do similar to what @nightanole says.
As a side observation. My Female has large set up with a window. On most days she chooses to bask in the window, open or close. It is not really any warmer than the rest of the enclosure. She has a basking/UVB bulb as well, with perfect warm basking of 80. She only seems to choose this on the cloudy or very overcast days.

For reference the enclosure is roughly 4ft x 7ft x 7ft

 

[dlaunde]

I raised the light a tad more and now temps at his basking location are 80-82 degrees. Temps closer to the actual screen are around 90-94 (like an inch below it).

The screen itself is still very hot to the touch and reports as a surface temp of around 125-130 directly under the bulb. Not sure anything I can do about that though. Luckily he still has never shown interest in trying to climb up on the screen top.