Will my UVB be enough?

[zzZay]

I just got a juvenile Veiled today and I am super siked! He's still pretty young, so I've got him in a 30 x 30 x 16 mesh cage with some live pothos and dracaena and he's seems to fit in it perfectly. I was just curious what you all thought...for his UVB I'm using a 15w 18" ReptiGlo 5.0 Tropical UVB strip and certain places that I was looking were saying that wouldn't be strong enough? Any second opinions? Appreciate the feedback

 

[brownie64]

Personally I use a 10.0 especially if it's got to go through a fine screen, but many on here use a 5.0 and it seams to suffice for them.

 

[nate1040]

I've heard that a 10.0 can actually cause an overdose of UVB. Not sure if this is correct or not, just what I've read on here a couple times.

 

[trickedoutbiker]

I've heard that a 10.0 can actually cause an overdose of UVB. Not sure if this is correct or not, just what I've read on here a couple times.

It can cause an overdose if there are UVB basking branches directly under the light, closer than 6-8 inches. 8 inches and further away is fine, as UVB dissipates as it gets further from the bulb. Going through a screen, a light also loses some of its UVB rays, so keep that in mind. It can also cause too much UVB exposure if the cage is not heavily planted, because the chameleon will have nowhere to go into the shade and get out of the light if (s)he feels the need to do so. So as long as you have some branches that are down and away from the light and not right up under it, and as long as the cage is planted pretty good, then a 10.0 would be fine. Keep in mind as well, that a UVB tends to lose power over time. That's why you have to replace them every 6-8 months (unless you own an Arcadia bulb, which lasts longer). So if you really think about it, at around 6 months, the UVB output on a 5.0 would be a lot lower than where it started, and may not even be giving off enough PROPER levels at that point. If the light is traveling through a screen as well, then the UVB is even LESS when it finally reaches the chameleon. A 10.0 however, already being stronger than a 5.0 to start out with, will also have lower levels when it gets closer to the 6 month mark.... but, the difference is, with the reduced UVB output over time, around 6 months, a 10.0 is now probably putting out UVB levels closer to that of a new or slightly used 5.0 bulb, which is still safe levels of UVB.

That's why I personally use a 10.0, because when it nears the 6 month mark to change the light, I don't want to have to worry about how long the bulb has been putting out too-low of levels of UVB for my chameleon. Without a Solarmeter, you can't tell if your 5.0 even has good levels of output anymore at 5-6 months. So I just go with a 10.0 to play it safe, and plant the cage heavy.

A lot of people use a 5.0 and it does good for them. A lot of people use a 10.0 and it does good for them. It's all about how your cage is setup.