Will yellow basking light affect color of panther?

[Blakemacdonson]

Hello, so I have a male red bar panther chameleon that is about 4-5 months old. I have several questions regarding basking lights. First of all, what specific basking light do most of you use? Second, what wattage would you recommend for a cage 18'x18'x36'? Thirdly, would you recommend a yellow, white or blue basking bulb. Will the color of the bulb or the dominate color in his cage affect his color? Slowly but surly his colors are coming in more and more but when he's anywhere near his basking light he is almost completely brown, I know he's trying to absorb as much heat as possible but when I see videos of other panther chameleons they're very colorful even under the basking light. Just for the record, I am monitoring his heat and humidity levels very closely and they're spot on, also he drinks and eats a lot. I have read every piece of information I can find online and have created his habitat to the absolute best of my ability. If anyone has any info on basking lights id like to hear it, thanks.

 

[carol5208]

I use white housebulbs. Yes, I think the color of the bulb might effect their color. I am not sure on that as I always use white so I have nothing to compare it to. The wattage of the bulb really will depend on your ambient house temp. For instance my house is usally around 74-75 degrees. I therefore can use a 60-75 watt to get the temp I want. If you live where it is really cold you may need a higher wattage bulb. I live in Florida and pretty much run my ac year round some my house temps are pretty constant.

 

[Carlton]

Second, what wattage would you recommend for a cage 18'x18'x36'? Thirdly, would you recommend a yellow, white or blue basking bulb. Will the color of the bulb or the dominate color in his cage affect his color? /QUOTE]

I don't use any "specialty" basking bulb for chams. All that particular light needs to do is provide heat, so any sort of incandescent bulb will work. For most of my cages I use a halogen exterior or "porch" incandescent bulb. They are sturdier, less touchy if they get water droplets on the glass, and seem to last longer than some cheaper indoor bulbs. Adjust the resulting temp by moving the lamp closer or farther away from the basking perch. We can't really suggest the wattage as the resulting temp is affected by so many other variables in everyone's particular room situation. Determine the distance needed by testing the temp right at the basking perch itself. Colored bulbs may not affect the cham's color (as that is hereditary but affected by hormonal development and health I would think), but it would probably affect how YOU see it.