Proper lighting schedule

I've currently got 3 panthers (2 males) and a male vieled, and likely adding a female veiled this week. I have been running the lights on timers, on from about 7:30 am to 8:30 pm.

I was thinking about running the UVB's as above, then seperately timing the basking lights from 8:30 - 6:30 pm. Running the heat lamp the full +/- 12 hours seems like it would be too much.

How is your light operatiing schedule set up?

12 on 12 off is the usual assumed lighting schedule for most owners I've seen on this site

winter - 12 hours of uv and basking light
summer - 14 hours of uv and basking light

i run dual timers for my montanes so they only get about 6hrs basking time and 12 of uvb, on really hot days i will also switch my veiled and panthers setups to only have a few hours of basking in the morning and afternoon

jmo
hoj

David, I'm a newb here but following what many others have said, I keep my uvb on from sun up to sun down and adjust with the seasons, although I've only had to change it once since getting our lady veiled. I used to keep the basking on all day but experienced some problems so I have it alternating from about sun up to sun down on-off every 1.5 hours. She didn't like the change but she'll get used to it. Over night you probably don't need any lighting so they can sleep as long as temps are mid-60s and up.

Thanks for your thoughts guys. It's interesting to see the responses from various locations in the western hemisphere, and differing opinions on the subject.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a inexpensive controller that timed the lamps like the sun cycle, dimming brighter to the middle of the day then dimming to off in the evening... anyone happen to come across such a controller?

Hydroponic stores offer awesome alternatives to lighting timers & light tracks which mimic the actual movement of the sun across your crop or, in this cause, our reptilian buds, throughout a day.

With all the new medical marijuana mumbo-jumbo, I'm sure you can find a hydroponic store near you, anywhere!
I've only seen tracks that would be applicable to large set-ups, however i'm sure they come out with new growing gadgets monthly, now-a-days!

David said:

Thanks for your thoughts guys. It's interesting to see the responses from various locations in the western hemisphere, and differing opinions on the subject.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a inexpensive controller that timed the lamps like the sun cycle, dimming brighter to the middle of the day then dimming to off in the evening... anyone happen to come across such a controller?

Click to expand...

eco-zone one of the site sponsors has just such a unit check it out

David said:

Wouldn't it be great if there was a inexpensive controller that timed the lamps like the sun cycle, dimming brighter to the middle of the day then dimming to off in the evening... anyone happen to come across such a controller?

Click to expand...

Hoj said:

eco-zone one of the site sponsors has just such a unit check it out

Click to expand...

I'm thinking now - you could mount a robotic arm so the 'sun' moves across the sky..........
Or you could do 12 on 12 off. I reckon the practical effects are almost identical, perhaps even the routine light timings help the Chams settle into modern life and handling, who knows?
You can't keep a real rainforest in your house, so the difficulty and expense ought to be justified - don't mean to rain on the parade, because it sounds good - but I just don't think there will be much benefit in a dimmer......