Am i lighting my little friend right?

[Pandavega]

For some reason, i just took the word of the previous owner without doing much research.

I have a strip light and what i assume is a red UVA light.

what i do:

I have two lights on my set up right now. One of them is a long strip light. i keep that on pretty much all the time. i'm not sure of the brand but the bulb on it is long and it emits a pretty bright white light. The owner told me it was a good quality light.

the second light is a cone shaped light with a red bulb. I was told this bulb acted like sunlight and to keep it on half of the day.

so at night, the only bulb that is on is the white strip light.

so the only light that i'm scheduling right now is the red light. I turn it off and 9 pm and turn it on at 9 am.

Should i also turn on the strip light at certain times? or am i doing this right?

 

[chameleonkev]

No!!!!!!! All lights of at night they require complete darkness and 2 get rid of that red bulb it has no use for a chameleon, day time basking bulb all you need is a normal household bulb and at night it goes of!

 

[justjumpit621]

The red light should be changed to a regular household white bulb, like you use in your lamps(unless you use coils, then buy a pack of the white bulbs), and turn off the long UVB light at night. It is what gives them the D3, like natural sunlight. But not as strong so you still need to supplement with calcium +D3 2 times a month. They need NO light at night because this keeps them awake and will cause problems.

Also, the tube light needs to be replaced every 6 months. You will want to look for the correct size reptisun 5.0

 

[reptilover]

Ditch the red light. Get a 98 cent pack of 60watt regular house bulbs and use that and the linear tube 12 hrs a day and nothing at night.

Ur basking spot should be 90-93 degrees with an ambient temp of mid to high 70s

U have to see if that liner tube light is an Reptisun or reptiglo 5.0
It will say on the bulb. It should be 15 or 26w I forgot which.

 

[reptilover]

Side note: the long bulbs are good for 6 months

 

[Pandavega]

I knew the owners were wrong! i suspected something was wrong when he started sleeping during the day. Thanks for the information guys!

 

[Elizadolots]

I think we need to confirm what sort of linear tube it is. Not all tubes are created equal. If there's any doubt, it only costs about $20 to replace the tube and know that you have a new, correct UVB light. This board recommends the Reptisun 5.0.

 

[reptilover]

I knew the owners were wrong! i suspected something was wrong when he started sleeping during the day. Thanks for the information guys!

Welcome to the forum! You've come to the best place. Feel free to ask anything anytime

 

[Hoj]

I think we need to confirm what sort of linear tube it is. Not all tubes are created equal. If there's any doubt, it only costs about $20 to replace the tube and know that you have a new, correct UVB light. This board recommends the Reptisun 5.0.

agreed, I would just replace the uvb to be sure you are all good.
reptisun's are great but arcadia is where its at

 

[laurie]

I think we need to confirm what sort of linear tube it is. Not all tubes are created equal. If there's any doubt, it only costs about $20 to replace the tube and know that you have a new, correct UVB light. This board recommends the Reptisun 5.0.

Welcome to the forums and chameleon ownership.

I am with Eliza, the most important thing to be sure of is the uvb bulb. If you are not sure what you have for the long tube, take it out a get a picture or the end of the light and any writing on it.

 

[JonRich]

As others have already stated. You might want to just play it safe and swap out the questionable tube bulb for a 5.0 UVB http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...por-bulbs/-/zoo-med-24-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/

Also the other bulb you need is a basking buld ( which can just be a regular household incandecent bulb, i'd say go with a 60w to start with and swap out for a higher or lower wattage bulb.). Ideally you want the basking spot to be in the low 90's for an adult Cham and around 82-85* for Chams under 5 months.

You want your lights to be on a 12 hour schedule. 12 hours on/12 hours off! I do 8am-8pm. BOTH lights go off at night to allow the Cham to experience a natural temp drop while it sleeps.

 

[justjumpit621]

Just to be on the safe side as well, seeing the owners were wrong about his lighting, do you mind fillling out this for so we can check your husbandry is correct?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?