Are two lights better than one?

[PappaRONzi]

Is it better to have a seperate heat light and flourescent UVB light or are the two in one lights just as good? The enclousure is an 18 x 36 screen cage and my goal is to start with a young Male Jackson. This is my first time setting up a Cham enclosure and want to do things right the first time.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Separate is easier to control. The bulbs that have UVB and heat in one often put off a lot of heat, and Jackson's don't need that much. having two fixtures gives you much better control since you can change the wattage of the basking light. The combo bulbs work better for really large spaces imo.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Separate is easier to control. The bulbs that have UVB and heat in one often put off a lot of heat, and Jackson's don't need that much. having two fixtures gives you much better control since you can change the wattage of the basking light. The combo bulbs work better for really large spaces imo.

Agreed.
Also, you can place the two bulbs such that they/their benefits overlap where they are close, but to one side the chameleon can get UVB without much extra heat, and on the other side the cham can bask without being in UVB.

 

[PappaRONzi]

What about the fixtures that are heat on one side and UVB on the other? That is really what I was looking at. I like the clean lines of having a single fixture on top of the cage. But I care more about what would be best for the animal.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

(A two light fixture isn't the same as a two in one light) Yes a double bulb fixture is fine because then you can change the basking bulb without having to worry about the UVB bulb.

 

[sandrachameleon]

What about the fixtures that are heat on one side and UVB on the other? That is really what I was looking at. I like the clean lines of having a single fixture on top of the cage. But I care more about what would be best for the animal.

Is the UVB a tube or CFL? Just so you know, Some CFLs (primarily in the past, but some of that old stock is still around) were known to cause serious eye damage.

 

[camimom]

I use the double light bulb fixture.
I use a reptiglo 5.0 coil (cfl) bulb and a regular house bulb.
I have had no issues with my cfl bulb.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I never had issues with ReptiGlo CLFs either, when I used them.