Bulb changing schedule(s)???

[Alex001]

I want to see what kind of bulb changing schedule(s) other keepers tend to use, so my 3 questions are: How often do you change your UVB bulbs?, How often do you change your Basking/Heat bulbs? And, How do you keep up with which bulbs need to be changed? I have about 9 years of experience in keeping reptiles and amphibians, with 6 of those years being me taking care of them all by myself. How ever I am one of the few that believes that no one is an expert in anything and there is always something new that you can learn in everything.

With that being said I change my UVB bulbs and my Basking/Heat bulbs every 6 months. I set it on my calendar and set up reminders on my phone and I put a label on my animals cages to tell me when they were last changed.

If you have any constructive criticism please provide it with an explanation and I will most definitely take it under consideration.

 

[bobbydigital]

I change my uvb bulb every 6 months as well. I write on the top part of the light when i changed it and also i keep the box that it comes in and write it on that also. I am just curious as to why you change out the heat bulb as well.

 

[jamest0o0]

I use a solarmeter so I'll just change them when the index is very low... saves money in long run.

Not sure why you change basking bulb, as long as the temp is fine there's no reason to do that

 

[Alex001]

I change my uvb bulb every 6 months as well. I write on the top part of the light when i changed it and also i keep the box that it comes in and write it on that also. I am just curious as to why you change out the heat bulb as well.

I assumed that you were supposed to change it every 6-8 months like you are with the UVB bulbs.

 

[jamest0o0]

Nope, basking is just for temperature, there's no reason to change it unless it burns out. We change uvb because the uvb output diminishes over time even though the bulb still puts off some light

 

[Alex001]

I use a solarmeter so I'll just change them when the index is very low... saves money in long run.

Not sure why you change basking bulb, as long as the temp is fine there's no reason to do that

It is like I said no one is an expert on anything and there is always something new you can learn about everything and because of you I learned something new today. I didn't realize that about the basking bulbs, but it makes sense thank you for telling me that it will save me some money. Where can I get a good solarmeter?

 

[Alex001]

Nope, basking is just for temperature, there's no reason to change it unless it burns out. We change uvb because the uvb output diminishes over time even though the bulb still puts off some light

LOL I was just writing my reply to your first post when you posted this one.

 

[jamest0o0]

For sure, I asked about a zillion questions here when I got into chams, ask away! Solarmeter 6.5 is the only model worth anything. It's expensive, but worth it if you can fork up the $ upfront

 

[Alex001]

For sure, I asked about a zillion questions here when I got into chams, ask away! Solarmeter 6.5 is the only model worth anything. It's expensive, but worth it if you can fork up the $ upfront

Thanks I am new to chams and I have been using this forum since I got my chameleon. Unfortunately I can't fork out that much money at this time. My chameleon is currently the only reptile that I have and he is the most beautiful and needy reptile I have ever had.