bulb wattage

whysoez420

New Member
i'm going to use a deep dome fixture with a normal household bulb.
my cham will be a month old, what wattage should i use? i have a few bulbs that on a 130V line will be 100 watts but my outlets are 120V so they will run at 88 watts. is that too much/too little? please let me know thanks in advance.
 
You should measure temps with a digital gauge that does temp and RH from a pet shop ($20) preferably one with probes.

You could also pick up a simple desktop digital from a hardware store, or walmart. Those are good for indoor temp, and some have a sensor that goes outside, so that you can monitor that as well.

A high and low function is useful also. That way you know the extremes from day to day.

Usually a 75W is going to be the best thing to use. If the dome is deep though, and far away from the top of the cage, a 100W may be better. Youll have to test it out and see. Id recommend having a few different wattages on hand, in case you get a really hot day or something, and need to step down. Making sure you have a few handy is a must, as they go out at random and all, even more so than usual if water hits them on occasion, or if the humidity effects the fixture/bulb assembly.

EDIT:Simple IR temp guns can be purchased from pet shops as well. These are useful for monitoring body temp, and screen temp(if you think your screen is heating up enough to burn the chameleons feet).
 
I'm getting a veiled cham and what should i use to measure my houses (apartment) temp?

Well, most houses, apts, etc come with a thermostat to show the indoor temps of the house. If you live in a cold climate and don't run your heat then maybe your house is like 65 degrees inside. So if you used a 100 watt bulb you might achieve a basking temp of maybe like 80. Now I live in Fla and run my ac at a constant 74 degrees so a 100 watt in my house might give me a basking temp of like 90 or so. There are variables involved. Basically you want your basking temp for your Veild in the low 80's, especially for a baby. Some people do not even use basking bulbs on babies if their house temps are warm enough and just go with a uvb. You have to play around with different wattages to achieve the desired temp.
 
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