ceramic heat emitter

J

jennleila

New Member
Hello,

I have a 24x24x48 reptibreeze for my 5 month old cham. I just switched out the red heat bulb for a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter. How long does it take for the emitter too get to how hot it will be in her basking spot? I have her basking spot about 7 inches from the top of the screen with the heat right above it. It has been 10 minutes that the temp gauge has been under it and it is still only 72 degrees. Do I need to put her basking spot much higher? Should I get a 150 watts? How long should I give the emitter to reach its max temperature?
 
I have never used a heat emitter, but my question is why are you using that instead of a basking bulb? If you are looking for something for basking, just use a ordinary white housebulb. Wattage depending upon the temp you are trying to achieve. The light attracts them to bask and it is more natural to them. What kind of chameleon do you have? Regardless, 72 degrees too cold of a basking temp for any of the species.
 
I agree. I was using a red night heater bulb, but read that the light disrupts their sleep. So I decided on a heat emitter to keep my cham warm in the evening but more research is saying that a night drop down to 50 degrees is ok.

i guess I will just use a regular household bulb. I will position her basking area so that the basking spot gets to 85 to 95 degrees but is it okay if the basking spot is only 4 inches down from the top of the screen? i also have a Reptisun 5.0 above that. Is 4 inches down too close to the UVB bulb or does it not matter how close my cham is to the UVB?
 
Most of the ceramic heat emitters I have used get to full heat in several minutes and if yours has not it could be bad! Be very careful as if a properly working heat emitter is to close to the screen/cage it can burn your Cham. Do you need this heat at night ? If your just needing it for a daytime basking site a good Halogen spot light at about 60 watts works perfectly in most cases and they last longer then regular light bulbs. With any heat source it's very important to check the temp at the basking site but also check how hot the screen gets as this is often missed and can result in bad burns on your Cham. Hope this helps!
 
They can get close to the UVB as it does not produce much heat, if any. As babies, sometimes they will crawl upside down underneath it and hang from the screen and it will not harm them. As far as the basking bulb, yes 4 inches is close and you have to be careful, especially as they grow, that no parts of the body can touch the screen as it will be very hot. Also, they can get thermal burns if the temp is too hot and they are too close to it.
 
So the 100 watt bulb at 7 inches down gets the basking area to 85. Id like to get it to 90 degrees. Should I use a 150 watt bulb or move the branch higher?
 
If she is a veiled or panther, 85 is a great temp for a female. When you keep the temps low, 82-85, it can help prevent her from laying eggs or at least make the clutches smaller. You should also reduce her food intake once she reaches sexual maturity to do this. Sexual maturity for veiled and panthers is usually around 5-7 months old, panthers turn pink/orange, and veileds get yellow spots.

Also, if you have multiple branches under the basking spot at different distances from the bulb, it can help prevent burns because she can move from branch to branch in order to heat up or cool down as she needs to.
 
I went to home depot yesterday to get a regular light bulb but it seems they don't make anything over 60 watts. I had to get a work light bulb.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Heating questions
Replies
12
Views
336
Steve A
Steve A
H
Heating concerns
Replies
10
Views
365
elizaann2
elizaann2
W
Auto-timer settings for lights and misting system
Replies
1
Views
167
Beman
Beman
C
Veiled chameleon enclosure help
2
Replies
27
Views
654
elizaann2
elizaann2
NeophytePantherCDad
Can you help me improve this cage set up?
2
Replies
23
Views
518
Beman
Beman
Back
Top Bottom