Chameleon help!

[Hunchx]

Hello, im a newcomer ive been recently doing a ton of research on chameleons. Iv been purchasing everything i could possibly need to keep my little man alive lol. I haven’t gotten him yet because i want to make sure he’ll have a happy life here with me yet the only problem i cant seem to overcome is understanding the UVB and if it’ll penetrate deep enough in the cage. Ive recently purchased a (“14 reptisun T5 HO high output terrarium hood as well as reptisun T5 HO high output 5.0 UVB & 2 reptisun high output 10.0 UVB tubes) my cage is definitely not as big as a 24x24x48 which would need a 22in reptisun. My cage is 16x16x30 so it’s definitely smaller. I would just like to know if mr.rengoku is gonna be fine with the lights ive purchased I definitely dont wanna hurt him with to much UVB. can i get some helpppp

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! Understanding UVB is the hard part. Let’s back up a little bit first. I’m going to apologize in advance if in any way, shape or form I sound not nice.
I do love that you’ve got all live plants. However, I can’t recognize what they are so am wondering if they are safe for a chameleon. If you are getting a veiled, you especially need to be careful since they like to nibble their plants. You don’t say if you’ll be getting a baby and upgrading the enclosure later or not, so I need to let you know that the standard minimum size for adult panther, veiled and Jackson’s chameleons is a 2x2x4’ or equivalent size. It’s a huge size difference as you can see from the pic below. *pardon the fake plants - I was new & learning then. So, with the larger enclosure you’ll be needing a longer UVB fixture of 24” long. The T5 is correct and then you want to use either a 5.0 or 6% strength bulb. This is the standard and it provides the ideal uv index of 3.0 at a distance of about 8-9” below. If using a 10.0 or 12% uvb bulb, the distance needs to be farther to around 10-11” between light and basking branch. To ensure that your chameleon is getting access to the uvb, you want to make sure to keep the area free of plants. You do want to provide some nice shaded areas for your chameleon to cool down and escape the uvb and heat if it wants. I’m adding a pic of an enclosure I set up for a panther a while back to demonstrate. The highest branch is the basking area. I raised plants up on top of empty plant pots turned upside down (making sure all was stable) and later I did add many more branches. You can see how I have my lights on top - 1 is a plant grow light and my basking light was the only bulb in the dual dome.
Give me a little bit to find some good info explaining uvb.

 

[MissSkittles]

This is an old one, but still very relevant and shows the range of different uvb sources.

This should be very helpful as well. Has many short episodes.

 

[Hunchx]

Hi and welcome! Understanding UVB is the hard part. Let’s back up a little bit first. I’m going to apologize in advance if in any way, shape or form I sound not nice.
I do love that you’ve got all live plants. However, I can’t recognize what they are so am wondering if they are safe for a chameleon. If you are getting a veiled, you especially need to be careful since they like to nibble their plants. You don’t say if you’ll be getting a baby and upgrading the enclosure later or not, so I need to let you know that the standard minimum size for adult panther, veiled and Jackson’s chameleons is a 2x2x4’ or equivalent size. It’s a huge size difference as you can see from the pic below. *pardon the fake plants - I was new & learning then. So, with the larger enclosure you’ll be needing a longer UVB fixture of 24” long. The T5 is correct and then you want to use either a 5.0 or 6% strength bulb. This is the standard and it provides the ideal uv index of 3.0 at a distance of about 8-9” below. If using a 10.0 or 12% uvb bulb, the distance needs to be farther to around 10-11” between light and basking branch. To ensure that your chameleon is getting access to the uvb, you want to make sure to keep the area free of plants. You do want to provide some nice shaded areas for your chameleon to cool down and escape the uvb and heat if it wants. I’m adding a pic of an enclosure I set up for a panther a while back to demonstrate. The highest branch is the basking area. I raised plants up on top of empty plant pots turned upside down (making sure all was stable) and later I did add many more branches. You can see how I have my lights on top - 1 is a plant grow light and my basking light was the only bulb in the dual dome.
Give me a little bit to find some good info explaining uvb.
View attachment 340115
View attachment 340116

The cage to the right in your first photo is the one i have i do plan on getting a baby due to the fact that id like them to grow up in a space that they’ll eventually get comfortable in. I plan on gett a veild because im new to this species of animal the plants i do have are for sure good for my little buddy i have a pothos and some others. Im pretty sure the little man will stick to the pothos in the back of my cage.

 

[MissSkittles]

Ok. Just want to add a little bit of advice about getting a baby. Make sure that the chameleon is at least 3 months old. Any younger than that can be quite fragile and some can pass away for no obvious reason. Veileds are very common, but there’s very few breeders for them, so be cautious about where you buy from. I would do a forum search of the company name to see what kind of experiences others have had with the seller.
There is a ton of info out there about chameleons and some of it is outdated or just incorrect and it’s hard to know what is what. Asking questions here and/or doing a full husbandry review is a great way to learn what to do. Another is reading all the modules here and just exploring the whole site. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

 

[elizaann2]

Framschams breeds veiled chameleons occasionally, you could keep an eye out on their website for when they have more.

 

[Hunchx]

Ok. Just want to add a little bit of advice about getting a baby. Make sure that the chameleon is at least 3 months old. Any younger than that can be quite fragile and some can pass away for no obvious reason. Veileds are very common, but there’s very few breeders for them, so be cautious about where you buy from. I would do a forum search of the company name to see what kind of experiences others have had with the seller.
There is a ton of info out there about chameleons and some of it is outdated or just incorrect and it’s hard to know what is what. Asking questions here and/or doing a full husbandry review is a great way to learn what to do. Another is reading all the modules here and just exploring the whole site. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Awesome thank you i do have a exotic shop here in my city so im not to worried about getting an i’ll chameleon i do trust this shop.

 

[Hunchx]

Hi and welcome! Understanding UVB is the hard part. Let’s back up a little bit first. I’m going to apologize in advance if in any way, shape or form I sound not nice.
I do love that you’ve got all live plants. However, I can’t recognize what they are so am wondering if they are safe for a chameleon. If you are getting a veiled, you especially need to be careful since they like to nibble their plants. You don’t say if you’ll be getting a baby and upgrading the enclosure later or not, so I need to let you know that the standard minimum size for adult panther, veiled and Jackson’s chameleons is a 2x2x4’ or equivalent size. It’s a huge size difference as you can see from the pic below. *pardon the fake plants - I was new & learning then. So, with the larger enclosure you’ll be needing a longer UVB fixture of 24” long. The T5 is correct and then you want to use either a 5.0 or 6% strength bulb. This is the standard and it provides the ideal uv index of 3.0 at a distance of about 8-9” below. If using a 10.0 or 12% uvb bulb, the distance needs to be farther to around 10-11” between light and basking branch. To ensure that your chameleon is getting access to the uvb, you want to make sure to keep the area free of plants. You do want to provide some nice shaded areas for your chameleon to cool down and escape the uvb and heat if it wants. I’m adding a pic of an enclosure I set up for a panther a while back to demonstrate. The highest branch is the basking area. I raised plants up on top of empty plant pots turned upside down (making sure all was stable) and later I did add many more branches. You can see how I have my lights on top - 1 is a plant grow light and my basking light was the only bulb in the dual dome.
Give me a little bit to find some good info explaining uvb.
View attachment 340115
View attachment 340116

I never said thank you. So THANK YOU!! Your literally an angel from heaven happy 4th or july!

 

[Hunchx]

Framschams breeds veiled chameleons occasionally, you could keep an eye out on their website for when they have more.

Thank you! Happy 4th of july!

 

[MissSkittles]

I never said thank you. So THANK YOU!! Your literally an angel from heaven happy 4th or july!

You’re very welcome. Happy July 4th.