Dennis Photos
- Thread starter Jess23
- Start date
summoner12
Avid Member
I know this is a photo post..... but I noticed your chameleon is (or seems to be) climbing on the base of a ceramic light fixture. Do you have the lights inside of the cage? If so, it is no wonder your male's casque has burns. You need to put the lights on top of the cage. What kind of lights are you using?
I am not picking on you, just trying to help you out.
I am not picking on you, just trying to help you out.
Warrix642
New Member
I know this is a photo post..... but I noticed your chameleon is (or seems to be) climbing on the base of a ceramic light fixture. Do you have the lights inside of the cage? If so, it is no wonder your male's casque has burns. You need to put the lights on top of the cage. What kind of lights are you using?
I am not picking on you, just trying to help you out.
This is what I noticed too. That light needs to be removed and your cham should see a vet because he is burnt pretty bad. I hope you get it all figured out soon! Good luck!
Dustin
Jess23
New Member
Yeah, I wasnt sure about having a light IN the viv, but I was told he wouldnt get the benefit of the UV if it was ontop of it instead??? And i did actually ask on another forum about the discolouration on his head and was told it was due to him shedding...!!!
Have taken the light out now and will book him into the vet for monday. Just had a look at his head and it doesnt look too bad (have seen serious burns on a snake) and doesnt seem painful when i was touching it, but I will get him checked over
Thanks for that!!
Re the lighting, he has a striplight and a heat bulb above the cage and this compact light in the viv as a basking light. It does have a cage thingy around the bulb so he cant get too close to it. It was how I was told to do it, i didnt realise it was wrong Poor Dennis...
Have taken the light out now and will book him into the vet for monday. Just had a look at his head and it doesnt look too bad (have seen serious burns on a snake) and doesnt seem painful when i was touching it, but I will get him checked over
Thanks for that!!
Re the lighting, he has a striplight and a heat bulb above the cage and this compact light in the viv as a basking light. It does have a cage thingy around the bulb so he cant get too close to it. It was how I was told to do it, i didnt realise it was wrong
Poor Dennis...
summoner12
Avid Member
He'll heal up ok. I have a veiled who has been burned twice on his casque. It just takes a couple of months to heal. You should ask you vet for silvidine cream.. he'll prolly prescribe it and tell you to wash and re-aply the cream once or twice a day. Where are you located? What type of strip light are you using? is there a plastic cover between the lamp surface and the chameleon? Also... what sort of CFL are you using? There have been issues with CFL lamps... they output a LOT of UVB, unnatural to earth numbers.
This is a 10.0 CFL lamp from Zoo Med in ZooMed's 'deep dome' fixture. This is two inches, and the meter can't even read the level of UVB. The second photo is at 2.5" and the UVB is low enough the meter can display the value. Now imagine.... on earth we see, mid summer, a high of maybe 350 at high noon in most places in the US.
Your goal should be something like this:
The diagram above is showing a linear fixture housing a UVB lamp and a 6500K lamp. 6500K is the color temp. of the light coming out of the lamp (will look more like a harsh white/blue color). Zoo Med now sells this lamp marketed as a 'natural' light... or something or other. 6500K is a color of light that plants will respond to well, and makes them grow better, when using artificial lamps (of course the sun is best). If you go to Lowe's or Home Depot they sell 6500K lamps in CFL and linear varieties. And the 'UVA/heat' lamp is just a normal household lamp for heat a veiled or panther will do well with a 50w PAR20 flood Halogen. Do not buy PAR20 spot lamps, you'll cook your animal even if you move the lamp back, the concentration of light/heat is too much and will cause burns.
This is a 10.0 CFL lamp from Zoo Med in ZooMed's 'deep dome' fixture. This is two inches, and the meter can't even read the level of UVB. The second photo is at 2.5" and the UVB is low enough the meter can display the value. Now imagine.... on earth we see, mid summer, a high of maybe 350 at high noon in most places in the US.
Your goal should be something like this:
The diagram above is showing a linear fixture housing a UVB lamp and a 6500K lamp. 6500K is the color temp. of the light coming out of the lamp (will look more like a harsh white/blue color). Zoo Med now sells this lamp marketed as a 'natural' light... or something or other. 6500K is a color of light that plants will respond to well, and makes them grow better, when using artificial lamps (of course the sun is best). If you go to Lowe's or Home Depot they sell 6500K lamps in CFL and linear varieties. And the 'UVA/heat' lamp is just a normal household lamp for heat a veiled or panther will do well with a 50w PAR20 flood Halogen. Do not buy PAR20 spot lamps, you'll cook your animal even if you move the lamp back, the concentration of light/heat is too much and will cause burns.
Jess23
New Member
Ummm.... I will try my best.
The strip light is an arcadia?? And the bulb is too, its 24" if that helps at all!lol The heat bulb is an infra-red one (i THINK it was exo terra) and that is in an Exo Terra porcelain clamp lamp/reflector. The basking light is an exo terra sunglow basking light.
The strip light is an arcadia?? And the bulb is too, its 24" if that helps at all!lol The heat bulb is an infra-red one (i THINK it was exo terra) and that is in an Exo Terra porcelain clamp lamp/reflector. The basking light is an exo terra sunglow basking light.
summoner12
Avid Member
how many watts is the SunGlow? You can use that for the UVA/Heat source if the wattage isn't too high.... but Honestly I would get a household light bulb (50-60w) or the flood PAR20 lamp I was talking about above.
Can you tell me about the arcadia lamp? does it have a number on the box? 5.0, 7.0 10.0 12.0? Be sure there isn't any plastic between the UVB lamp and the cham. The plastic mesh of the cage is ok, just not a plastic or glass 'window' or cover to the fixture should be used. UVB light does not transmit through glass or plastic.
as for the infrared lamp, I assume it is red? You don't need that. People like to use them as night time heat lamps... You want your cham to have darkness at night. they can see the light from a red lamp, it just doesn't look 'red'. Also, chams don't need heat at night unless your room is getting down into the low 50's at night, everynight. I have my veileds outside right now. I had them out in low 50's just before 'winter' (we don't really have a winter in southern California night temps are a low of like 40's) and the chams seemed right at home in 50*F weather.
sounds like you might be in the UK.... check out the site: UV Guide
