I agree with Summoner,so to finish if you want a more advanced lighting system you can combine your(24 inch T8 20W REPTI GLO 5.0)or a(24 inch T8 20W REPTISUN 5.0)with a fluorescent aquatic tube like a(24 inch T5 or a T8 20W LIFE-GLO)tube,they are made for aquarium use but experience chameleon keepers use them to stimulate plant grow,from your pics you dont need the more expensive T5 setup,go with the(24 inch T8 20W LIFE-GLO)schefflera and pothos will grow nicely and keep their creamy coloration under a T8,you dont need the EXO TERRA or ZOO MED linear fluorescent light fixture canopy its to expensive for no reason,use a 24 inch t8 fixture from home depot....like Summoner has described or you can use EXO TERRA T8 ELECTRONIC FLUORESCENT LIGHT CONTROLLER,they have long wire end-cap leads so you can place your lights individually anywhere on top of your cage.
DIY cage update..
- Thread starter Libren470
- Start date
jr andrade
New Member
Reptibreezes arent that flimsy though, congrats on the cage and follow suit with all the advice..good luck
summoner12
Avid Member
Devo, you can't put a T5 in the same fixture as a T8.
I know thats why i suggested the t8,i think a t8 will be o.k and cheaper.HEY LIBREN sorry i almost forgot you need a second cage right,here is a trick to get it for free,instead of getting individual 24 inch uvb and grow light linear fluorescent tubes + the fixtures for each cages,just get a single 48 inch setup and place it on top of the 2 cages with the $$$$ you saved you can get the second cage for free are almost.
pssh
Avid Member
What the heck kind of money are you paying for bulbs and fixtures?!? I wouldn't be able to use the saved money to buy the smallest aluminum screen cage. Also, basic grammar would make your posts much much easier to read. I can't figure out where one clause/thought/fragment starts and another ends.
Libren470
New Member
A good choice is to use linear UVB lamps. They are shown to produce safer light than the CFL lamps. To help plants grow you should also install a linear 6500K lamp. This lamp will help plants grow because the light it produces is similar to sun light. Since you have all of those domes you could buy CFL (compact fluorescent) 6500K lamps and just use them in those hoods you have. Only issues I see is that sometimes the higher wattage CFLs get hot and can fail, nothing dramatic, they turn off. Anytime I've had a CFL break, the store I purchased it from took it back.
For heat use a PAR20 50w flood lamp. Do not use a spot lamp because they make a very hot spot of light and the chameleon can get burned. If you can't find PAR20 lamps you can also use normal household lamps.
If I were you, I would buy a linear Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 tube, say 18" or 24". Buy the fixture to go with it from lowe's or Home Depot or local hardware store. Then buy 6500K CFL lamps and install them into two of your light hoods. Next get the PAR20 50w Flood lamp and you should be good. Place the linear lamp diagonal from one corner to the other corner. Place the 6500K hoods on the sides of the linear fixture and then have the heat lamp angled like in the picture below.
If you use a dual linear fixture this is a good example:
The reason you don't need the red heat lamps is because they are a gimmick. Yes they make heat and red light, but chameleons can still see them. The problem is that the light produced doesn't look natural and animals won't associate the light as daylight for heat. The companies want you to think that the animals can't see red light, which is part true. They don't see the light as red, they see it as maybe blue or green. Either way, they see light and they aren't good to use for anything except maybe night animals like geckos. I use a very dark red heat lamp for my leopard gecko. I find her 'basking' under it at night on top of her hide. I think she just lights the heat because it hardly makes any visible light (for my eyes).
And the reason you don't want to use the '100w 5.0' is because it is probebly a mercury vapor lamp that isn't good to use on chameleons. They produce too much UVB and heat. The only way to safely use a MV lamp is in a large enclosure and setting it up with a UVB meter and infrared heat gun to take temp readings.
Thanks alot guys for the advise..im gonna use it to the best of my advantage. Im going out today to get the uvb tube lighting..and i was most surprised about them not realizing the difference between red lights and other heat lights. Thanks so much
Hey PSSH thanks for sharing that with me!I think its obvious that english is my second language and i try very hard to correct my self so i am sorry for my bad grammar.You are right,i should have checked U.S prices on bulbs and fixtures because they are much more expensive in Montreal.
