got a new cage and a ton of new questions

[vette4life04]

ok, so i finally got a bigger cage for my Jackson named Dino. Its a 2x2x4 with a drip pan under it from LLL reptile. very happy with the cage. I currenly have a reptisun 5.0 CFL in a hood on top, along with an incadesent bulb, a grow light bulb for my plants, and i just added a T8 floresent to the top, but i need to get a reptisun 5.0 for that one too. i also have a cool mist fogger going all the way to the top, and a monsoon system with two sprayers, one in each corner.

Inside i have a ficus, and i just added the Pothos and the Bromiliade to the cage... i have a temp/humd meter in both the top and bottom of the cage. Humidity for the top is about 80% and 70-75% at the bottom. The temp is 70 at the top and around 80 at the bottom.

My main concern right now is not only the temp at the top of the cage needs to be increased. Maybe a higher wattage bulb for the incadesent light?? i think theres either a 60 or 75 watt bulb in there now. My other concern is that the Pothos seems to be blocking out a lot of light to the bottom of the cage. im concerned that if Dino stays at the bottom to long, is he really going to get the UVB that he needs? is there a way to fix that? im planning on getting some of that fake vine stuff and putting that all over.... so he'll have more things to climb on.... so any tips, help or assistance would be great! please let me know how i can improve me enclosure... want to keep Dino alive as best as possible!! thanks!

 

[sulfurboy1o3]

Hey, your cage looks good. Over all I wouldnt change too much other then to get your uvb light. If you've gone through your temps, your upper part near the lights shouldnt be higher then 88 90 during the peak hours of the day.
Just pay attention to what your chameleon is doing, and how it uses his new cage. He will spend much time near the top, if not, its too hot.
As for the uvb exposure, the strength only really goes down about a food or so. I have most of my perches at 10 inches from the top mesh.

 

[cricketkilla]

I'm confused.. Are you planning on using two UVB bulbs? I think that would be overkill IMO. For higher temps up top you can add more foliage higher up to help create a barrier between temps. Are you sure your thermometers are working correctly? If I'm not mistaken, heat rises?

 

[vette4life04]

well i was planning on using one (currently have) in the back and one in the front... i thought about that (heat rising) so maybe ill get another therometer and see what that does.

 

[vette4life04]

ok, so i decieded to move the Pothos from the center of the cage to the corner and i think i like it better that way. gives more light to the bottom plants and looks a little cleaner. tell me what you guys think?

The other problem ive noticed is i have a Crane cool mist humidifier and ive noticed it works for like a few minutes and then stops.... no idea what to do about it. i thought the fan was burned out so i bought another one, and now that ones doing the same.... what should i do? 86 the fogger all together?