Heat Bulbs

Z33

Member
Hi!
Wondering if I should switch up the heating in my Veiled Chameleon's enclosure. I currently use a 60 or 65 watt daylight bulb. A coworker of mine recommended I use a Hallogen bulb that it gives off more heat at half the wattage. So like a 20 or 25 watt bulb equals to a 100 watt bulb. I'm trying it today, he uses them for his beardies and has had a chameleon in the past I believe. He said that it also contains some UVB as well. Is it too strong a heat for my chameleon? It's starting to get cold where I am, we try to keep the house to at least 70 but without using too much heat so it can get to 65 degrees sometimes. The Hallogen bulb was given to me by my coworker, apparently you can get a pack of 18 bulbs on amazon.com for $15, each lasting for up to 6 months or so. Any suggestions, advice, or opinions?
 
Hi!
Wondering if I should switch up the heating in my Veiled Chameleon's enclosure. I currently use a 60 or 65 watt daylight bulb. A coworker of mine recommended I use a Hallogen bulb that it gives off more heat at half the wattage. So like a 20 or 25 watt bulb equals to a 100 watt bulb. I'm trying it today, he uses them for his beardies and has had a chameleon in the past I believe. He said that it also contains some UVB as well. Is it too strong a heat for my chameleon? It's starting to get cold where I am, we try to keep the house to at least 70 but without using too much heat so it can get to 65 degrees sometimes. The Hallogen bulb was given to me by my coworker, apparently you can get a pack of 18 bulbs on amazon.com for $15, each lasting for up to 6 months or so. Any suggestions, advice, or opinions?
What bulb exactly hun? The only ones that give off uvb as well are mercury vapor bulbs and they are extremely dangerous for chams in cages. They also should be used with a solarmeter 6.5 so that you know what the UVI level is.

As far as temps... Your only needing a 80-85 degree basking temp and then low 70's for the ambient temp. And at night it should have a temp drop 60-65 is ideal.

Beardie care is very different from cham care. So be cautious and check temps at basking. Ensure there is a good distance between bulb and the cham as well. Thermal burns can happen and are not fun to deal with.
 
What bulb exactly hun? The only ones that give off uvb as well are mercury vapor bulbs and they are extremely dangerous for chams in cages. They also should be used with a solarmeter 6.5 so that you know what the UVI level is.

As far as temps... Your only needing a 80-85 degree basking temp and then low 70's for the ambient temp. And at night it should have a temp drop 60-65 is ideal.

Beardie care is very different from cham care. So be cautious and check temps at basking. Ensure there is a good distance between bulb and the cham as well. Thermal burns can happen and are not fun to deal with.
I know beardie care is different hence why I ask, just not sure what kind of bulb should be recommended, I've removed the hallogen bulb only caus I'm just unsure about it and from the 2 hours it's been used in her enclosure, it seemed to really stress my cham out. So I'm putting back the old 60/65 watt one she liked before. I just dont know what bulb is the best temp-wise for my cham.
 
@Beman I never knew about the solar meter so I'll look into investing in one. Where should the UVI level be for a cham? Also, this is how much distance my cham will be between the light fixture in the photo- she likes to hang out at the top close to the heat however also enjoys spending her time in the middle along the vines.
 

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Hi!
Wondering if I should switch up the heating in my Veiled Chameleon's enclosure. I currently use a 60 or 65 watt daylight bulb.
Why switch? Are you not achieving the correct basking range? :unsure:

A coworker of mine recommended I use a Hallogen bulb that it gives off more heat at half the wattage. So like a 20 or 25 watt bulb equals to a 100 watt bulb. I'm trying it today, he uses them for his beardies and has had a chameleon in the past I believe. He said that it also contains some UVB as well.
Your friend is mistaken. Standard halogen floods do not give off UVB. They may give off a small amount of UVA, but many other standard bulbs do as well. All my halogens use about 2/3 of the incandescent wattage—not 1/4.

Is it too strong a heat for my chameleon? It's starting to get cold where I am, we try to keep the house to at least 70 but without using too much heat so it can get to 65 degrees sometimes. The Hallogen bulb was given to me by my coworker, apparently you can get a pack of 18 bulbs on amazon.com for $15, each lasting for up to 6 months or so. Any suggestions, advice, or opinions?
Too strong is relative. Establishing basking zones & temps is ALWAYS a trial & error proposition, so we can't just state a particular wattage—there are too many other variables (e.g. distance, angle, ambients, etc.) to consider.

Your cham should be fine at 65F at night.

You should be able to find halogen floods (spots can burn, and don't provide the gradient) at big-box home improvement stores (though supplies may currently be bottlenecked) or Amazon, in smaller quantities.

IMO, the best bulbs for basking are (in order of preference):
  1. Household incandescent bulb (not LED)
  2. Incandescent flood light (not LED and not spot light)
  3. Halogen flood light (not spot light)
  4. Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE)
 
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@Beman I never knew about the solar meter so I'll look into investing in one. Where should the UVI level be for a cham? Also, this is how much distance my cham will be between the light fixture in the photo- she likes to hang out at the top close to the heat however also enjoys spending her time in the middle along the vines.
So I hate to have to tell you this but your enclosure needs some work and the Compact UVB bulb is not the correct bulb for your girl. You really need the T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% linear bulb for it and then basking distance to the closest branch would be 8-9 inches to get the correct UVI level for her. Right now with that compact she is not getting what she needs. They are arboreal so they need branches to climb on. She is also looking quite large... When was the last time she laid eggs?

Start reading through every module in this husbandry program. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

@MissSkittles can you give them more feedback for a female?
 
So I hate to have to tell you this but your enclosure needs some work and the Compact UVB bulb is not the correct bulb for your girl. You really need the T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% linear bulb for it and then basking distance to the closest branch would be 8-9 inches to get the correct UVI level for her. Right now with that compact she is not getting what she needs. They are arboreal so they need branches to climb on. She is also looking quite large... When was the last time she laid eggs?

Start reading through every module in this husbandry program. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

@MissSkittles can you give them more feedback for a female?

I definetly know my enclosure needs some work 😅. I wanted to add more branches however I just couldnt figure out how to get them to stay even with fishing line and zip ties. And she does look thicc, she puffs up a lot. But thins out when she lets all the air out, she doesn't see a vet tho until 2 weeks from now to see if she has any eggs inside.
 
I definetly know my enclosure needs some work 😅. I wanted to add more branches however I just couldnt figure out how to get them to stay even with fishing line and zip ties. And she does look thicc, she puffs up a lot. But thins out when she lets all the air out, she doesn't see a vet tho until 2 weeks from now to see if she has any eggs inside.
Most of us use dragon ledges... https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/

You can also diy your own... https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...anches-to-screen-cage-diy-alternative.184190/
 
I definetly know my enclosure needs some work 😅. I wanted to add more branches however I just couldnt figure out how to get them to stay even with fishing line and zip ties. And she does look thicc, she puffs up a lot. But thins out when she lets all the air out, she doesn't see a vet tho until 2 weeks from now to see if she has any eggs inside.
Here are some ideas for branch & plant support. Some require anchoring to the frame—others do not.
 
Hi! As others have said, you need to make some important improvements for your pretty girl. Although it’s important for all chameleons to have proper care, it’s even more so for females to help prevent egg laying problems. The uvb light and supplements must be correct. Uvb needs to be a T5 with a 5.0 or 6% bulb and then about 8” above her basking area. You should be dusting at every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. Twice a month you need to use a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin. You can use either 2 separate products, in which one feeding per week you’d use the calcium with D3 and the next week one feeding with a multivitamin, and keep alternating. Or you could use a combination product such as Reptivite with D3, Repashy calcium with LoD or Repashy calcium Plus.
As producing and laying eggs takes so much our of our females and shortens their lifespans, thru diet and temps we try to reduce egg production. Basking temp should be 80f and no higher. I feed my veiled girls 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus treats). This has worked wonderfully for them. My one girl hasn’t laid since Feb 2020 and my other has laid only once since same time. However, not knowing where your girl is in her egg production, I’m going to say it’s best to not cut her diet just yet. If she is working on producing a clutch, she will be needing the nutrition. A few days after she lays eggs is the perfect time to start the diet.
Do you have a lay bin for her? It’s best to keep one permanently in her enclosure to avoid having to guess when she needs it and the stress of putting a new item in her ‘house’. Best to use at least a 12” long x 12” wide square/rectangle container. Fill to about 6” deep with washed play sand and keep it moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. Make sure she has a couple of stable ways in/out of the bin. When she needs it, she’ll find it.
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