chuckd82nd
New Member
I have an infrared basking bulb 500w with an adjuster for the heat. I've noticed a lot of enclosures having a white light basking bulb. Should I switch to this? What about at night?
heat lamp question
- Thread starter chuckd82nd
- Start date
Solid Snake
Avid Member
IMO
Yes you should switch this.
The white color of a regular incandescent house bulb mimics the sun much more closely than the red bulb can.
At nite, no heat needs to be added, unless your ambient temp drops below 50F~10C. If you need to add heat, a ceramic heat emitter is ideal as it gives off no light. A red light can keep a chameleon awake.
A 10F temp drop at nite is good for them. It positively effects their psyche IMO, and their appetite.
Yes you should switch this.
The white color of a regular incandescent house bulb mimics the sun much more closely than the red bulb can.
At nite, no heat needs to be added, unless your ambient temp drops below 50F~10C. If you need to add heat, a ceramic heat emitter is ideal as it gives off no light. A red light can keep a chameleon awake.
A 10F temp drop at nite is good for them. It positively effects their psyche IMO, and their appetite.
I agree with SolidSnake - switch to a white day light. The reason that red lights are often used for night time heat is that it does not disturb the chameleon's day/night cycle...so to simulate day light, and the full range of day time behaviors, use of a white basking light that the chameleon can see and identify as a basking spot works best.
Simply put, diurnal basking reptiles such as chameleons are instinctually programmed to go towards a bright, white light to get warm - in the wild, this would be the sun. In captivity, to replicate that, use of a white daytime light to bask in addition to the tube fluorescent bulbs for UVB typically works best. As far as the chameleon is concerned, without the white light, it is essentially basking in a hot area that is lit to about the same brightness level as dusk. It may be brighter if you have multiple fluorescent lights, for example, but providing your chameleon with a white basking light to go under does help brighten the cage significantly.
-Jen
Simply put, diurnal basking reptiles such as chameleons are instinctually programmed to go towards a bright, white light to get warm - in the wild, this would be the sun. In captivity, to replicate that, use of a white daytime light to bask in addition to the tube fluorescent bulbs for UVB typically works best. As far as the chameleon is concerned, without the white light, it is essentially basking in a hot area that is lit to about the same brightness level as dusk. It may be brighter if you have multiple fluorescent lights, for example, but providing your chameleon with a white basking light to go under does help brighten the cage significantly.
-Jen
chuckd82nd
New Member
awsome! thank you
