I prefer horizontal placement. This allows for T5's at the front with heat in a back corner. Will create different gradients as well.
Height of plants?
- Thread starter MattandRicco
- Start date
MattandRicco
Established Member
So 3 horizontal t5o fixtures
1xUVB 5.0 in the middle
2xdaylight on either side
1x dome heat lamp in a back corner
Yes. I run my uvb in the middle or back position closest to the heat fixture.
MattandRicco
Established Member
For a 2x2x4 would you use a 24" fixture or 36" fixture for more coverage?
If your using a 2x2x4 enclosure then you would buy the 24inch fixtures... the bulb size is 22 inches. These will run the full width of the enclosure. I would not get anything larger unless you plan on eventually getting a larger cage.
MattandRicco
Established Member
Perfect, thank you!
Klyde O'Scope
Chameleon Enthusiast
137 ft. 3½ in. exactly.
But seriously, it depends on a few factors. Some plants could be 2 ft. when you put them in, and grow to 4' within a few weeks. Others could be 40 in. and take months to grow another inch. This is why it's somewhat important to know the growth rate (fast or slow) of the plants you choose, as well as lighting & humidity requirements (most cacti don't do well in chameleon enclosures
)Lighting, IMO, can go either way, (across or diagonal) depending on how you set things up. I prefer to mount basking lights at an angle (as opposed to straight down) to produce an ellipse rather than a circle. This allows a basking gradient; closer to the bulb, the temp is warmer, while further away it is cooler. Lizards generally know what they want, and can have different moods on different days.
Here's a recent post on basking lights.
I agree with setting up the basking area first (height, distance from both lights, temperatures) and filling in plants later. These will consist of both center piece plants and "fill-ins" to provide both partial and complete areas for a cham to hide—both from lighting and from view (some can be quite shy, and all are different.)
Of course at least some of the basking area should be in the open for the times when your cham wants it that way (usually for morning warm-up).Choose plants (IMO) that can tolerate some pruning in case they do grow too quickly or too tall.
Archie The Cham
Member
I have a 7' tall enclosure and my umbrella tree goes all the way to the top, I dont have plants hit the top directly under my basking bulb. One the plants get to hot and would die anyways but the other reason is I dont my cham to be able to get to close to the basking lamp and burn himself. If you can find a 4' plant I would do that and just propagate out an area for the basking light. This will give them the most natural habitat. the more cover and the taller the cage the more chance they have to hide when scared as well as the better the temperature gradient will be for your cham.
