Help w/prob setting up enclosure

[MerCham]

Hi folks, I'm hoping someone can help with this. It may be as simple as getting another lamp, but I want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong. I am setting up the enclosure and going by the directions that came w/my kit, the basking limb should be at least 6" below the lamp so the little cham will not get burned. I have the branch 9" below the lamp at this point & the thermometer that came with the kit reaches about 110 deg. within 3 or so minutes of putting it beneath the lamp at branch level. How low should I go with the branch? To hit 90 - 95 deg, I have to put the branch fully halfway down in the enclosure, if not a little more & that just doesn't seem right. The bulb that came with the kit was a Repti 75 watt basking lamp. I thought maybe the thermometer was not reading correctly, but we left it near our house thermostat overnight and it has matched temps within a degree with our thermostat. What am I doing wrong?

If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Or is the thermometer just giving us a guestimate? I also have a hand-held ambient thermometer gun and it is not giving us such high readings at all, not until I get right under the lamp. I have taken some pics of my set up but haven't figured out how to post them yet here.

 

[camimom]

are you setting the bulb directly onto the mesh?

If so, raise the lamp off the mesh, so it hangs in the air.

I would also get a digitial thermeter and try again.

 

[MerCham]

Took this down as my pics didn't come through anyway. Sorry, I tried.

 

[MerCham]

Yep, we thought of that but were trying not to put holes in the ceiling to hang the lamp. We've also tried resting it on the framework of the enclosure and that helped a tiny bit, as the lamp was not directly on the mesh. Still working with it and may go get a smaller bulb today, if there is one. I would also like to try the clamp that came with the bulb, but not sure how to attach it to the enclosure without damaging something. The mesh seems fragile and we've already had to re-attach it to the frame where it came off the upper right corner. I was just wondering if anyone else had encountered this problem & how did they correct it?

 

[camimom]

You can use a lamp stand.

Or you can get some two x fours, and cut them a few inches long, and put them on top of the cage, spread about the width of your lamp, and then rest your lamp on top of it, so the light shines down between them.


and your pics dont work.

 

[MerCham]

Thanks for letting me know my pics didn't come through.

Yep, that's a good idea w/the 2 x 4's! Will try that and see how it goes.

 

[camimom]

thats what i did for all of my cages.


works great.

 

[Rottsko]

Hi folks, I'm hoping someone can help with this. It may be as simple as getting another lamp, but I want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong. I am setting up the enclosure and going by the directions that came w/my kit, the basking limb should be at least 6" below the lamp so the little cham will not get burned. I have the branch 9" below the lamp at this point & the thermometer that came with the kit reaches about 110 deg. within 3 or so minutes of putting it beneath the lamp at branch level. How low should I go with the branch? To hit 90 - 95 deg, I have to put the branch fully halfway down in the enclosure, if not a little more & that just doesn't seem right. The bulb that came with the kit was a Repti 75 watt basking lamp. I thought maybe the thermometer was not reading correctly, but we left it near our house thermostat overnight and it has matched temps within a degree with our thermostat. What am I doing wrong?

If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Or is the thermometer just giving us a guestimate? I also have a hand-held ambient thermometer gun and it is not giving us such high readings at all, not until I get right under the lamp. I have taken some pics of my set up but haven't figured out how to post them yet here.

you can use a regular incandescent house light bulb instead of that repti basking lamp. i use a 60w and the basking spot is in the correct temp range w/o having to hang the basking lamp or lifting it off the cage. mine just just rests on top of the cage and had no problems w/ my chams getting burned.

 

[MerCham]

Thank you- I will give that a try since I have bulbs right here. I didn't know you could use them.

 

[camimom]

Yup.
we all use house bulbs for basking.

 

[MerCham]

Ah! I didn't know that. The joys of being a newbie, I guess. Still learning and trying to make sure my little's guys enclosure is perfect. He gets here next Wednesday & I want him to be happy & healthy.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[camimom]

No worries!

any questions you have, feel free to post them here, or PM someone you trust.

 

[Solid Snake]

You want the tip of the basking branch in an upper corner, as high up as it will go.

This is because the chameleon may and will climb the mesh, so theoretically, the chameleon could use the mesh to get as close to the bulbs as he wants. So making the uppermost corner the basking corner is a "safe bet". This will also help with creating a temperature gradient, which is your actual goal.

A proper temp gradient is imperative.

To clarify, exactly what type of thermometer are you using?

The analog ones (dial) are completely inaccurate, Im not even sure why they are produced.

A digital ($20 at any pet store) will be an investment you will appreciate.

The probe type is best, and if it has a probe for RH (relative humidity) thats even better.

Yes, most all of "us" use regular white, house-hold bulbs for basking.

The bright white light replicates the sun (so the chameleon knows where to go for heat) and they are much cheaper, and more readily available in different wattages.

Playing with different watt bulbs, gives you a great advantage, as you can leave the fixture where it is most convenient for you, and adjust heat levels at the same time.


For the most part, they will change positions/locations to adjust their own heat. So having a smooth gradient makes it much easier for them to do so.

A fail-proof way of creating a proper basking area, is to set the one top corner at the desired temp, then position a branch going from that corner, to the dead center of the cage. That way, all they have to do to adjust temp, is move up, or down, the branch.

You can post pics by hosting them on another site (photobucket) or by hosting them here (you have limited space though, and Id recommend hosting them elswhere for most pics).

Once hosted elsewhere, copy and paste the code here.

To host them here, start a "reply" or "new thread" and above the text box there are icons. Select the "paperclip" icon, a small window will appear. Click "browse" and select the image you want to post. Then click "upload". After it uploads, you can close the window, and the photo will be at the bottom of the post you are making.
You can also insert specific photos that have been uploaded to this site, by clicking the small arrow by the paperclip, and selecting an image to insert at the point your cursor is at.

You may be at the correct temp levels, and your gauge is just off/inappropriate.

What type of chameleon are we talking about here by the way?

 

[Rottsko]

here's the thermometer i use on all my cages. i make a small hole...just enough for the probe to fit in the hole and zip tie to the basking spot branch. the reason i like this one is that the probe is very small. i've seen others that have a probe the size of my thumbs!

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/thermometers-thermostats-and-timers/-/exo-terra-digital-thermometer-with-probe/