Help with lighting and humidity in summer

[losgutierrez]

hello everyone, I bought a veil chameleon in January, he is now 3 months old, temperature and humidity were fine till now that the temperatures are in the 80's now, I have a 50w day bulb "all living things" and a red 50w "exo terra" for night time.....these bulbs are now a problem with the hot weather, the day buld used to keep the temperature between 80-90 degrees in the winter, but now temperature is jumping to 95 and my humidity is getting below 30, i end up spraying my chameleon many times a day to bring the humidity back to 60-80, what kind of bulb and wattage should I get for summer and which bulb for night time and what kind of misting system is best for a tank like mine, many thanks guys, I am desperate for answers, I include a photo of my setup.

 

[carol5208]

First of all, what a u using for UVB, is that the all livings things bulb? Secondly you do not need any type of light or heat at night unless your temps are gonna get in the low 50's. Thirdly, I would remove that substrate from the bottom as it could cause a real problem for your chameleon if injested. Lastly, you need more foilage and walkways for your chameleon. A live plant instead of that stump will help you keep the humidity up as well as running a dripper during the day.

 

[carol5208]

You need a Reptisun 5.0 tube uvb bulb for all the time. Not at different times of the year. Also use like a 40 to watt regular housebulb for basking.

 

[losgutierrez]

First of all, what a u using for UVB, is that the all livings things bulb? Secondly you do not need any type of light or heat at night unless your temps are gonna get in the low 50's. Thirdly, I would remove that substrate from the bottom as it could cause a real problem for your chameleon if injested. Lastly, you need more foilage and walkways for your chameleon. A live plant instead of that stump will help you keep the humidity up as well as running a dripper during the day.

thanks for the reply, it is the UVB day bulb, should a buy a lower wattage bulb for summer time?..second, temperatures are in the 60's during the night time now and third, what would you recommend for the floor?..also, what type of plants foliage would you recommend?...are there any types that are bad for it? and 4, you recommend a dripped or mist system?...again, thank you for all the help.

 

[losgutierrez]

You need a Reptisun 5.0 tube uvb bulb for all the time. Not at different times of the year. Also use like a 40 to watt regular housebulb for basking.

k, so, the reptisun bulb will be for 24 hours and the regular house bulb, will be just for daylight correct?...also, the regular bulb would be "white" or "yellow" light?..Im sorry for posting all these questions but I am new to this and trying to do everything in my power to keep my baby happy and healthy

 

[dmG]

Lose the night bulb and adjust the basking light higher or lower to change temperatures.
And he definitely needs more walk space.

@losgutierrez, both basking bulb and reptisun bulb should be on for 12 hours day and 12 hours night, you can slowly change it i believe. But personally i like it to go from 7AM to 8PM.
Reason being is because when the light is off, i still see the little guy moving around so i allowed him an extra hour of light.

And also regarding humidity, i know everyone on these forums are saying it's VERY important. but the breeder of whom i bought my cham off of, he told me they can slowly adjust to different climates. He had a cham with a 20 - 70% humidity with 30 - 40 being the average and his cham is 2 years old and seems fine.

 

[carol5208]

No light 24 hours. UVB and basking 12 on 12 off or winter 10 on 14 off when the sun sets earlier. 12/12 is still ok in winter. I just try and adjust to sun rising and setting as it would in their natural habitat. No substrate on the bottom. Leave it bare. Some people use paper towels but there was an incidence on her not too long ago with a chameleon shooting a cricket and getting paper towel in iits mouth. The bark you have not only poses a choking hazard but and impaction hazard. Just a plain old housebulb white is good, Try and keep your basking around 82-85 max so play around with different wattages and put your basking branch about 8 inches below the bulb. Most common used plant, pothos, shefflera(arboricola or known as dwarf umbrella), hibsicus(hard to keep indoors though) and ficus, ficus benjamin also.

 

[carol5208]

thanks for the reply, it is the UVB day bulb, should a buy a lower wattage bulb for summer time?..second, temperatures are in the 60's during the night time now and third, what would you recommend for the floor?..also, what type of plants foliage would you recommend?...are there any types that are bad for it? and 4, you recommend a dripped or mist system?...again, thank you for all the help.

Yes, you can get one of those cheap "Little Drippers" they sell for about $10 and will aid in the hydration of your chamelon and help somewhat in keeping up the humdity. One other thing, get a digital thermometer to measure out the humidity and temps. You can get one of those at home depot also for about $10. They are much more accurate than the analog ones.

 

[losgutierrez]

No light 24 hours. UVB and basking 12 on 12 off or winter 10 on 14 off when the sun sets earlier. 12/12 is still ok in winter. I just try and adjust to sun rising and setting as it would in their natural habitat. No substrate on the bottom. Leave it bare. Some people use paper towels but there was an incidence on her not too long ago with a chameleon shooting a cricket and getting paper towel in iits mouth. The bark you have not only poses a choking hazard but and impaction hazard. Just a plain old housebulb white is good, Try and keep your basking around 82-85 max so play around with different wattages and put your basking branch about 8 inches below the bulb. Most common used plant, pothos, shefflera(arboricola or known as dwarf umbrella), hibsicus(hard to keep indoors though) and ficus, ficus benjamin also.

Thanks everyone, and the UVB bulb, can it be a coil bulb? my tank is only 12" wide and the hood only acommodates 12" or smaller bulbs

 

[dmG]

Thanks everyone, and the UVB bulb, can it be a coil bulb? my tank is only 12" wide and the hood only acommodates 12" or smaller bulbs

I recommend you change the hood top, and just go with a larger reptisun bulb because in the future you'll be needing a bigger bulb for the larger home anyways.
Might as well save some money doing it!
and i don't recommend coil, they're low wattage and they don't cover enough surface area, in my opinion.

 

[losgutierrez]

I recommend you change the hood top, and just go with a larger reptisun bulb because in the future you'll be needing a bigger bulb for the larger home anyways.
Might as well save some money doing it!
and i don't recommend coil, they're low wattage and they don't cover enough surface area, in my opinion.

I think I am going to buy a 18" terranium along with the 18" hood, understand the chameleon will outgrow the terranium soon enough correct?

 

[carol5208]

yeah, you can use a coil providing it is a new one and not something you had from before, the reason being there were problems a ways back with the certain coils giving off too much UVB and harming reptiles eyes. We all just prefer the tubes cause we never have any issues whatsoever but there are members on here who use the coils also. Just make sure it is a 5.0 either Reptiglo or Reptisun I believe they both make the coils. On another note, that enclosure is not very big and your chameleon will outgrow that in no time. You cannot keep him in there much longer.

 

[carol5208]

I think I am going to buy a 18" terranium along with the 18" hood, understand the chameleon will outgrow the terranium soon enough correct?

I have a 36 X 30 X 18. Most use the 24 X 24 X48. If you move up, just get one of these cause they grow quickly.