Help with lighting

[Bcloughen]

Hello all,

So I've had Charlie for a few months (he's 6 months old) and he is definitely getting big and seems to have a steady routine and is eating/drinking normally, but I am worried about the amount of light in his cage. The cage is 24x24x72 which is very tall and it seems that the single reptisun 24inch t5 is not providing enough light for the entirety of the cage (see attached). I ready on Chameleon Academy that they should have alot of non-uvb light as well, which I mistakenly didn't realize he needed.

Do you think I should get a dual uvb/65000k light fixture, or is this fine?

 

[nightanole]

You are going to need a meter...

After that get this quad:

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Agrobrite-FLT48-Fluorescent-System/dp/B002JQBQZQ?th=1

It will have individual reflectors.

I would start out with 2 10.0/12% on the ends and 2 6400k bulbs in the middle. Check meter readings, you are looking for 2-3 in the main area where the cham hangs out, and also making sure the branchs dont get so high that he can hang out in the 4-5 zone. Its also night to be getting .5 UVI between half and 2/3 up from the bottom, just so half the cage height has usable UVB.

If you need more light for plants, LED is the way to go. Here is a nice thread on the good and bad leds, and the deals:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/sansi-grow-lights-are-on-sale-for-amazon-prime-day.170263/

 

[Bcloughen]

That's awesome thank you

 

[reddog]

You are going to need a meter...

After that get this quad:

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Agrobrite-FLT48-Fluorescent-System/dp/B002JQBQZQ?th=1

It will have individual reflectors.

I would start out with 2 10.0/12% on the ends and 2 6400k bulbs in the middle. Check meter readings, you are looking for 2-3 in the main area where the cham hangs out, and also making sure the branchs dont get so high that he can hang out in the 4-5 zone. Its also night to be getting .5 UVI between half and 2/3 up from the bottom, just so half the cage height has usable UVB.

If you need more light for plants, LED is the way to go. Here is a nice thread on the good and bad leds, and the deals:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/sansi-grow-lights-are-on-sale-for-amazon-prime-day.170263/

Why 2 uvb bulbs in that quad fixture? Why not one uvb in a slot over a good basking branch and 6500k bulbs in the other slots?

 

[nightanole]

Why 2 uvb bulbs in that quad fixture? Why not one uvb in a slot over a good basking branch and 6500k bulbs in the other slots?

The cage is 6 feet high. So 2 things might happen. the cham may only hang out in 2ft section of it, so you have to tune the lighting for that area. Or the cham uses half the cage, in which case you need to get some light to mid cage.

With 2 high power UVB bulbs you can "tune". OP can do what you say, put 1 high power in the middle and see how it performs, and how the cham hangs out. They can then just store the extra UVB bulb for a few years down the line. OP can also do what i say, and may even have to wrap 1 layer of window screen on the bulbs if its too much UVB towards the top of the cage. Or OP may find that my recommendation provides 2-3 UVI for the 2ft in the middle of the cage where the cham hangs out most of the time.


Its a very tall cage. I dont know why people make them other than looks. Every one of my floor to ceiling cages, they only hang out at eye level +- a foot, or occationally hang out on top of the cage. So most of the cage is "wasted". Honestly whos cham hanges out in the lower 2ft of a repibreeze XL?

Personally id be making 1 meter square cages, with 1 meter square boxes they sit on, and cut holes for plant pots. Then the plants start at the very bottom of the cage, and hope the cham uses most of the 1 meter height

 

[reddog]

The cage is 6 feet high. So 2 things might happen. the cham may only hang out in 2ft section of it, so you have to tune the lighting for that area. Or the cham uses half the cage, in which case you need to get some light to mid cage.

With 2 high power UVB bulbs you can "tune". OP can do what you say, put 1 high power in the middle and see how it performs, and how the cham hangs out. They can then just store the extra UVB bulb for a few years down the line. OP can also do what i say, and may even have to wrap 1 layer of window screen on the bulbs if its too much UVB towards the top of the cage. Or OP may find that my recommendation provides 2-3 UVI for the 2ft in the middle of the cage where the cham hangs out most of the time.


Its a very tall cage. I dont know why people make them other than looks. Every one of my floor to ceiling cages, they only hang out at eye level +- a foot, or occationally hang out on top of the cage. So most of the cage is "wasted". Honestly whos cham hanges out in the lower 2ft of a repibreeze XL?

Personally id be making 1 meter square cages, with 1 meter square boxes they sit on, and cut holes for plant pots. Then the plants start at the very bottom of the cage, and hope the cham uses most of the 1 meter height

Help me understand how putting two 10% or 12% bulbs in a fixture with individual reflectors would get safe UVI levels over a larger area of the cage. Wouldn't that result in an appropriate UVI level lower down in the cage and an inappropriate level in upper portions of the cage that the chameleon can still access?

 

[nightanole]

Help me understand how putting two 10% or 12% bulbs in a fixture with individual reflectors would get safe UVI levels over a larger area of the cage. Wouldn't that result in an appropriate UVI level lower down in the cage and an inappropriate level in upper portions of the cage that the chameleon can still access?

Yup. thats why my very first line was "buy a meter". and my next line was "make sure the high branches dont get over 4-5 UVI and the UVB bulbs are on the outside slots".

The taller the cage, the harder to nail down the lighting. Lets be honest, right now, regardless of setup, its " use a 5.0/6% t5HO and have the cham hang out 6-12" away from the bulb". Doesnt matter if its a 2ft cage, a 4 ft cage, or a 6ft cage. Its kind of comical to have a 6-7ft tall cage, and just tell the cham to hang out a foot from the bulbs for a few hours each day

When i had my 7ft, i had my bulbs in the cage down at least a foot, and adjusted based on watching the cham and adjusting the sticks, but if you adjust the sticks wrong, he wont hang out on them no more. This had the unintended benefit of creating a 44" long aluminum heat rock the the cham discovered...