veildchameleon
New Member
I just got my Baby Veild Chameleon and he is awsome I have him in a ten gallon temporaly with a reptiGlo 10.0 and a full spectrm 60 watt bulb.
Good setup or Not!!!
Good setup or Not!!!
Hey!!!!
- Thread starter veildchameleon
- Start date
Chase
Chameleon Enthusiast
Not a good setup. He needs a screen cage. Either Reptarium or screen. Here are links where you can get them. Also, you need a Reptisun 5.0. How close can he get to the light, it possibly could be too hot.
http://www.flchams.com/cages.asp
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/reptile-cages-glass-and-screen/
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...riums-reptarium-accessories-and-explorariums/
http://www.flchams.com/cages.asp
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/reptile-cages-glass-and-screen/
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...riums-reptarium-accessories-and-explorariums/
Lizardlover
New Member
its not really all about wattage, mainly temps, i think that a 60 for a baby veild in a glass tank would get too hot, and you NEED a screen cage, theres no going around it.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi veildchameleon
Where do you live? I ask because the "rule" about using a screen cage is very much, IMHO, a thing of the USA. Many people use other housing options successfully (including me). Which is not to say a ten gallon fish tank is a good idea - cuz it aint. Please tell use more about your set-up? What are the temperatures? Humidity? Dimensions of the cage and what its made of? Plants? Can you post a picture? How old is the chameleon? And dont worry, the ReptiGlo will do for now (though a ReptiSUN 5.0 is the better product).
Where do you live? I ask because the "rule" about using a screen cage is very much, IMHO, a thing of the USA. Many people use other housing options successfully (including me). Which is not to say a ten gallon fish tank is a good idea - cuz it aint. Please tell use more about your set-up? What are the temperatures? Humidity? Dimensions of the cage and what its made of? Plants? Can you post a picture? How old is the chameleon? And dont worry, the ReptiGlo will do for now (though a ReptiSUN 5.0 is the better product).
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
That enclosure can work for a baby veiled, but you need to be really specific about the temps (basking and ambient).
Also the age of the animal ... I wouldn't even use a basking light till after 3 months old.
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
-Brad
Also the age of the animal ... I wouldn't even use a basking light till after 3 months old.
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
-Brad
Chameleon Company
Avid Member
In concurrance with some of what has been said ..
Aquariums may not be recommended, the first choice by most, etc, but they can work for small chameleons, and when done well, have their advantages. They do increase risks of overheating, primarily due to the enclosed smallness of them, vs. a screen cage, which is more forgiving of error, air-flow malfunction, etc.
Wattage is not the issue by itself, its how close it is to your aquarium. Frankly, one can not criticize wattage unless they know also how far it is or isn't from your set-up, and more importantly, the basking temperature it has created. If its 3' away, for example, you may have an issue of not enough heat.
Lastly, for an educational tangent, you describe your basking light as this:
Please folks, let the OP answer what follows. These are sincere questions for you, Veildchameleon, to answer, and the reader to educate themselves on. You have the product Veild, and you chose the above description. What is "full spectrum" ? Does the label say that, or did you come to that description some other way, and if so, what way, i.e. what criteria did you use to decide it was full spectrum, and if it was the manufacturer, what criteria did they provide for you to validate "full spectrum". What spectrum does it actually cover, in nm or some other measuring criteria ? What is its relative energy per classification by wavelength (Ultra-violet, visible, infra-red)? Last but not least, how much did you pay for it ? What are its advantages to your chameleon vs. a 60 cent 60 watt GE household bulb ? Why did you buy it ? When it burns out, will you buy another just like it ? Thanks in advance.
Aquariums may not be recommended, the first choice by most, etc, but they can work for small chameleons, and when done well, have their advantages. They do increase risks of overheating, primarily due to the enclosed smallness of them, vs. a screen cage, which is more forgiving of error, air-flow malfunction, etc.
Wattage is not the issue by itself, its how close it is to your aquarium. Frankly, one can not criticize wattage unless they know also how far it is or isn't from your set-up, and more importantly, the basking temperature it has created. If its 3' away, for example, you may have an issue of not enough heat.
Lastly, for an educational tangent, you describe your basking light as this:
Please folks, let the OP answer what follows. These are sincere questions for you, Veildchameleon, to answer, and the reader to educate themselves on. You have the product Veild, and you chose the above description. What is "full spectrum" ? Does the label say that, or did you come to that description some other way, and if so, what way, i.e. what criteria did you use to decide it was full spectrum, and if it was the manufacturer, what criteria did they provide for you to validate "full spectrum". What spectrum does it actually cover, in nm or some other measuring criteria ? What is its relative energy per classification by wavelength (Ultra-violet, visible, infra-red)? Last but not least, how much did you pay for it ? What are its advantages to your chameleon vs. a 60 cent 60 watt GE household bulb ? Why did you buy it ? When it burns out, will you buy another just like it ? Thanks in advance.
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veildchameleon
New Member
His basking temp is like 90 or 85 I dont remember and i got a reptisun 10.0.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
I would use the 5.0 and no basking light (90 is 10 degrees too hot )
The key is checking temps.
10.0 is too much UVB for him the way he is housed.
-Brad
The key is checking temps.
10.0 is too much UVB for him the way he is housed.
-Brad
Chameleon Company
Avid Member
Going to concur completely with Brad, in that the 10.0 is likely too intense, especially for such a small set-up.
You had earlier mentioned the "full spectrum 60 watt bulb". I used to work for a major pet chain, and base my familiarity with all things labeled "full spectrum" primarily on that. The manufacturer labels them such so as to make a sale. They do not define "full spectrum" on the package, and if you were to research it, you'd find that there are no parameters which the term must conform to. Usually, the best you can hope for is that it satisfies "full visible spectrum", which is a far less glamorous way to put it. Bottom line is that once you satisfy the UVA and UVB requirements, you can accomplish the rest with a household bulb of appropriate wattage. They take care of the heat component, the "I can see my chameleon" component, and in conjunction with the UVA-UVB source (which provides light outside those wavelengths as well) do everything that the "full spectrum" bulb does, at about 20% of the cost.
