Household Bulbs?

Silverdusk

Silverdusk

New Member
Are they safe as a heat source or should I use a specific basking bulb?

Right now I have an 11 week old Panther baby. The cage is a screen enclosure 18" Wide x 12" Deep x 25" High. I am worried that the basking bulb I have will burn him, so I raised it a few inches off the top of the cage, but I've seen tons of people w/ their basking fixtures setting right on top of the cage.

So, do you use a regular household bulb in these, such as a 60 watt or will the zoomed I have be fine?

My panther is always on the move roaming his cage except for at night when he sleeps. He perches from time to time, but then roams again.

TsaraCB30cage1.jpg


Lastly, I'm using a Repti Glo 5.0 UVB on this little guy and cage, is this right or should it be the Repti Sun 5.0 UVB?

Thanks a million
 
I use all household bulbs with no issues-just use the lowest wattage that will get your temps where you need them, and for screen hugging babies I always find creative ways to raise the bulb away-babies like to cook themselves! :)
 
use a reti sun bulb or reti glo or arcadia retile u.v bulb(strip u.v lights) to provide uva and uvb rays and full spectrum light for your reptile,this helps with digestion and calcium absorbtion ect etc and in one top corner use a spot bulb either a reptile brand of spot or a normal spot light, make sure its out of the way of the cham by placing it ontop of the viv and not in the viv(wattage depends on the size of your viv and temps in the country you live in)the spot is provided to mimmic the sun and chameleons need this to warm themslfs up they bask in the sun in the wild to warm up, there should be a temperature grade in your viv, warmer at the top and cooler at the bottom with ambient air temps in the middle (temps set as advised in a any chameleon handbook )so the cham can regulate its temperature by moving around itys viv, dont just use a strip bulb as there will be no temp gradeiant. make sure the plants you use are totaly washed and re potted in organic or unfertilized soil and stones can be placed on top of the soil so that your cham cant eat the dirt as this can cause problems so it best to rule out the risk of them eating it, keep moisture levels up by use of a dripper over the leaves as they wont normaly drink from a bowl and spray him 2 or 3 timesa day by hand or with a mist system ,feed calcium dusted insects and vits once or twice a week and provide plenty of climbing areas to exercize his limbs properly,good luck with your new chameleon and hope all is good in the future :D:Dwith your lovely cham!!.
 
Silverdusk said:
Are they safe as a heat source or should I use a specific basking bulb? Right now I have an 11 week old Panther baby.
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I generally havent used any basking lights at all with babies. The small amount of warmth off the UVB tube and the ambient room temperature have been sufficient. When they get to be three or four months, as your is approaching, I use a small watt household bulb (15watt or 20) and set it a few cm (couple inches) off the screen top - what you are trying to achieve is the right basking spot temp, so the watt of the bulb will be dependant on that, and the distance from the screen top will be dependant on whether your cham crawls up there and if his tail can get out (avoid contact burns).

Silverdusk said:
Lastly, I'm using a Repti Glo 5.0 UVB on this little guy and cage, is this right or should it be the Repti Sun 5.0 UVB?
Click to expand...

The consensus is that the reptisun is better. But the ReptiGlo does work fine so if you already have it dont worry about switching it out immediately.
 
kenya said:
Not in one tiny spot. I think that soft white is best. They are less blinding than the clear.
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and maybe less effective. Chams don't look at the heat lamp all day. This is why we put them on top of the cage instead of the side. They are used to having a bright warm light above them and moving under leafs for cover if needed.

I think a light bulb with no filter is best. The filament of the lamp produces the UVA, I don't know for sure, but a soft white lamp could be filtering the light.
 
summoner12 said:
and maybe less effective. Chams don't look at the heat lamp all day. This is why we put them on top of the cage instead of the side. They are used to having a bright warm light above them and moving under leafs for cover if needed.

I think a light bulb with no filter is best. The filament of the lamp produces the UVA, I don't know for sure, but a soft white lamp could be filtering the light.
Click to expand...

If that were true, then UVB bulbs would filter the rays from them and they don't. I prefer the soft lights. It seems nicer for a cham who looks up.
 
kenya said:
If that were true, then UVB bulbs would filter the rays from them and they don't. I prefer the soft lights. It seems nicer for a cham who looks up.
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The coating on a UVB lamp is what makes it a UVB lamp. Fluorescent lamps create levels of UV that can be harmful. The coating and the glass are engineered to filter the UV spectrum. UVB lamps are designed to filter out bad UV and pass a usable UV range for us reptile keepers. ZooMed seems to have created the best blend of phosphors to provide a good range of light for our chameleons.
 
summoner12 said:
The coating on a UVB lamp is what makes it a UVB lamp. Fluorescent lamps create levels of UV that can be harmful. The coating and the glass are engineered to filter the UV spectrum. UVB lamps are designed to filter out bad UV and pass a usable UV range for us reptile keepers. ZooMed seems to have created the best blend of phosphors to provide a good range of light for our chameleons.
Click to expand...

Though that may be true, I still think that soft bulbs are best. Would you like to have a hot, very bright naked bulb above you? No. Also, I don't think that there is an effect on the UVA through a soft bulb. I think it is just a matter of preference.
 
kenya said:
Though that may be true, I still think that soft bulbs are best. Would you like to have a hot, very bright naked bulb above you? No. Also, I don't think that there is an effect on the UVA through a soft bulb. I think it is just a matter of preference.
Click to expand...

I think the point of a heat lamp is to be.... hot.
 
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