Is my lighting OK

dectr6

New Member
I have raised reptiles for years, but never a cham. I have a 5 month old veiled that I've owned for 2 months. He is very healthy and have not encountered any problems yet. I'm using a 2 ft. reptisun 5.0 and and exoterra sunglow basking lamp. 50 watts. The tube light sits directly on top of the cage. Is this enough lighting? Any suggestions greatly appreciated. David
 
This depends on seveal things..

Highest point your cham can get inside his cage?

How tall is the cage?

Does you cham move around a lot rather then bask in the spot lamp?

Temp of the highest spot your cham can reach that is under the spot lamp?


Lots of moving could mean too hot or not hot enough. Running from heat or looking for more. The temp is needed to figure this out. Exo-Terra Digital with Remote Sensor is best. I have mine placed right above my Cham back to monitor temp of the basking spot.

Highest Point: Are the lights producing enough penatrating rays to benefit your cham? Your Rapti-Sun 5.0 should be well inside 12" from where your cham will soak in the light and sitting on top is just fine. Anything more then 12" from your cham is pointless and not working. Spot lamps that emit UVA need to be a safe distance to avoid burning your cham. Again for your spot lamp a digital temp probe is a must to make sure all is well.

If you have a real big cage then a combo like Self Blasting PowerSun or Murcury Vapor Bulb is a much better idea for providing light and UV Rays where if your cham likes to explore a large enclosure then a Repti-Sun 5.0 will not be of much help with larger enclosures where your cham will move around a lot without returning to their basking spot. Of course all chams will move about to hunt food if you let it loose but once their done with their hunt they will move back into their lighting to heat back up and begin digesting their food.
 
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I have a thirty six inch tall enclosure bytwenty four wide by twenty deep. temp at his basking spot is about eighty eight degrees. temp on other side is about seventy five. He spends a large amount of time basking but when he is not basking he is very active . He is about four inches long from nose to vent. Maybe eight inches overall. He will be moved outside to a screened porch with many tropical plants and trees in the summer with plenty of natural sunlight.
 
Then I see nothing wrong with that setup.. Moving around can be a sign that they are looking for food so if you haven't tried or doing so now let some crickets go inside the cage. 3-4 small gutloaded ones is a good start on not too many and enough to hunt off before night fall.
 
He eats eight to ten full grown crickets a day. Most out of a bowl but I let a few loose so he still has to hunt. He is about four inches long from nose to vent. Is this too much? Thanks for all your info.
 
Nope that sounds just about right. My understanding is they won't over eat and Victoria herself will eat what she wants and ignores anything else till she wants to eat it and she is about the same length. She gets about 10-15 small crickets, 3-4 small mealworms, and 2-4 flies a day. I would offer your some variety a bit with something that you can get live in your area. Other then that 8-10 full grown crickets sounds good. Though I have not jumped to large crickets myself yet in confidence that she won't have a problem getting them down while I'm out working. However next batch purchased will be large adults and will begin breading them in 2 long 10 gallon breading tanks.
 
I have had a cham over eat and get really constipated and then prolapse their rectum. So watch out. THis happened with silks and green horns. THey get so excited for them an eat too much and the issue occurs.
 
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