Juvenile Basks all day..normal?

[Fidel]

Low 80's. It works out well for babies, but I really should have 60w for the juvies. I have so many cages I try to keep the wattage low to keep my power bill down, and keep from tripping my breakers. I already had to run another breaker to my garage, I don't want to add yet another one. I'm maxing out 2 20 amp breakers

 

[ChamOh]

Low 80's. It works out well for babies, but I really should have 60w for the juvies. I have so many cages I try to keep the wattage low to keep my power bill down, and keep from tripping my breakers. I already had to run another breaker to my garage, I don't want to add yet another one. I'm maxing out 2 20 amp breakers

Haha, you do have a lot of chams. awesome.

That's interesting that you are in the low 80's with that set up...Because If I would rest my fixture (deep dome 5.5 inch) on the screen and slam the basking zone an inch or two from the top, I think I would near 100 degrees.

 

[pssh]

Woah, only 80's that close? At 6-7 inches away my basking spot is 80, at 4-5 inches away it's 90-ish, I haven't checked any closer. That's with a 25 watt bulb. With a 40 I have to move the light above the cage about 5 inches when the branch is about 6 inches away to maintain 80 degrees.

 

[ChamOh]

Woah, only 80's that close? At 6-7 inches away my basking spot is 80, at 4-5 inches away it's 90-ish, I haven't checked any closer. That's with a 25 watt bulb. With a 40 I have to move the light above the cage about 5 inches when the branch is about 6 inches away to maintain 80 degrees.

My situation is similar to Pssh if I'm trying to maintain 80 degrees

 

[Chameron]

Maybe try raising the Backing temp not a lot just enough though.

 

[Fidel]

I have a theory that different brands of bulb, but the same wattage, produce different amounts of heat. I use the dirt cheapest bulbs I can find, so maybe mine don't burn as hot as others? Anyone have an opinion on that?

 

[sandrachameleon]

80/82F is a good basking temp for a 3 1/2 year old panther.
The ambient temp, away from the basking spot, should be around 72-75F.
If your chameleon is basking all day, in dark colours, this suggests it is a bit cool. Check the Ambient temp as well as the basking temp. Consider raising the basking temp by one degree. Remember that higher temps can mean increased water needs.

I have a theory that different brands of bulb, but the same wattage, produce different amounts of heat. I use the dirt cheapest bulbs I can find, so maybe mine don't burn as hot as others? Anyone have an opinion on that?

Its irrelevant. What matters is the temp at the basking spot, not how hot the bulb is.

 

[Fidel]

Its irrelevant. What matters is the temp at the basking spot, not how hot the bulb is.

If the bulb is hotter, then the basking site will be hotter, compared to a cooler bulb at the same distance.

 

[ChamOh]

80/82F is a good basking temp for a 3 1/2 year old panther.
The ambient temp, away from the basking spot, should be around 72-75F.
If your chameleon is basking all day, in dark colours, this suggests it is a bit cool. Check the Ambient temp as well as the basking temp. Consider raising the basking temp by one degree. Remember that higher temps can mean increased water needs.

Sandra any thoughts on this: what should I do if the basking temp was at 86 and cham was still dark and basking all day?

It seems like I shouldn't raise basking temp much higher than that--obviously burns are a concern.

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

If your ambient temp is 68 then your cham will bask considerably more than usual. On the coldest day here my ambient dropped to 68 and my chams sprinted for their basking spot when they woke up. I just turned up the heat so that it was a comfortable 73 or 74ish for them and they didn't bask so much. If your cham is basking in an 86 degree basing spot alll day long then his ambient is too low. IMO the only time a cham would bask for super extended period of time, as in hours and hours, is when it is too cold outside the basking spot, when they need to digest a giant meal, when they are fighting off an infection//sick in general or when they are gravid. I'm guessing it is the 68 degree ambient that is doing it. try to get it to 74ish and your cham should move around alot more. Good luck. Oh and make sure to offer his dripper longer/ more often if he is basking so much. Just be sure it is close enough to where he is because I've noticed when it is cold and they are trying to keep warm in their basking spots they don't leave for water unless they are really thirsty, which he may be due to the constant 86 degrees he is under. I think he will be fine once the temps are up a bit.


Justin


EDIT: and lower the basking spot to between 80 and 84. 86 is not burning hot but still a little on the warm side.

 

[ChamOh]

If your ambient temp is 68 then your cham will bask considerably more than usual. On the coldest day here my ambient dropped to 68 and my chams sprinted for their basking spot when they woke up. I just turned up the heat so that it was a comfortable 73 or 74ish for them and they didn't bask so much. If your cham is basking in an 86 degree basing spot alll day long then his ambient is too low. IMO the only time a cham would bask for super extended period of time, as in hours and hours, is when it is too cold outside the basking spot, when they need to digest a giant meal, when they are fighting off an infection//sick in general or when they are gravid. I'm guessing it is the 68 degree ambient that is doing it. try to get it to 74ish and your cham should move around alot more. Good luck. Oh and make sure to offer his dripper longer/ more often if he is basking so much. Just be sure it is close enough to where he is because I've noticed when it is cold and they are trying to keep warm in their basking spots they don't leave for water unless they are really thirsty, which he may be due to the constant 86 degrees he is under. I think he will be fine once the temps are up a bit.


Justin


EDIT: and lower the basking spot to between 80 and 84. 86 is not burning hot but still a little on the warm side.

Thanks Justin that's some really good advice. I've been suspecting the ambient temp could have something to do with it. Any good thoughts on raising that? I can't up the heat in my whole house (too cost ineffective), but I can do something about the room he is in.

Should I use a ceramic space heater? I'm concerned this would dry the air--and in the North East winter, that's not a good thing as keeping humidity is hard enough already.

Is there some kind of heater I could use just for around his cage? Don't they sell ceramic coil heater things?? would this raise the ambient around his cage?

Thanks for the advice all. I'm getting closer and closer to nailling down a solution on this one... I can feel it

-Matt

 

[Elizadolots]

My favorite "space heaters" are radiant oil heaters...they are just like an old radiator in that the heat that gets into the room just comes off the surface of the unit, but they do not use pressurized steam to generate heat and they can't explode (you all may be too young for that, but I remember going to Grandma's house and having the radiators all over the house which all had the potential to blow).

They have a self contained oil that is heated at one point which is not accessible to probing fingers and then circulated through the complex curves of the radiator. They are among the safest heaters available. They are, I believe, the only type recommended for use in nursery's and children's rooms. You can put your hand on the radiator without being burned (I've done it. When my elderly father's gas was out for a week in November right after he'd had heart surgery we bought him a radiant oil heater. Given his state, I tested the claim that it would not burn your flesh...it didn't)

While I think any heater takes moisture out of the air, I think radiant oil heaters do it less.

Their heat is also a lot more localized and controllable than a lot of heaters. The one I got my Dad had loads of settings including a timer. We set it to turn on an hour before he usually got out of bed so he'd be warm....he could still turn it on as needed throughout the day.

We wanted the heat to circulate, so we put a fan on the thing, but without that, it's pretty localized...there are no blowers of any kind. That's a plus when you really just need the heat in one place.

They're relatively inexpensive (we paid under $50 5 years ago), very safe and have a low impact on the environment...they just provide heat.

 

[ChamOh]

thanks Eliza--that seems like it may be a really good way of getting some localized heat going.

For today, I took a bendable desk lamp put a 34 watt (same bulb I use for basking lamp) bulb in it and pointed it towards the side of the cage 6-8 inches away. I'm thinking this will maybe raise the ambient a little in the cage...