Hello all I have had my chameleon in a cage with lights that the oet store told me to buy but not sure if they are the right bulbs my chameleon has been fine for 4 months but I am putting him in to a 4 foot cage now he is in a 18 in cage now anyways current light bulbs I use is a blue light bulb that stated 60w I believe that is uvb and then the other which just blew out yesterday is reptisun 5.0 uvb now that im researching im just confused why does one measure with 5.0 and the other in watts they are both uvb but one is blue???? am I using the right bulbs what should I use for a 4 foot cage ????
light bulb help new owner
- Thread starter Dm563
- Start date
Lathis
Chameleon Enthusiast
Lights are easy to get confused at first. You need a minimum of two lights:
1. UVB (preferred the long skinny tube but they also come in small coiled lights), 5.0 is fine for a 4-ft cage
2. Basking (regular house bulb will work, incandescent or halogen)
If you have live plants, you may also want a grow light labeled 6500K. Pet stores also have a variety of "specialty" lights. They have halogens (the tiny glass nugget bulbs) in red, blue, and white. For a chameleon, you want white. Pet stores will try to sell you blue or "daylight" bulbs, but save your money. Often, people are also told they need a red light for nighttime. This is not true. You want all lights to be off at night - chameleons need complete darkness. There are also heat and UV combo lights, but it is preferred to have two separate lights so the chameleon can move out of the heat and still get UV (called "thermoregulation")
Be aware that regular lightbulb are "high efficiency" now and that means they don't put out as much heat as the inefficient old-style incandescent, so regularly monitoring the temperature of the basking spot is important. Fluorescents and LEDs put out very little to no heat.
Remember too that the UV lights eventually stop producing UV. The bulb still works but it not longer produces UV radiation. It is generally recommended to replace the UV bulb every six months.
1. UVB (preferred the long skinny tube but they also come in small coiled lights), 5.0 is fine for a 4-ft cage
2. Basking (regular house bulb will work, incandescent or halogen)
If you have live plants, you may also want a grow light labeled 6500K. Pet stores also have a variety of "specialty" lights. They have halogens (the tiny glass nugget bulbs) in red, blue, and white. For a chameleon, you want white. Pet stores will try to sell you blue or "daylight" bulbs, but save your money. Often, people are also told they need a red light for nighttime. This is not true. You want all lights to be off at night - chameleons need complete darkness. There are also heat and UV combo lights, but it is preferred to have two separate lights so the chameleon can move out of the heat and still get UV (called "thermoregulation")
Be aware that regular lightbulb are "high efficiency" now and that means they don't put out as much heat as the inefficient old-style incandescent, so regularly monitoring the temperature of the basking spot is important. Fluorescents and LEDs put out very little to no heat.
Remember too that the UV lights eventually stop producing UV. The bulb still works but it not longer produces UV radiation. It is generally recommended to replace the UV bulb every six months.
