Light heat?

[Chamlover48]

I am getting a veiled chameleon soon and i was searching lights for the heat. The only thing im stuck on is the watts of heat for the bulb. I tried to look up how much heat does X amount of watts give but no real answers. I was hoping that chameleon forums could help with the heat.

 

[Carlton]

I am getting a veiled chameleon soon and i was searching lights for the heat. The only thing im stuck on is the watts of heat for the bulb. I tried to look up how much heat does X amount of watts give but no real answers. I was hoping that chameleon forums could help with the heat.

This isn't an easy question to answer, because everyone's cage situation, room temp, etc. are different, and all this variation affects the temp produced by the bulb. Even a draft will reduce the heat from a bulb. The best way to get the correct temps will take some trial and error. Set up the cage and the basking area before you have your cham, and take any ordinary incandescent lightbulb (start with something about 60 watts) and set it over the basking perch area. Measure the temp right at the perch. The best way to measure the temp is a non-contact temp gun available from many herp supply stores. They are not expensive, and you can check the surface temp anywhere you need to very quickly. Check the basking temps for your cham species in the forum's husbandry pages under the Resources tab. If your temp is too high, move the light farther away from the cage. If it's too cool, use a higher watt bulb or move it closer to the perch (outside the cage).

 

[Chamlover48]

Thank you and ill see what i can figure out for the veiled so he can have the perfect heat for basking and normal heat.