Lighting and Odds and Ends

[Leopold]

Hi all! I'm in the process of planning a DIY terrarium. I'm planning dimensions of 36L"x24W"x48H" (about 91.5x61x122 cm) or more, I might add more height - for my male Nosy Be (suspected locale). I'm new to chams and I wanted some advice on lighting and pans for him enclosure.

- He has UVB and heat taken care of, but do I need to make sure the UVB reaches to the bottom of the terrarium? I have just a standard bulb from ZooMed in a regular dome lamp (let me know if you need more specifications than that!). So do I need a larger lamp or strip light for UVB to reach further or will his traveling around the cage give him enough exposure?

- I was planning on a daylight heat source and nightlight bulb for 24 hour heat source for temperature stability.

- I will be using a galvanized pan for the base, has anyone else used these?

Thanks!

 

[carol5208]

No the uvb does not need to penetrate to the bottom. If he wants it he will get underneath it at the top of the enclosure. You don't have to have the strip light, but most of us use them. I like them because they do cover more area and also brighten up the cage much better than the domes. No light is needed at night or no heat. Unless your cage temps plan on getting into the 40's at night then no heat is needed. They can take temps that low and survive just fine. If so, then you can use a ceramic heat emitter that will screw into a dome.