Links to plants or bulbs to help with husbandry ?

[Azure2604]

Had a bit of a question, so my husbandry with my Cham has been terrible and it needs changing, problems is I’m not sure what to buy as I’m not sure which one of my bulbs are wrong and I also don’t want to drop 200 on a light for obvious reasons, also any plant recommendations? I use pothos and branches but I need to get more things he can hang on or be in. For context my Cham is I’d say is a year past juevi and is a panther, I’m looking for links to buy things like heat bulbs, plants and such so I can make the husbandry better bc rn it’s quite bad

 

[Azure2604]

Btw that temperature is from daytime

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! We can most definitely help you. For lights, you need a linear UVB, preferably a T5 (you currently seem to have a T8) with either an Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0. While a good uvb light can be a bit pricey, it’s no where near $200. I suggest going thru https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ and this is a link to what I recommend and use. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/products/arcadia-pro-t5-24-watt-fixture-22-5.html and as I said, you want the 6% strength bulb. This size (22.5”) is what is used for the standard 2x2x4’ enclosure. Once you have your light, set it either diagonally across the top or about 1/3 from an edge. Set up your basking area at 8-9” below the light for the optimal uvb output that your chameleon needs. Then you need to figure out what strength of basking bulb will give you the desired temp (80F for girls and 85F for boys). If you don’t already have a fixture, you need a dome style light with an incandescent or halogen bulb. The power saving LED’s don’t work for heat. A fixture like this one is what you need. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/products/goodes-large-low-dome-8.html with a bulb like https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/products/chromalux-r30-75w-frosted-bulb.html The guy who owns the site is super helpful and nice and you could contact him and let him know your needs. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/contact-us-at-light-your-reptiles/ I am going to caution you against buying any brand other than Arcadia or ReptiSun uvb bulbs. They have not proven to be reliable in their uvb output. Since uvb is such an important part of chameleon husbandry, it is not where saving a few bucks should be.
For plants, this may help. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ Pothos is a favorite of chameleons and their keepers. It can be a challenge to attach plants up high, as well as branches, but we have solutions for that…just ask if you need some.
What else do you have questions or concerns about? If you want, we can do a total husbandry review. You just need to answer the following (cut & paste) and provide some pics of your chameleon and current set up.
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[ehdee6]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forum, that's a nice looking panther you have.

In addition to the advice from our very knowledgeable @MissSkittles I just wanted to add pictures of what you're looking for.

It looks like you're using a 19" T8 UVB fixture. For a 19-inch fixture, you will need an 18-inch T8 UVB bulb. The bulb must be changed every 6 months for a zoomed UVB. The bulb looks like this:

Or an Arcadia bulb that needs to be changed every 12 months, looks like this:

You need your branches to be 6-8" from the UVB light like this where the arrow is:

You want the heat to be:

 

[Azure2604]

Any fixtures needed? And what about a basic light or whatever it was called? The heat lamp I currently have is shown in a image but not sure if my other bulb needs changed

 

[Azure2604]

Also any info on some extra plants I could add that are safe?

 

[ehdee6]

Any fixtures needed? And what about a basic light or whatever it was called?

The UVB light is the most important. This one you have:

This is what we're talking about having to replace the bulb for every 6 to 12 months.

This is a picture reference of good plants:

I highly recommend answering the questions for a husbandry review that MissSkittles has posted above to help assess further recommendations.

 

[MissSkittles]

that's a nice looking panther you have.

Where? Am I blind? lol I did miss the dome light fixtures in the pics.
I do need to correct you…

Any fixtures needed? And what about a basic light or whatever it was called? The heat lamp I currently have is shown in a image but not sure if my other bulb needs changed

**If using the T8 fixture that you show for uvb, the strength of the uvb bulb needs to be 10.0 or Arcadia 12%. However, since the T8 is only 18”, getting the 24” T5 would provide better coverage.

The two lights needed are the linear UVB - you have an 18” long T8 fixture. You need to buy either a ReptiSun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% to use this fixture. OR you can buy a new 24” long T5 fixture with either ReptSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%.
For basking, you have the fixture and need to buy a non LED basking bulb that will give a temp of 80-85F at the basking area. I suggest starting with a 60w incandescent bulb to see what temps that gives you, and go from there. Do not buy colored bulbs. They hurt sensitive little eyes. Incandescent bulbs are becoming very hard to get, so you may want or need to buy a reptile specific basking bulb. The brand on these isn’t as important, but do avoid LED and mercury vapor bulbs.
You want your lights on a 12 hour schedule, close to normal daylight hours. No lights at night. no heat at night unless temps are below 55-60F. Most of us find timers very helpful for light schedules.

I see that @ehdee6 is posting about plants. Depending on what plants you get, you may want or need to add a plant light. For now, I’d suggest sticking to the simpler house type plants that don’t require being blasted by the sun. Many of us get our plants from Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart. It is important to gently wash the leaves with soapy water (I use Dawn dish soap) and rinse very well. It’s also advised to repot in fresh organic soil. You want to recreate something like a forest edge for your chameleon - provide lots of leaves to drink from, hide in and under and have shade. Plants can also provide additional little chameleon roads to travel. This is an enclosure I set up for a panther which will give you an idea. You can see how I have my lights positioned. (One is a plant light) I used Dragon Ledges https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ to attach everything and to elevate some of the floor plants, flipped over some empty pots.

 

[ehdee6]

Where? Am I blind? lol

I'm just assuming that the picture in the profile is their Cham and that we're not being catfished?