Need a new bulb or more move up to 10

[JoshD49]

Hey guys my Cham has a branch he really seems to like that is right under the UVB light. Currently it is a reptisun 5 that came with the hood. I have a new 5 I can put in there as well as a 10 but the branch also has the water dripper there since he likes the spot so he may go there for that. It's the highest point in the cage and he seems to go there when he isn't under the basking bulb. I noticed he never really gets anywhere near as light in color as when he is sleeping if that means anything.

Male Veiled around 6 months old
Handled once a week at most
24 x 24 x 48 reptibreeze
Auto mist every 2 hours for 30sec with 2 min hand spray in the morning
Calc without everyday with D3 every 2 weeks and vitamin every other week
Eats 8 crickets a day with Dubia mixed in and hornworms as treats.
Basking temp between 85 and 90
Humidity around 40 to 60

 

[Decadancin]

I'd use the 5.0 because he is still young. When he gets older you can switch to the 10.0. To answer the question accurately though, we would need to know about how far from the screen the branch is and maybe see a picture of the enclosure.

 

[Remkon]

Auto mist every 2 hours for 30sec with 2 min hand spray in the morning

I'd lower the amount of mistings to like 4x a day and extend the period of mistings to like 5 minutes each.

I also don't really see a reason for 'upgrading' to 10.0 from what you've wrote, 10.0 only really has benefits for a chameleon if there's a lot of vegetation between UVB light and basking spot, but otherwise it will likely cause more harm than good.

 

[JoshD49]

I remember reading that about the 10 and didn't go with it. The branch allows him to go to the top mesh directly under the bulb. I attached a photo of the location but hes not currently up there. When he is he has his head tucked under the bulb. He used to do this at the store before I bought him so it may just be a comfort thing.

 

[JoshD49]

I'd lower the amount of mistings to like 4x a day and extend the period of mistings to like 5 minutes each.

I also don't really see a reason for 'upgrading' to 10.0 from what you've wrote, 10.0 only really has benefits for a chameleon if there's a lot of vegetation between UVB light and basking spot, but otherwise it will likely cause more harm than good.

I plan on doing this once I get a better drain system. Leaving it on that long tends to flood the bottom more then I like. I plan to buy more live plants to catch most of that as well as a drain bucket for backup. I'm actually going to do a tear down and clean Saturday day so any recommendations for changes will be put in place then.