new here- equipment help please.

[hollypops]

Hi,

I have just bought a 4 ft high by 2ft by 2ft mesh screen cage for my yemen/veiled chameleon.

I need to buy the lights and uv now and was wondering what you would all recommend.

Am i best buying an exo terra canopy to go on top or not?

What is the best make uv tube and % as i have read conflicting advice.

What basking bulbs and fittings do you use please?

Thanks in advance Donna

 

[Chamero]

Hey there and welcome to the cham world. First of all that cage is perfect, but only for an adult. Unfortunately if you have a baby, that cage will be to big for a few reasons. As for the lights, the ReptiSun 5.0 Fluorescent UVB lamp TUBE is the most common and safe.
For a cage that size you may be able to get away with the 10.0 but it is not necessary. As for that exo terra thing, its not necessary. As for heat source, its not so much the bulb here as the temps. Id recommend getting a temperature gauge (infrared thermometer works best) to see which bulb gets the desired temp. Normal light bulbs do work.

 

[hollypops]

Hi,
He is a male and is about 8-10 months old.Weighs 133g now ans is about 12 inches long when tail is straight.

I have had him 5 months and he was tiny when i got him.He is in smaller glass an mesh viv at min but i need to put him in his new all mesh 4ftx2ftx2ft asap.

 

[Snarfit]

For the reptisun 5.0 tube light, you can get a fixture that is designed to go under your kitchen cabinets at Walmart. Cost me all of $7.99 for mine and it works great!

 

[summoner12]

Good luck and welcome!

Remember that UVB does not go through plastic or glass. If you do buy the 18" light fixtures with a plastic cover make sure you remove the plastic.

For the 48" tall cages made of metal screen, the 5.0 ZooMed Reptisun lamp works well and is what most people use. You will get the most out of your money with that lamp since it tends to last the longest.

Here is a demonstration of a UVB meter detecting UVB in the early evening (a week ago).

Here is the same meter, metering through glass.

As for the heat lamp, Check this Thread.

I personally like the ZooMed spot lamps.

As for your UV needs, check out the UV Guide website. A lot of great info here, worth the time to read.

 

[Sancho]

Remember that UVB does not go through plastic or glass. If you do buy the 18" light fixtures with a plastic cover make sure you remove the plastic.

For the 48" tall cages made of metal screen, the 5.0 ZooMed Reptisun lamp works well and is what most people use. You will get the most out of your money with that lamp since it tends to last the longest.

Here is a demonstration of a UVB meter detecting UVB in the early evening (a week ago).

Here is the same meter, metering through glass.

As for the heat lamp, Check this Thread.

I personally like the ZooMed spot lamps.

As for your UV needs, check out the UV Guide website. A lot of great info here, worth the time to read.

I need one of those UV meters! Is that a STi I see

 

[NewOwner]

Remember that UVB does not go through plastic or glass. If you do buy the 18" light fixtures with a plastic cover make sure you remove the plastic.

For the 48" tall cages made of metal screen, the 5.0 ZooMed Reptisun lamp works well and is what most people use. You will get the most out of your money with that lamp since it tends to last the longest.

Here is a demonstration of a UVB meter detecting UVB in the early evening (a week ago).

Here is the same meter, metering through glass.

As for the heat lamp, Check this Thread.

I personally like the ZooMed spot lamps.

As for your UV needs, check out the UV Guide website. A lot of great info here, worth the time to read.

Very good pics, and good info from the UVB thing Nice car.

i need to buy a new uvb metre, mine was stepped on somehow

 

[summoner12]

I need one of those UV meters! Is that a STi I see

Yes it is, my broken STi Going to the shop soon, now that I have the money.

The reading of '1' on the meter behind the glass, meters the same as if i get inside the car and close the doors with all the windows up.

 

[hollypops]

Thanks for all your help!!

 

[PardalisGirl]

I would go Reptisun 10.0

You've got a 48 inch cage and a young and still growing chameleon. His bones are still growing and he is still at high risk for MBD. I would use a Reptisun 10.0 tube light which reaches down 20 inches. I'm not sure why one poster said you could "get away with" using one because of your cage size. I successfully use TWO Reptisun 10.0 tube lights on all my adult cages which are only 36 inches high. The only cages I use 5.0 lights on are my smaller juvie and baby cages. I've always used the 10.0 tube lights and never had any negative issue develop from them. Just lots of strong healthy MBD free bones

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

You've got a 48 inch cage and a young and still growing chameleon. His bones are still growing and he is still at high risk for MBD. I would use a Reptisun 10.0 tube light which reaches down 20 inches. I'm not sure why one poster said you could "get away with" using one because of your cage size. I successfully use TWO Reptisun 10.0 tube lights on all my adult cages which are only 36 inches high. The only cages I use 5.0 lights on are my smaller juvie and baby cages. I've always used the 10.0 tube lights and never had any negative issue develop from them. Just lots of strong healthy MBD free bones

Hey Catherine , do the 10.0 bulbs just sit on top of the cages. My next round of bulbs I am going to buy for the larger cages will be 10.0 for sure. Just want to make sure of the placement.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Yes it is, my broken STi Going to the shop soon, now that I have the money.

The reading of '1' on the meter behind the glass, meters the same as if i get inside the car and close the doors with all the windows up.

Kevin, how much was that meeter and where did you get it? if you don't mind me asking.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Hey Ryan

Hey Ryan.....Yes, I have two hoods that stretch across the cage or cages. You can use fixtures from Home Depot, aquarium style slim hood fixtures, etc. I use two reptile combo hood fixtures. Each holds a tube and several screw in basking/heat bulbs. I do that instead of using domes. I've got cages all over the house and my hubby did not like the look of dome fixtures everywhere. He likes the hood fixtures better and I try to keep him happy about living with all these chams I often have two or three cages side by side with partitions in between. I get two long combo hoods, like 48 inches, to stretch across all the cages. If you look in my gallery I have some pictures of my cages and the hoods.

 

[Jason4045]

You've got a 48 inch cage and a young and still growing chameleon. His bones are still growing and he is still at high risk for MBD. I would use a Reptisun 10.0 tube light which reaches down 20 inches. I'm not sure why one poster said you could "get away with" using one because of your cage size. I successfully use TWO Reptisun 10.0 tube lights on all my adult cages which are only 36 inches high. The only cages I use 5.0 lights on are my smaller juvie and baby cages. I've always used the 10.0 tube lights and never had any negative issue develop from them. Just lots of strong healthy MBD free bones

If there is no ill effect of using 10.0 tubes then why use the 5.0's in the first place!?!? It seams like a better way to go with the 10.0's since they have a greater reach. Am I missing something here? If not I'm switching to 10.0's when I replace tubes.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Hey Ryan.....Yes, I have two hoods that stretch across the cage or cages. You can use fixtures from Home Depot, aquarium style slim hood fixtures, etc. I use two reptile combo hood fixtures. Each holds a tube and several screw in basking/heat bulbs. I do that instead of using domes. I've got cages all over the house and my hubby did not like the look of dome fixtures everywhere. He likes the hood fixtures better and I try to keep him happy about living with all these chams I often have two or three cages side by side with partitions in between. I get two long combo hoods, like 48 inches, to stretch across all the cages. If you look in my gallery I have some pictures of my cages and the hoods.

Thanks Catherine , Your house sounds a lot like mine. I use 48" 2 bulb Home Depot fixtures and currently have 1 reptisun 5.0 and a aquarium/plant bulb in the other so the change over when I need bulbs will be easy. Thanks for all the info!

If there is no ill effect of using 10.0 tubes then why use the 5.0's in the first place!?!? It seams like a better way to go with the 10.0's since they have a greater reach. Am I missing something here? If not I'm switching to 10.0's when I replace tubes.

I am going to make the switch in a couple of months on some of my cages.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Reply to Jason....

Hey Jason.....There are many valid uses for the 5.0 lights. Everybody has to look at the cage they are lighting and figure out where their cham is spending their time, how old the cham is, etc. An adult male cham with fully mature bones would do fine with a 5.0 light. I think females should probably have a 10.0 because of the higher calcium demands on their bodies. 5.0 lights also work in small juvenile cages. I think it's important to look at each individual cage and it's occupant(s) separately. As a rule I use the 10.0 for all adult cages because I have so many and try to keep things simple. I want my adult females and all growing sub-adults to have it. The fully grown males don't need it but it doesn't harm them in anyway to have it. I'm not oversupplementing my adults with D3 so their bodies are deciding how much D3 they need from the UV lights for proper calcium absorption. They are not overdosing on it. All of these things work as part of an equation.

 

[summoner12]

You've got a 48 inch cage and a young and still growing chameleon. His bones are still growing and he is still at high risk for MBD. I would use a Reptisun 10.0 tube light which reaches down 20 inches. I'm not sure why one poster said you could "get away with" using one because of your cage size. I successfully use TWO Reptisun 10.0 tube lights on all my adult cages which are only 36 inches high. The only cages I use 5.0 lights on are my smaller juvie and baby cages. I've always used the 10.0 tube lights and never had any negative issue develop from them. Just lots of strong healthy MBD free bones

Operating 2 10.0 lamps is WAY too much UVB for your cham.

When a chameleon basks, where does it go? to the top of the cage? Yes . operating two 10.0 lamps will cook your cham. One or two 5.0 located near your basking lamp will provide plenty of UVB.

I can provide some meter readings for you later when I get home.

Ryan, you won't need to upgrade your lamps from 5.0 to 10.0.

As for the meter, this one I have is from Dave Weldon, on loan. I plan to buy my own soon. The site that used to sell them for about $140 shipped, according to Dave, is no longer available. I need to check on this, plus I forgot the name of the site. Solarmeter sells them on their own site for about $170 I think, not sure about the shipping.

 

[summoner12]

If there is no ill effect of using 10.0 tubes then why use the 5.0's in the first place!?!? It seams like a better way to go with the 10.0's since they have a greater reach. Am I missing something here? If not I'm switching to 10.0's when I replace tubes.

You don't want the amount of UVB a 10.0 provides on your cham all day.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Thanks Kevin

 

[PardalisGirl]

Never cooked a cham....

I have never cooked a single cham with two 10.0 reptisun tubes Summoner12. I've got 50 adult panthers that have been living under these lights for years. Dozens of Veileds as well. The lights get swapped out for new ones every four months to make sure they remain strong. My chams are healthy and they do not have a single issue, let alone a UVB related one. You can speak for yourself Summoner12, but other people here use the 10.0 lights like I do with success. As I stated before I urge people to consider their own cage individually and go from there. If I followed Summoner12's advise I know I would have some significant issues. I used 5.0 lights years ago and did start having some MBD issues in juvies and females. A switch to 10.0 lights with no change in my already good supplementation program and all the issues resolved and I've never had any more in the years since.