New pic and FR question

[hinoco1225]

Ok, I got my newest cham about 2 weeks ago. For the most part, everything seems to be going well. He has adjusted well to cup feeding and he seems quite content with his surroundings. He doesn't like sudden movements (like most chams, I'm sure), but he will climb right onto my hand as long as I approach him slowly. I am getting a little bit worried about him though. I have a nice free range tree set up for him with a basking light and all that, but he almost never stays there! He knows it's his spot and he comes right over for food and water after I feed or mist, but that's it. Every time I open the door to his room, he is on the other side from his FR. I am worried that he is not getting enough UVB. Does anybody have any idea how long he needs to be under his UVB light per day to stay healthy? Any suggestions on how to encourage him to stay put? Or do you think I should put another UVB light above the shelf?

First pic is just an updated pic of him. He doesn't like the camera very much so it's not the best pic, but his colors are getting more vibrant every day.

Second is of him on the shelf in the back of the closet, where I almost always find him. You can see part of his FR on the right.

 

[heartben]

They dont bask all day in the wild and you'll definitely notice it when you free range. A lot of the time darwin is as far away from his lights as he can get, if he needs UVB or heat he will go to it on his own as long as its there, dont worry I have seen darwin even get "out" of his free range into a few weird places and he will just hang out for a bit, then go back on his own..Its pretty cool.

Edit : Of course I meant to say your cham looks great and I was curious where you got him. And then I have just a friendly tip to keep in mind - if that clamp light is his hot light ( i have a mercury vapor for uvb/heat and then 2 supplementary lights that are fluorescent so im not sure what youre set up is like) - you might want to try hanging it from the ceiling and making it so he cant climb that cable and get on the lamp/dome on accident. - one of the weird places i found my cham was chilling on top of a clamp light clamp/dome that has a CFL (its not hot at all) so your cham may get curious and try the same thing.

 

[cloverthechameleon]

lol when i saw him in the top on the shelf it made me laugh,cool free range

 

[okiroo]

lol when i saw him in the top on the shelf it made me laugh,cool free range

Yeah that was really funny.
Also my chams do the same thing. No biggie.

 

[hinoco1225]

They dont bask all day in the wild and you'll definitely notice it when you free range. A lot of the time darwin is as far away from his lights as he can get, if he needs UVB or heat he will go to it on his own as long as its there, dont worry I have seen darwin even get "out" of his free range into a few weird places and he will just hang out for a bit, then go back on his own..Its pretty cool.

Edit : Of course I meant to say your cham looks great and I was curious where you got him. And then I have just a friendly tip to keep in mind - if that clamp light is his hot light ( i have a mercury vapor for uvb/heat and then 2 supplementary lights that are fluorescent so im not sure what youre set up is like) - you might want to try hanging it from the ceiling and making it so he cant climb that cable and get on the lamp/dome on accident. - one of the weird places i found my cham was chilling on top of a clamp light clamp/dome that has a CFL (its not hot at all) so your cham may get curious and try the same thing.

Yeah, that's true that they don't bask all day in the wild. I guess it just concerns me because it seems like he's never under his UVB. But I'm sure he at least stays under it for a little while after he eats - I hope so anyway. I usually have to head to school shortly after I feed him so I don't get a chance to check on him again till sometime in the afternoon.

Thanks! I got him from Lance Lindgren (Lancecham). Here's my original thread about him if you want to see more pics: https://www.chameleonforums.com/new-arrival-67996/

Yeah, that clamp is his heat light. I have the UVB tube, an extra florescent bulb for ambient lighting, and the heat bulb. I was originally going to hang it from the ceiling, but I'm afraid it would fall out. I just feel like the shelf is a lot more secure than a hook screwed into my ceiling. I watched him pretty closely the first couple of days I had him, and he tried to climb on the lamp a time or two, but changed his mind. I think he has realized it's hot and he should go around to get to the shelf on the other side of the closet, lol. He does have vines connected to the shelf, so he really has no reason to climb onto the lamp.

 

[Elizadolots]

I believe they can self moderate their UVB so will stay under the light more if they need it, less if they don't.

If it were me, I would put some sort of mesh or wire screen to prevent my chameleon from getting too close to the bulbs.

Can you be assured that a teenager won't get a sunburn because it's too hot? No. So, you cannot assume that your chameleon will always move away from the heat.

 

[NORChameleons]

I do not agree to the statement about self regulation UVb needs.
Has anyone ever measured the intensity given by our UV sources compared to their natural intensity?
Well I have, and a brand new (measured after 90 hours use witch is the burnin time) ReptiGlo 5.0 gives an intensity of 80uW/cm2 at a distance of 3inches from the bulb. Repti.Glo 2.0 gives 68uW/cm2 at the same distance. And thats 3 inches, guess what happens at 6 and 9 inches away from the bulb?
I also did several measures when I visited Madagascar the last time, and got values well over 300uW/cm2 every time I measured. And trust me, the chameleons in the wild bask alot.
Reaching natural UV values in captivity is hard, and needs the use of MVL in combination with UV-bulbs, combined with a high replacement interval.

 

[hinoco1225]

I do not agree to the statement about self regulation UVb needs.
Has anyone ever measured the intensity given by our UV sources compared to their natural intensity?
Well I have, and a brand new (measured after 90 hours use witch is the burnin time) ReptiGlo 5.0 gives an intensity of 80uW/cm2 at a distance of 3inches from the bulb. Repti.Glo 2.0 gives 68uW/cm2 at the same distance. And thats 3 inches, guess what happens at 6 and 9 inches away from the bulb?
I also did several measures when I visited Madagascar the last time, and got values well over 300uW/cm2 every time I measured. And trust me, the chameleons in the wild bask alot.
Reaching natural UV values in captivity is hard, and needs the use of MVL in combination with UV-bulbs, combined with a high replacement interval.

I agree. I think it's a stretch to believe chams can entirely self-regulate their UVB or heat intake sufficiently. But I believe they are more capable of self-regulating heat than UVB. I know that are less sensitive on their underside and I know that burns happen, but I just don't see it happening to mine. I know that probably sounds like an immature and invincible attitude, but I have grounds for thinking that way. I watched him very closely when I first got him, specifically for the reason of seeing if he was likely to get burned, and after a couple of tries at grabbing the dome while he was exploring, he hasn't touched it again since. And not to mention, he hasn't even seemed interested in the heat at all. Like I said, I never see him basking.

I wouldn't do anything that I believed would endanger any of my animals. And that's why I don't want to hang the dome from the ceiling - I just don't think it would be secure enough. I'm not going to risk it falling out and setting my apartment on fire.

But back to the UVB - the question remains, what do you think I should do?

 

[okiroo]

well. both of my chams did that at firt. just let them. i let clair wonder whenever she wants. if i see her on the floor i let her continue her walk(even tho when she sees me she makes Bline for her tree. lol) shes gotten to where she visits places at certain times dureing the day. i assume shes just exploreing whats hers and makeing shure she doesnt need to fight for it or something. i see her bask a good bit tho. im shure yours will settle down. how long have you been FRing? it took clair 2weeks to get into rythem + 2 large-ish trees. mabey you need more stuff.

 

[hinoco1225]

well. both of my chams did that at firt. just let them. i let clair wonder whenever she wants. if i see her on the floor i let her continue her walk(even tho when she sees me she makes Bline for her tree. lol) shes gotten to where she visits places at certain times dureing the day. i assume shes just exploreing whats hers and makeing shure she doesnt need to fight for it or something. i see her bask a good bit tho. im shure yours will settle down. how long have you been FRing? it took clair 2weeks to get into rythem + 2 large-ish trees. mabey you need more stuff.

Yeah, I am planning on getting another plant soon. I hope that will help. He's been free ranging the entire time I've had him, which has been about 2 weeks.