nighttime lighting

[yerdaddysgirl]

Hello. I am new here and a new owner of a 6 month old veiled chameleon. I was wondering what others do for heating at night? I am in Illinois and it is getting cooler and we don't have our heat on yet. It can get pretty chilly in the house at night, probably about 60-65 degrees. Last night was the first night it got this way. I'm assuming I need to purchase a light for nighttime heat. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[VerteX]

This is a perfect temperature range for the night. If it gets colder than 55, you need heating. But, it cannot be heat from a light source for night. Chameleons need sleep as well.

 

[EricandCandace]

This is an excellent question ... One that I have been meaning to ask ... I will be taking home our first Veiled in a week or so. We keep our house @ a constant 65 degrees. It will not be an issue to keep the right temps during the day when the lights are on , but @ night it will be cool ... So 60 and up is suitable in nighttime? ... Should I ensure a gradient at night as well? With the low side being 60-65degrees and the high side being any other temp?

Not meaning to hijack your thread...Just piggybacking along for the knowledge

 

[Prism Chameleons]

Vertex is correct. You should not use lights on chameleons at night as they need regular sleep hours that mimic the day/night like we do. Personally, I don't like the low temperatures for my panther chameleons to get below 65, however, 60-65 at night should be fine. If you find your home getting lower than this in temperature at night, you should provide some heat in the room they are inhabiting.

Daytime temperatures should also be higher than 60-65 with preferably regular household temperatures between 68-72f or higher (Note: Daytime indoor temperatures that are in the 90s to 100s can present problems of overheating - I personally had temperatures inside my home this summer of 98 degrees inside the house during a heat wave (it was 107 outside!) and I turned off their basking lights to prevent the light from providing higher heat inside their habitats + provided extra mistings).

The basking light should provide a hot spot of between 90 and 95 at the basking vine resting place which helps them regulate their body temperatures as needed. Example, if the basking light provides a temperature between 90 & 95 degrees, that should be the highest temperature in their habitat and the further away from the light should gradually lower in temperature as they go down towards the bottom of the cage. This gives them a variety of temperatures for them to choose to hang out in dependent upon their needs.

Veiled and panther chameleons are pretty similar in their temperature needs, however, veiled chameleons can take slightly higher basking temperatures than panther chameleons.

I hope this helps .

 

[yerdaddysgirl]

thank you

Thanks for the help everyone. Yes I do have a veiled chameleon. Our home might get below the 60-65 range at night, due to us using a wood burning stove to supplement our heat. We just don't want to use it yet as it is still getting into the low 80's here during the day, we have a cold front coming in and last nite the outside temps got in the 40's. Can I use a night bulb to make sure her enclosure stays warm? Thanks in advance!

 

[haganator]

Aw man, this is perfect! I have the same Illinois cold problom and was just looking at some night bulbs in the store. It's getting cold and I want to keep my little Bilbo baby (no name) comfortable.

 

[Ren]

I use a night glo blue bulb from exo terra, you can get it at pet smart and other stores, it puts off very little light (like moonlight) and generates a bit of heat if necessary, they have anywhere from 40 watt to 100 i use 75...

 

[davemailcall]

This is slightly along the same lines. Will someone remind me just how much sleep a cham needs? Is it people time (6-8hrs)? Or dog time (10-12hrs)?

Clyde gets at least 6. Of course, the sun is coming in through his window when I finally get in there to see him so by then he's awake.