One more Time Basking Bulb, is this ok to use?

[Brain916]

Ok, I have returned by 75W basking bulb and got a 50W, here is the brand and the exact same one:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...ceramic-bulbs/-/zoo-med-50-watt-basking-bulb/

Do you think its ok?

 

[Cherron]

What species/age cham do you have?

What are your basking spot temperatures? What are your ambient temperatures? What are you using to measure these temperatures?

Is your basking bulb at least 5 or 6 inches away from the highest point on your chameleon when he is sitting under the bulb?

 

[Brain916]

I can not tell you all those answers, since I do not have the cham yet and I am purchasing the products first.

But, the chameleon is a Nosy Be, 2 1/2 - 3 months old.

 

[Tygerr]

Ok, I have returned by 75W basking bulb and got a 50W, here is the brand and the exact same one:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...ceramic-bulbs/-/zoo-med-50-watt-basking-bulb/

Do you think its ok?

The only way to determine whether you have the right bulb is to measure the temperatures in the cage, once you have the bulb set up. Each cage is different, each ambient environment is different. So nobody can tell you precisely what wattage bulb to buy. You have to install it in your set up and see what kind of temps it is producing. Get an accurate (i.e. digital) thermometer with a probe and measure the temps at the basking spot, and record the minimum and maximum temps there over a day long period.

In my opinion, the wattage is usually irrelevent. I generally buy 60W or 100W bulbs and then adjust the distance of the bulb to get the right temps at the top of the cage and at the basking spot. If the temperature is too low, move the bulb closer; if the temps are too high, move the bulb further away.
Just ensure that you don't bring the bulb too close to the cage because the cham could get burnt by it (if you have to bring the bulb really close to the cage to get the right basking temps, you probably should get a higher wattage bulb that you can move further away, but that isn't normally a problem with 60W+ bulbs).

Also, you don't have to buy those expensive Zoo-Med and Exo-Terra branded bulbs for your basking light. And ordinary reflector spot bulb from a place like Home Depot would work just as well.

 

[Marc10edora]

I also use a regular light bulb. As long as you also have the proper UV lighting like with a Reptisun 10.0 tube, any type of basking bulb shouldn't matter much. It's just there to warm up your cham. Remeber younger chams require lower basking temps. Maybe around 75-80*F. Then when your cham is about 5-6 months old, you can bring it up to 90*F. Basking temps are important because it helps with their digestion of food.

 

[Tygerr]

any type of basking bulb shouldn't matter much. It's just there to warm up your cham.

Marc's post is correct, but just to be precise about it, you must ensure the basking bulb produces visible light. Those infra-red bulbs that are often sold as part of starter-kits by pet shops are completely incorrect to use as basking bulbs for chameleons.

Chameleons respond to bright visible light as a source of heat (for example, the sun).

"Lizards can be confused by unnatural combinations of temperature and light intensity. For example, lizards controlled their body temperatures more effectively in gradients that provided the normal stimulus of bright light and heat at the same end of the gradient than they did in gradients that were uniformly lighted or those that combined bright light with low temperatures (Sievert and Hutchison, 1991)"
(from "Recommendations for the Care of Amphibians and Reptiles in Academic Institutions" by F. Harvey Pough)

 

[ChameleonsTree]

You can get an identical bulb from homedepot and they are only 3.50 a piece