Outdoor Question

[Lizardlover]

This is probably a stupid question but it does have me thinking. During the summer my outdoor enclosures for my panther and veild always had direct sunlight on half of the enclosure, now that is turning to fall/winter, and the suns positioning is changing is is always shaded except for about 1 hour in the morning. Heres where the stupid question comes in, just because its shady does that mean that there is no uvb, or not sufficient enough uvb? I once visited a breeder who kept his chameleons outdoors under an overhang and they never got direct sunlight. I just thought about this today. THIS IS WHERE A UVB METER WOULD COME IN!

 

[warpdrive]

yes the UVB will be less in the shade, but I'm sure it is still better then anything that indoor chamelens get from a bulb.

Harry

 

[Fidel]

Like you said, you'll need a meter to know for sure. But, if the shade is because the sunlight is filtered through trees then there will still be some uvb, more than a florescent tube in fact. If it is a solid structure like you said your friend has his under, then most likely there will be little to none, depending on where the sun is. I have found spots in my yard that are mostly shaded, but get a reading of around 60-80 most of the day.

 

[Lizardlover]

Its not dark shade, its still pretty light it just doesnt get direct sunlight. I guess Ill have to see about borrowing a meter for now.

 

[elefntkpr]

The shade does provide some protection but the UV rays of the sun can reflect off the water, sand, concrete, and snow (not usually a problem in the summer!) and then penetrate the skin. So sitting in the shade does provide good protection, but you still need to apply sunscreen.

http://health.blogs.foxnews.com/tag/uv-rays/

"When people in the shade estimate UVB exposure based on an eyeball assessment, they're getting about twice as much UVB as they think," Grant says. UVB, unlike visible light, doesn't shine down in a straight line from the sun. It bounces around in the atmosphere.

"How much UVB you're getting more closely correlates with how much sky you can see," Grant says. "If lots of the sky is obstructed, you're getting a lot less UVB."

In other words, if you're in a grove of trees or surrounded by tall brick walls with direct light hitting you, you're probably better off than you would be in the dense shade of a lone tree in a field.

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/science/9807/14/shade1.enn/

UVR is reflected from many surfaces, and while direct UVR travels in a straight line through the atmosphere, indirect UVR may come from any direction.

Snow, water, sand and concrete reflect UVR. Less obvious indirect UVR would be reflected from a building, particularly a building painted white. Given that UVR does bounce, while you are sitting under a tree next to a beautiful lake or under the beach umbrella on a lovely sandy beach, you may still be exposed to enough indirect UVR to get sunburned. It will take longer to get burned than when you are directly exposed, but the consequences are the same.

http://sunaware.org/blog/?p=200

 

[Lizardlover]

That was EXTREMELY helpful, thanks a ton!

 

[Pure]

I want to say it was Kevin who posted it...But if you search you can prob find the thread. Showing UV readings in full shade higher than what a reptisun 5.0 produces.

Kev was that you?

 

[Fidel]

I want to say it was Kevin who posted it...But if you search you can prob find the thread. Showing UV readings in full shade higher than what a reptisun 5.0 produces.

Kev was that you?

It wasn't me who posted it, but I can confirm that. You could bring a uvb meter into a cave and the readings would be higher than a reptisun.