Panther Chameleon Heat Light

[Grayson Payne]

Hello everyone! So if you've seen me around the forums, I've been attempting to purchase all of the things that I need to house a male panther chameleon. Today's objective was to go to my local lowes and buy a heating bulb. I already have a fixture so I was just needing the bulb. I decided to get a halogen indoor flood light bulb (pictures included). I thought that a flood light would be good because it would spread the light around the cage. Now I am just thinking back and wondering if this was a good idea. Is this okay? Also is it going to be too bright for the chameleon? I didn't think about brightness until I came home and plugged it in and saw how bright it was. Thanks!

 

[Grayson Payne]

Also does anyone know how to upload pics from my pc? Or what file format they should be in?

 

[Beman]

Also does anyone know how to upload pics from my pc? Or what file format they should be in?

jpeg format should load without issue.

 

[Beman]

Hello everyone! So if you've seen me around the forums, I've been attempting to purchase all of the things that I need to house a male panther chameleon. Today's objective was to go to my local lowes and buy a heating bulb. I already have a fixture so I was just needing the bulb. I decided to get a halogen indoor flood light bulb (pictures included). I thought that a flood light would be good because it would spread the light around the cage. Now I am just thinking back and wondering if this was a good idea. Is this okay? Also is it going to be too bright for the chameleon? I didn't think about brightness until I came home and plugged it in and saw how bright it was. Thanks!

Should be just fine... Just ensure your temps are appropriate for the age of the panther. Some keepers prefer halogen some prefer incandescent. I use incandescent because I have a dimming thermostat on my basking fixture.

 

[Grayson Payne]

Should be just fine... Just ensure your temps are appropriate for the age of the panther. Some keepers prefer halogen some prefer incandescent. I use incandescent because I have a dimming thermostat on my basking fixture.

What is the dimming thermostat you have?

 

[Beman]

What is the dimming thermostat you have?

I have the herpstat brand... You can not use halogen bulbs though with these because of the dimming feature. Herpstat 1 controls one device, herpstat 2 controls two. If you get one you want one that has the dimming function. There are lots of thermostats out there that do not have the same functionality so you have to really pay attention to the details of what your buying. The dimming ones are not cheap.

 

[Grayson Payne]

I have the herpstat brand... You can not use halogen bulbs though with these because of the dimming feature. Herpstat 1 controls one device, herpstat 2 controls two. If you get one you want one that has the dimming function. There are lots of thermostats out there that do not have the same functionality so you have to really pay attention to the details of what your buying. The dimming ones are not cheap.

Damn you weren't kidding! Thanks for the response though. I just have a regular dome fixture.

 

[Beman]

Damn you weren't kidding! Thanks for the response though. I just have a regular dome fixture.

Your dome fixture will be fine with the bulb you got. The only thing you have to pay attention to is what wattage the domes are ratted for. Some only go up to 75 watts. So you should not put a higher wattage bulb in those.

And yes expensive but I adore mine. My ambient temps fluctuate quite a bit day to day. So my thermostat adjusts accordingly. If it is a hot day then the fixture will dim off if it is at the set temp and if it is a cooler day it will stay on providing the set temp. Also these help lower risk of thermal burns because you are setting it to the exact temp you want.

 

[Grayson Payne]

Your dome fixture will be fine with the bulb you got. The only thing you have to pay attention to is what wattage the domes are ratted for. Some only go up to 75 watts. So you should not put a higher wattage bulb in those.

And yes expensive but I adore mine. My ambient temps fluctuate quite a bit day to day. So my thermostat adjusts accordingly. If it is a hot day then the fixture will dim off if it is at the set temp and if it is a cooler day it will stay on providing the set temp. Also these help lower risk of thermal burns because you are setting it to the exact temp you want.

I can definitely see why this would be great! Honestly I might look into getting one, but I don't know for certain yet. I believe that my dome is rated for 100 watts so I should be solid on that. I can double check as well. Another question - does the wattage usually affect the heat? If so what would you recommend?

 

[Beman]

I can definitely see why this would be great! Honestly I might look into getting one, but I don't know for certain yet. I believe that my dome is rated for 100 watts so I should be solid on that. I can double check as well. Another question - does the wattage usually affect the heat? If so what would you recommend?

Yeah it is not a must have first purchase... It is a peace of mind purchase and saftely lol. I was always having to manually dim up or down my fixture because I do not have air conditioning and living on the far northern coast of Cali our weather shifts hourly.

So yes. Wattage effects temps. Lower wattage produce less heat and higher wattage produce more heat. I think your good starting with the 75 watt. Check temps at basking once the fixture has been running for at least an hour. If it is too hot you can lift the fixture up off the cage. Which honestly I recommend anyway to reduce thermal burn risk. Babies will crawl all over the screen including the top. I like these for lifting https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007D1BUJY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s05?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It has a bracket that if you drill holes in it and use a quarter inch self tapping screws you can mount it directly to your cage frame.