Proper lighting

J

jdada7

New Member
Hello all,

I recently purchased a baby veiled chameleon and purchased the zoomed chameleon kit that was at the pet store. It came with these lights and bulbs

Daylight Blue™ Reptile Bulb 60watts
ReptiSun® 5.0 Mini Compact Fluorescent 13 watts

I’m curious if I’m missing a light?
Does the daylight bulb act as a baking lamp as well?
Are those two good enough?
Should I add another light? If so which one?

Thanks In advanced.
 
Hello and welcome.

Personally, if it´s still possible I would return this kit, because it ain´t good for a chameleon, and yes I know why selling it as a chameleon kit?! But, we´ll are familiar with this problem and is terrible for everyone just starting. The blue light is even harmful for their eyes.

What you need is a linear UVB strip, like this from Zoomed https://zoomed.com/reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood/ or from Arcadia https://www.arcadiareptile.com/lighting/prot5/

Plus a single dome fixture like this one https://zoomed.com/deluxe-porcelain-clamp-lamp/ and here you can use just a normal light bulb and is for their heat / basking light.

The only light you could at is a led plant light for stimulating plant growth.

If you haven´t read this before, I would strongly suggest to read this carefully and we´re always here to help you with further questions.
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-basics/
https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/
 
Hi and welcome! :) I’m so very happy that you’ve found your way here. I second everything that @Sonny13 has said.
The pet store employees often have little clue about the proper care of keeping chameleons and will sell you the chameleon kit and other needless things that usually lead to some very sad conclusions for the new chameleon keeper. While having everything correct for your sweet new baby is important, there are some things that are absolutely essential. Baby chams have zero resources to fall back on and can very rapidly fall I’ll and perish. The linear T5 fixture with either the ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb is one of those things. The screw in bulb that comes with the chameleon kit just isn’t able to provide the uvb levels needed. Usually the correct uvb needs to be bought on line, although I believe PetSmart has started carrying the Arcadia Pro T5 which comes with a 6% bulb.
Having the correct supplements and using them properly is also extremely important. Perhaps the best thing that the chameleon kit contains is the sample supplements. You’ll want to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding and then the ReptiVite with D3 for one feeding every other week. You don’t say how old your baby is or what gender. If you post some pics and include some of the back of the back feet, we can help with that. Very young chams need to have feeders small enough for them and often pet stores don’t sell that size. The rule of thumb is the feeders need to be smaller than the space between the eyes. Babies also need to eat a lot every day, and if very young, twice a day.
Temperature and humidity is also important. Basking temp for a baby shouldn’t be any higher than 80 and you’ll need humidity to be between 30-50%.
Do check out the links to Chameleon Academy and read thru all. Post some pics and ask whatever questions you need and we’ll be thrilled to help you get your sweet baby off to the best start and learn how to have many wonderful healthy years with your new pal. :)
 
Ok awesome! Thank you!

I just ordered a Brand New Arcadia Light For Life Pro T5 UVB Kit 24Watt D3 Desert 12% UV-B

Once received I’ll have that added with the Reptasun incandescent light bulb 60 watts about 8 inches off the mesh.

The chameleon is a male about 2-3 months old.
 
jdada7 said:
Ok awesome! Thank you!

I just ordered a Brand New Arcadia Light For Life Pro T5 UVB Kit 24Watt D3 Desert 12% UV-B

Once received I’ll have that added with the Reptasun incandescent light bulb 60 watts about 8 inches off the mesh.

The chameleon is a male about 2-3 months old.
Click to expand...
Hun you want the 6% bulb not the 12%. See if you can get them to switch this out. Otherwise your going to need to lift the fixture so that there is a 11-12 inch total distance between the bottom of the fixture and the highest branch below it. With the 6% or 5.0 bulb you need 8-9 inches between.
 
jdada7 said:
Ok awesome! Thank you!

I just ordered a Brand New Arcadia Light For Life Pro T5 UVB Kit 24Watt D3 Desert 12% UV-B

Once received I’ll have that added with the Reptasun incandescent light bulb 60 watts about 8 inches off the mesh.

The chameleon is a male about 2-3 months old.
Click to expand...
As @Beman already told you about the strength of your uvb and distances, you’ll also be wanting to elevate the basking light at least a couple of inches off the screen. Babies love to walk upside down along the screen top and can easily get burns.
For a chameleon at 2-3 months old, he should be getting fed as much as he can eat in about a 15 minute period, twice a day. As he reaches about 4 months old, you’ll cut him back to once daily feedings of about 20 feeders and as he gets older, feeding amounts and frequency will keep decreasing as his needs will decrease.
 
Let us know what you actually end up with. I did not realize the baby was so young. So you will have to elevate the fixture no matter which type. But if you tell us what exactly you end up with we can give you specifics.
 
This is his current set up.

I have the mini dome (for now)

Going to replace it with the Arcadia Pro T5 UVB Kit 24Watt D3 Desert 12% UV-B.

I also have the Repta-Sun Incandescent Lighting basking light hanging about 7-8 inches away from the screen.

I’ll also be adding more artificial trees and a reptile automatic fountain.

What else should I add or am I missing?

09CB79B5-D1DE-4B24-A438-CEA4A6C155BE.jpeg
 

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Spraying the trees is better than having the automatic dripper/fountain?

I can lower the highest branch so that it is 7/8 inches away from the top of the screen.

Are artificial plants ok? Or should I look into getting a real plant?
 
jdada7 said:
Spraying the trees is better than having the automatic dripper/fountain?

I can lower the highest branch so that it is 7/8 inches away from the top of the screen.

Are artificial plants ok? Or should I look into getting a real plant?
Click to expand...
The fountains are known for growing bacteria. So we do not recommend them at all. Either hand misting or having an automatic mister set up spraying the leaves of the plants is best. Live plants are always better than fake. And with Veileds they eat their plants so having fake ones is dangerous. See the veiled tested plants on this image. A large centerpiece plant would be good.


So with the single bulb T5HO fixture and the 12% bulb you need a total distance of 11-12 inches to the branch. So if you can have the highest branches at 5 inches below the screen then you will lift the fixture 7 inches up off the screen. This will make it so that the baby is not over exposed to a much too strong UVI level on the screen top when it screen climbs. You need to test your temps there on the screen as well. No hotter than 78-80 for a baby. As the chameleon matures you can look at changing the way you have your lighting set up when screen climbing the top is not a risk.

chameleon academy plants.png
 
Beman said:
The fountains are known for growing bacteria. So we do not recommend them at all. Either hand misting or having an automatic mister set up spraying the leaves of the plants is best. Live plants are always better than fake. And with Veileds they eat their plants so having fake ones is dangerous. See the veiled tested plants on this image. A large centerpiece plant would be good.


So with the single bulb T5HO fixture and the 12% bulb you need a total distance of 11-12 inches to the branch. So if you can have the highest branches at 5 inches below the screen then you will lift the fixture 7 inches up off the screen. This will make it so that the baby is not over exposed to a much too strong UVI level on the screen top when it screen climbs. You need to test your temps there on the screen as well. No hotter than 78-80 for a baby. As the chameleon matures you can look at changing the way you have your lighting set up when screen climbing the top is not a risk.

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Click to expand...
Also is this ficus good?
 

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How am I supposed to lift the Arcadia Light 12 inches from the screen if it's laying flat?

the basking bulb i can understand, not sure about the UVB light?
 
jdada7 said:
How am I supposed to lift the Arcadia Light 12 inches from the screen if it's laying flat?

the basking bulb i can understand, not sure about the UVB light?
Click to expand...
For 1-4 inches I'd recommend what I use. craft wood mainly two in a v shape to allow the door to open. They are supported by the frame of the cage, this allows me to put the linear 24 inch up top and away from the screen as well as led and Basking fixtures.

As for lifting it 12 inches up that's a different story. Maybe you can split the difference and make the highest branches slightly lower in the enclosure. And use something to support the fixture inches above the screen.

I've seen someone build a PVC rack for the top of the enclosure to neatly hang and position the lights. This might work better as you can easily cut the vertical portions of PVC to the needed height for good uvb... A little less Lincoln Log vibe I might have just talked myself into doing this

Here is a link something like what I use they have a few different sizes and options

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Waddell-1-4-in-x-36-in-Basswood-Square-Dowel-8304U/100545825

Its a good idea to make note of when you start your uvb bulb they do have a shelf life based on the brand. But it'll get to a point where it doesn't have uvb out but still give light.
 
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