Question about a light bulb :)-and a cage

[FAIL]

Yesterday, I went to the pet store and talked to my favorite reptile lady there and told her about how i'm in the process of building a huge cage for my veiled. I asked her if she knew of any bulb that's cheaper than the reptisun 5.0 with the length that would work just as well. she told me to go to wal mart or a department store and look for a GE Ecolux Sunshine Full Spectrum bulb, she said shes been using them on all her reptiles for years and it works fine, i tried to do research to compare but couldn't find any answers. Should i use the GE bulb (it's so much lower in price).

Also, the cage is 36x25x48. Do you think I need more than one fluorescent fixture? and how many heat lamps should i use? His current cage is 18x18x30, and i have a 24'' fixture with a reptisun 5.0, and a 100 watt basking bulb in a 5.5'' raised up a weighs to keep it the right temperature. here the ambient room temp(basement) is around 55-65.

 

[ChrisnLisa]

Unless you or a friend have a UVB meter to test it, I wouldn't risk it. The 5.0 bulbs are only 13.99 on LLL, that's pretty darn cheap if you ask me.

 

[FAIL]

oh, thanks, didnt check there . checked there for cage but not the bulb ty. anyone wanna tell me about how many heat lamps? im thinking of 1 50 watt in one corner, one 75 in one corner, and one 100 watt in the front corner. with the fluorescent bulb in the middle ?

 

[luevelvet]

If only one chameleon will be in the cage and the surrounding temps dont go below 75-78, I would have only one 60 watt bulb a few inches from one side of the cage. Have the UVB on the other and you should be good. Don't forget to provide basking perches under both as well. Three incandescent bulbs at those wattage's will be way too much.

Luis

 

[Rocky]

Ya unless you have a uv meter I wouldn't risk it.

Also, you really only need one basking spot. They should go to the basking spot when they need to. If the cage temp gets really low you may need another one, but generally you should only need 1.

 

[Crazy Pet Lady]

Isn't the ambient temp a little low? Max of 65? Depending on where you live, does it get colder in the winter? I thought veiled chams needed a higher everyday ambient temp and slightly cooler at night. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. I really would like to know.

 

[FAIL]

I think you misunderstood me. The ambient temp is always 55-65 in the basement, i wanted to know how many fluorescent and basking bulbs should be over the cage, i was thinking 3 basking lights and 1 or 2 fluorescent? since it's that cold.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I think you misunderstood me. The ambient temp is always 55-65 in the basement, i wanted to know how many fluorescent and basking bulbs should be over the cage, i was thinking 3 basking lights and 1 or 2 fluorescent? since it's that cold.

You need a digital probe thermometer.
Use only one basking light and measure the temperature in the designated basking spot. Make sure the animal cannot perch to close to the lamp.
Try to get that spot to reach 85 to 90 degrees.
You may have to change the lamp to a higher or lower wattage from what you start with to achieve this.
The rest of the enclosure should be gradually cooler from that spot down and laterally as well.
If the bottom perches are at 55 to 65 degrees, that's great!
Don't try to heat the whole enclosure and if you need to provide heat at night (room temp 55 or lower) use a space heater in the room and set the thermostat at 60 degrees.
You need one 5.0 uvb tube. I use double fluorescent fixtures with one 5.0 and one plant tube for extra light and to encourage the live plants to thrive.

-Brad

 

[Crazy Pet Lady]

I think you misunderstood me. The ambient temp is always 55-65 in the basement, i wanted to know how many fluorescent and basking bulbs should be over the cage, i was thinking 3 basking lights and 1 or 2 fluorescent? since it's that cold.

You're right. I did misunderstand. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[FAIL]

thanks for the info, that's the way his current set up is-one 100 watt in a 18x18x30(raised up like 10 inches above the screen . and one 24'' 5.0-with the accurate temps) im gonna have him in the new set up in a couple weeks, i'll post pictures to show the difference. .

 

[wilfred]

Are there any ill effects for a chameleon being right underneath a reptisun bulb if the temperature is right?

 

[sandrachameleon]

I agree with everything Brad said

If the chameleon can get out of the UVB if is wants to, while still being able to be in its prefered temp range, then I wouldnt worry too much about the closeness of the UVB tube. There is however an optimum distance to shoot for.

 

[jake01]

You need a digital probe thermometer.
Use only one basking light and measure the temperature in the designated basking spot. Make sure the animal cannot perch to close to the lamp.
Try to get that spot to reach 85 to 90 degrees.
You may have to change the lamp to a higher or lower wattage from what you start with to achieve this.
The rest of the enclosure should be gradually cooler from that spot down and laterally as well.
If the bottom perches are at 55 to 65 degrees, that's great!
Don't try to heat the whole enclosure and if you need to provide heat at night (room temp 55 or lower) use a space heater in the room and set the thermostat at 60 degrees.
You need one 5.0 uvb tube. I use double fluorescent fixtures with one 5.0 and one plant tube for extra light and to encourage the live plants to thrive.

-Brad

Where did you get the double fluorescent fixtures? I went looking for them and came home empty handed, also checked online at the normal places. Ended up going with a standard single fixture since that's all I could find.

 

[xanthoman]

the only way to know for sure is with a uv meter , most bulbs designed for indoor use have a uv restriction , i would cough up the extra $10 (its not like the other bulb is free any way) one thing is for sure , anyone who bases their care based soley on what the pet store tells them, is taking an uneccessary risk.