Red heating bulb

RayenaeTargaryen

New Member
I live in the Northern part of Florida, but even there it doesn't get very cold, even in December the lowest it normally gets is the lower side of 30 degrees, give or take.

Should I consider buying the red heating bulb for the colder months? Or more specifically, at what temperatures should I consider buying one?
 
I live in the Northern part of Florida, but even there it doesn't get very cold, even in December the lowest it normally gets is the lower side of 30 degrees, give or take.

Should I consider buying the red heating bulb for the colder months? Or more specifically, at what temperatures should I consider buying one?

I live in northern Florida as well :)
In my room, which is the room my chameleon is in, I have a space heater for the winter - which is more for my hedgehogs, because they hibernate if the temp drops below 73 degrees. I keep my room at 74 in the winter, and cool to 78 in the summer.

For the basking area I have a 75 watt incandescent bulb in a clamp lamp with dimmer to adjust is to whatever level is needed to heat the basking area. I could probably be using a lower wattage, and I do like the dimmer because I like precision.

Red heating bulbs are not recommended because chameleons need darkness to sleep, while red bulbs create light. Do you heat your house in the winter? Temperature drops at night are good to certain extent.

edited: also, if you want to see what the temps can drop to at night, look at the care sheets under Resources
 
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If it drops in the 30's I would definitely get some sort of heat structure... Like a heat pad and place it on the top of the cage with foam on the top to insulate it... My house got very cold one during the winter and when my Cham got to close to the light in the morning he suffered pretty bad burns... Which are just now starting to heal.
 
Temps (in the actual cage at night) for veileds that you might/should consider getting some sort of night heating (space heater or ceramic heat emitter, not red bulbs):

babies - below 70
juvies (at least 6 months old AND have mature markings in my opinion) - below 60
adults (at least 12-18 months AND almost/at adult sized) - below 50
 
Red heating bulbs are not recommended because chameleons need darkness to sleep, while red bulbs create light. Do you heat your house in the winter? Temperature drops at night are good to certain extent.

edited: also, if you want to see what the temps can drop to at night, look at the care sheets under Resources

Yes, I heat my house in the winter most of the time, but I wasn't sure if that would be enough for her. I read the Resources care sheet when I first signed up.

I had one guy tell me that Chameleons can't sense the color red so it doesn't keep them up, it just keeps them warm. Or maybe he was just talking about replacing the basking with the red bulb but I didn't exactly trust his opinion, so I'd rather ask you fine ladies and gentlemen. :p
 
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