Red night light wattage

[Cruiser711]

Hey first time posting on here, I have my veiled chameleon's cage almost entirely set up, I just need the long uvb light and the red night light. I was going to just turn off all the lights at night because I live in CA and it doesn’t go below 65, but my Rango is being a diva and demands a light at night. So i heard the red night light is a good option, and I am wondering what wattage for the red night light is good? I don't want to go too hot and risk messing up her sleep schedule.

 

[Chameleoking]

Hello and welcome to the forums. Sorry to be the one to break it to you. All lights must go off at night. It can cause health issues or eventually will cause problems for you cham if all lights are not out at night. Also red lights are a no no. They irritate the chams eyes and can cause blindness.

 

[Chameleoking]

@MissSkittles

 

[Cruiser711]

Hello and welcome to the forums. Sorry to be the one to break it to you. All lights must go off at night. It can cause health issues or eventually will cause problems for you cham if all lights are not out at night. Also red lights are a no no. They irritate the chams eyes and can cause blindness.

okay thank you so much for the advice and thanks for the fast response . The only reason why I was asking was because when I turned off the lights, a few moments later I saw her clinging to the top of the cage. And when i turned the light back on she climbed down. Should I still turn off all the lights?

 

[Chameleoking]

It sounds like it could be a husbandry issue. If you don't mind, could I see a picture of your enclosure. From the lights down to the very bottom. Then I and some other skilled chameleon keepers on here will help you fix this issue. This is the place to come for expert advice.

 

[Chameleoking]

@Beman @ERKleRose

 

[Cruiser711]

There are two fake vines in there only because she loves it so much, but it's only for the meantime while I try and find a better vine substitute and figure out how to put it in the cage. UPDATE: I turned off the light to see what she would do, and she's fine she is not on the top of the cage

 

[Chameleoking]

Right off I can see several issues here. For starters the basking branch is too close to the basking light. What's the watt your using for basking. Should be 65-70 watt. I prefer 65 watt myself. It should be placed about 8-9 inches away from basking branch to prevent thermal burns to the back of your chameleon. #2 that light fixture doesn't penetrate the UVB rays through the enclosure enough. So if you use this light fixture for a long time eventually your cham could possibly develope MBD.#3 Your cham needs a plant to fill the top half of the cage. I personally think that is why she occasionally sleeps under the light. Because your plants fill the bottom half of enclosure and chams won't sleep at the bottom. They prefer to sleep at top half of cage. So try getting some pothos or umbrella plant. Something like that to fill top half of screen. That's just to start there is some more issues that need to be addressed. Let me find someone who can explain it better than me

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! Chameleoking is correct. No lights at night and no red or colored lights at any time. They need a 12 hour on/off light schedule and they need total darkness to sleep properly. Usually a little bit before lights out, chams will start heading to their sleeping spot. Yours may not yet have her schedule or her favorite spot. Although it is bizarre to us, they sometimes sleep hanging onto their screen and even upside down. Colored lights can damage their sensitive eyes. For proper uvb, you’ll be wanting to get a T5 fixture with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. It needs to be long enough to span the width of your enclosure. Unfortunately the coil/screw in bulbs are able to provide adequate uvb levels only about 2-3” away. Your night time temp drop is perfect! Veileds can handle temps as low as mid 50’s (although we try not to cool them off that much).
As you have a sweet little girl, are you aware that she will lay eggs regardless of being mated? Because of that, it’s essential to have perfect husbandry. Rather than go thru it all here & now, it would be best if you went to https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ Read all of the modules carefully and make sure to check out the species specific info on veileds. That site is the most accurate and up to date info on chameleon keeping. After that, we’re here to answer any questions and help however we can to get everything perfect for your little girl. If you’d like, you can fill out the help form https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ (just copy & paste) and someone can review it and find any areas that may need improvement.

 

[Chameleoking]

@MissSkittles can you look over his husbandry please if you can. You explain it way better than me.

 

[Chameleoking]

Lol beat me too it. Lol

 

[MissSkittles]

Right off I can see several issues here. For starters the basking branch is too close to the basking light. What's the watt your using for basking. Should be 65-70 watt. I prefer 65 watt myself. It should be placed about 8-9 inches away from basking branch to prevent thermal burns to the back of your chameleon. #2 that light fixture doesn't penetrate the UVB rays through the enclosure enough. So if you use this light fixture for a long time eventually your cham could possibly develope MBD.#3 Your cham needs a plant to fill the top half of the cage. I personally think that is why she occasionally sleeps under the light. Because your plants fill the bottom half of enclosure and chams won't sleep at the bottom. They prefer to sleep at top half of cage. So try getting some pothos or umbrella plant. Something like that to fill top half of screen. That's just to start there is some more issues that need to be addressed. Let me find someone who can explain it better than me

You explained it well.

 

[MissSkittles]

One of the many challenges in setting up enclosures properly is how to hang vines, branches and plants. While many have gotten very creative and done everything from construct their own framework to using garden trellis, I like using Dragon Ledges. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ When set up as the site shows, they are super strong and can easily support the weight of attaching plants at all levels. Some have even crafted their own type of Dragon Ledge using sheet metal I think.
When setting up an enclosure, we need to think about the natural environment of our chameleons. They live in trees. They need to have areas of unobstructed sun (uvb) as well as shady areas. Sometimes they want to get all of the heat they can and other times they want to be cooler. One important thing is that the higher they are, the safer they feel. That may be another reason that your girl went to the top when the lights went out...sleeping in what she sees as the safest spot. While fake plants seem to make our lives oh so much easier than trying to figure out how to get plants higher, they are not at all good for veileds. Veileds will nibble their plants (especially the girls) and could get impacted from eating a fake leaf. I hang my fake plants on the outside of my enclosures to provide more privacy for my chams. Usually you want to have a taller center plant, like a schefflera (umbrella plant) to act as a substitute tree. Then you can add other plants at varied heights. Having lots of branches and vines is also important as those are the little ‘roads’ that chams travel. There are several threads on enclosures if you use the search feature and you’ll find lots of inspiration.
Back to lights, I use a 60w basking bulb which gives me perfect temps of around 80 at around 8-9” down from the top. This is the distance which ideal uvb levels are with the strength bulbs I already mentioned. Your girl looks a bit young and the young chams like to climb their top, which can be dangerous and a risk for burns. With young ones, it’s best to elevate the lights above the top a couple of inches to prevent this.
Again, it will be very beneficial if you check out Chameleon Academy rather than have me babble at you all night goIng over all of the basics. As you can see, I talk a lot. I, like many others here, love helping new keepers.

 

[Cruiser711]

Hi and welcome! Chameleoking is correct. No lights at night and no red or colored lights at any time. They need a 12 hour on/off light schedule and they need total darkness to sleep properly. Usually a little bit before lights out, chams will start heading to their sleeping spot. Yours may not yet have her schedule or her favorite spot. Although it is bizarre to us, they sometimes sleep hanging onto their screen and even upside down. Colored lights can damage their sensitive eyes. For proper uvb, you’ll be wanting to get a T5 fixture with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. It needs to be long enough to span the width of your enclosure. Unfortunately the coil/screw in bulbs are able to provide adequate uvb levels only about 2-3” away. Your night time temp drop is perfect! Veileds can handle temps as low as mid 50’s (although we try not to cool them off that much).
As you have a sweet little girl, are you aware that she will lay eggs regardless of being mated? Because of that, it’s essential to have perfect husbandry. Rather than go thru it all here & now, it would be best if you went to https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ Read all of the modules carefully and make sure to check out the species specific info on veileds. That site is the most accurate and up to date info on chameleon keeping. After that, we’re here to answer any questions and help however we can to get everything perfect for your little girl. If you’d like, you can fill out the help form https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ (just copy & paste) and someone can review it and find any areas that may need improvement.

Thank you so much for the info! It really means a lot. Would this be an acceptable Light? Or is there a specific cite that I should go to? I will make sure to go through all of the modules and make sure that I have everything as best I can. I already have a pothos at the bottom of the enclosure. The reason it's at the bottom is because I don't know how I should attach it to the side of the cage. And I had no clue that they can lay eggs even without mating, they won't hatch though right? Because they haven't been fertilized?

 

[MissSkittles]

Thank you so much for the info! It really means a lot. Would this be an acceptable Light? Or is there a specific cite that I should go to? I will make sure to go through all of the modules and make sure that I have everything as best I can. I already have a pothos at the bottom of the enclosure. The reason it's at the bottom is because I don't know how I should attach it to the side of the cage. And I had no clue that they can lay eggs even without mating, they won't hatch though right? Because they haven't been fertilized?

Yes, that light is fine. For a little bit more you could get this one https://www.pangeareptile.com/collections/t5-lighting/products/arcadia-prot5-6-uvb-bulb-with-hood
Unless you have a solarmeter 6.5 (way to measure uvb output), ReptiSun bulbs will need to be changed every 6 months. Arcadia bulbs are good for a year.
The eggs will be infertile if she hasn’t been mated. Usually we just dig them out, count them and toss them. Egg production and laying does take a great deal out of our girls and shortens their lives, so we try to control it thru temps and diet. This isn’t anything you need to worry about until she is around 5-6 months old. This is a great article on it. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[Cruiser711]

Yes, that light is fine. For a little bit more you could get this one https://www.pangeareptile.com/collections/t5-lighting/products/arcadia-prot5-6-uvb-bulb-with-hood
Unless you have a solarmeter 6.5 (way to measure uvb output), ReptiSun bulbs will need to be changed every 6 months. Arcadia bulbs are good for a year.
The eggs will be infertile if she hasn’t been mated. Usually we just dig them out, count them and toss them. Egg production and laying does take a great deal out of our girls and shortens their lives, so we try to control it thru temps and diet. This isn’t anything you need to worry about until she is around 5-6 months old. This is a great article on it. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

in the article they say that they use a double fluorescent hood for the main light, would you suggest that over the t5?

 

[MissSkittles]

in the article they say that they use a double fluorescent hood for the main light, would you suggest that over the t5?

You could use a dual T5 if you wanted to add plant lighting. The important thing is it needs to be a T5 Ho.

 

[jamest0o0]

Just wanted to say, good job coming here for help and humbly taking advice. I think with that attitude you'll be a great chameleon keeper.