Roughly how tall are adult, fully grown male panthers?

[DixonCider]

Google is only giving me how long they are, and occasionally how wide they are lol. Im having a hard time getting a straight answer on if I need to account for their height regarding the “6-8” distance basking branch” rule of thumb due to the fact I have a halogen bulb so it sits higher in the dome ie; there is a natural few inch gap between the top screen and the bulb. Temp gun is giving me a range of 84-90F on the branch, I believe im about 7” away from the screen.

TLDR: Do I need to target my basking temps slightly lower than the recommended range in order to account for the x amount of inches tall the chameleon will be?

Sorry for the long winded post, my boy is arriving hopefully later this week and this is about the last thing I had a question on, really dont want him to get a burn!

 

[nightanole]

Id angle the stick or angle the bulb. Then you end up with a warm ellipse instead of a round "hot spot" But in my opinion, people are not zapping their chams with temp guns, nor putting stunt chameleon like objects at cham height to zap.

And as part of the halogen master race, i think your 6-8" might be for just normal none flood Incandescents. I keep my 35 watt flood halogens over a foot away. As you can see, i do not have to account for chameleon height due to all the angles.

 

[Carlton]

But in my opinion, people are not zapping their chams with temp guns, nor putting stunt chameleon like objects at cham height to zap.

Actually, I DID zap mine with a temp gun at various times. At the start of basking, mid way through, when the cham started to gape before moving, when their skin was dark, when it was light, how quickly and how much their body temp changed while away from the basking area, while asleep, etc. I wanted to get some idea how reactive their core body temp actually was, and how fast and how much their torso's (the area that contains the vital organs) temperature changed compared to the environment. Understanding how much or little resilience different chams had helped me manage their enclosures a little better.

Don't forget OP that not only can your cham alter its skin color in order to absorb heat or reflect it away, it can also alter the shape of its torso. A cold cham can flatten and angle itself to increase its heat absorbing surface area. A living, thermal satellite dish that can be tilted for the best reception. How "tall" (maybe how deep bodied an individual species is) may not matter all that much because of its flexible ribcage. In addition to that, any cham can change its posture while perched on a particular branch...like choosing to lay flat. How much the length of its legs contributes to its height may not matter very much either.

 

[MissSkittles]

The basking branch distance is dictated by your UVB. If you are using the recommended standard T5 with either Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0, then the distance for the ideal UVB level is 8-9”. If you are afraid that your basking bulb will cause a burn, place your hand at the level your chameleon will be at and if it’s uncomfortably hot after a couple of minutes, it is too much for your chameleon. Alternatively, you can place the probe end of a thermometer in the air space to see what temps you’re getting. For a baby or younger chameleon and females, you want basking temps of 80F max. If a more mature male, 85F is the max. (Veileds and panthers)