The importance of foliage

Sonny13

Chameleon Enthusiast
Do chameleons regulate their own UVB absorption and daily tax?

I would say YES!

Have been witnessing this for awhile and especially noticed it during the many escape trips of Bella when she’s gravid. Then she leaves her free range to explore the whole room, however many times a day she goes back to bask for UVB and then she’s off again.

With the montane species Kinyongia Boehmei and Jackson Xantholophus, I witnessed it within a few weeks. They bask for UVB and when they have enough they hide / retrieve underneath the foliage for many hours. UVB basking is in general in morning and sometimes in the late afternoon.

Personally, I think this gives a good example why the husbandry program from Chameleon Academy (@DeremensisBlue) with their Forest Edge 4+4 method is so important and effective. This together with the correct UVI levels should give a healthy basis for any chameleon life in captivity.

This is just a personal observation and feel free to chime in with your own experience, our contradictions 😉.
I’m always curious about everyone’s observations and individual behavior of their chameleon.

Here the Xantholophus during his non-basking period, see how low he’s in his tree, almost halfway.

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Here’s some possible reasoning for the behavior and some evidence that vitamin D levels affect the behavior

Essentially UV exposure helps form beta-endorphins (naturally derived opioid substances) It makes you “feel good”. And there’s some suggestion that there is a feedback loop on beta endorphins with vitamin D

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4117380/pdf/nihms599207.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8195487/pdf/abe4577.pdf
I read one of these articles a while ago and it was food for thought.

Thought I was losing my mind....here's where I read it...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/might-help-explain-uv-seeking-behaviors.185133/#post-1704512
 
I think the concept of uVB being focused into the basking light is important
The conversion of previtamin D to Vitamin d in the skin is a temperature dependent process. And the warmer it is the faster the reaction takes place, so this is definitely an important concept that can have direct implications in our care of our animals.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC42117/pdf/pnas01492-0057.pdf
 
I always tried to give them choices...sitting in one spot in the cage would put them under the UVB and in another the basking light and the UVB and they could move somewhat into a position where the UVB was on the other side of the basking light but not totally off them....best I could do.
 
My montane species almost don’t have a basking light (except the widespread plant led lights). Only the Jackson has in the morning 2 hours a basking spot and in the afternoon 1 hour.

Interesting reads👍🏻
 
I notice with my babies that they bask the whole day. the have a basking light and a t 5 uvb that goes across the cages. They do bask the whole day because my room temperature are quite low. I don´t think it´s about the uvb but about the temperature. In my understanding heat and uvb comes from the same source in nature. So when they feel cold and bask they would be getting uvb aswell or that is my understanding atleast.
 
It’s probably a thin line. However, maybe if the room temperatures are higher you’ll only find them bask for UVB. My veiled basks almost constantly, while it looks like the montane species bask more strategically.
 
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