UV light

[booshified]

Hello,

I have all the supplies for my cage and plan on picking up a baby veiled at the reptile show in Anneheim in Sept.

A Zoo Med Powersun UV 120V/100W came with the cage. I understand that I will need another light just to brighten things up but will this be good for my UV needs.

Any info is appreciated.

thanks

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

A looooong story short... Most chameleon keepers will recommend a Reptisun 5.0 tube rather than the higher power UVB mercury vapor. The MV lamps work well for desert critters like bearded dragons etc. When it comes to chameleons more artifical UVB is not better. Also, you'll be able to better regulate the UVB / heat gradients.

Great UVB site:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

 

[booshified]

Howdy,

A looooong story short... Most chameleon keepers will recommend a Reptisun 5.0 tube rather than the higher power UVB mercury vapor. The MV lamps work well for desert critters like bearded dragons etc. When it comes to chameleons more artifical UVB is not better. Also, you'll be able to better regulate the UVB / heat gradients.

Great UVB site:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

so the main reason you would not recommend this is because of the heat it produces? thus making you have to put it father away and thus making the UVB less powerful?

correct me if im wrong

 

[Fidel]

Yes, you will have to somehow suspend a MV bulb above a chameleon cage, one because of the heat they produce, two because they are sensitive to water(like when you mist).I tried one once and did not like it. The light was so intense it was hard to look into the cage without looking at the light and blinding myself. I can only speculate how it affected my chams eyes if it was that hard on my own. I had to suspend it from my ceiling with a small chain to about 6 inchins above the top of the cage just to get the basking spot to the proper temp. So a temp gun is also a must with a MV.

soooo.........I would not recomend a MV at all, much less for a baby veild, as baby chams are more suseptable to overheating.

 

[booshified]

the way i have it set up now it is right about a foot away from the cage

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Living in the northeast I like the T-rex 100 watt I use it with all my panther chameleons. haven't had any problems so far and don't expect to I have been using them for 3 yrs now. Each chameleon keeper has there own way you have to find yours .

 

[booshified]

im getting a thermometer. ill give it some heat tests. if it end up being too hot i will switch and maybe save it for winter.

 

[Dave Weldon]

so the main reason you would not recommend this is because of the heat it produces? thus making you have to put it father away and thus making the UVB less powerful?

correct me if im wrong

Howdy,

My main concern is that for a novice keeper it is difficult getting control over the balance between heat and UVB intensity. I own a UVB meter and can measure what the UVB intensity is at the basking spot and elsewhere while also measuring the heat at the chameleon's skin with an infrared temperature meter. Having separate sources allows me to adjust them independently. Using a Reptisun 5.0 insures that if your are roughly 6" to 12" away from your critter then you won't be risking a UVB O.D. Without a UVB meter, you may be exposing your critter to a UVB hot spot. "...use of sunlamps over extended periods (1-2 years) shortens the reproductive longevity of the adult chameleon. Such use also can promote skin tumors and shorten the life span of the chameleon." From Ferguson's book: "The Panther Chameleon". Many keepers have success with MV UVB sources but the margin for error is narrower and requires additional understanding of the source and its characteristics. Ferguson recommends 5-15 uW/cm2. You'll get around that level from the Reptisun 5.0 linear tube. For more ideas on MV, study the graphs in that section at: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercvapourfloods.htm#zoomedpowersun

 

[booshified]

thanks dave