UVB Distance from Top of Cage

[AESara]

I believe that members have confirmed a number of times that the Exo Terra ReptiGlo 5.0 (the only brand I could find in my area) is safe to place directly on top of a 2x2x4 cage. Please correct me if I'm wrong before my new 2x2x4 arrives and I set it up for Napoleon.

I will be purchasing a 2x2x3 cage for another cham and I am wondering if the light can also be placed directly on top of that size cage or if it should be slightly suspended. Is there perhaps a general rule for height of cage compared to distance from UVB bulb?

Thank you everyone for your time

 

[Jonasburns]

As far as i know it needs to be within 12" of the basking spot and personally I am going to hang mine above the cage if at all possible to avoid burns.


If i am incorrect ill get bashed any minute.

 

[AESara]

As far as i know it needs to be within 12" of the basking spot and personally I am going to hang mine above the cage if at all possible to avoid burns.


If i am incorrect ill get bashed any minute.

I was kind of thinking that myself. I saw some pictures of a burnt cham and I would just hate to see that happen We'll see what everyone says. haha

 

[Jonasburns]

Agreed while these lights put out little heat, I am a better safe then sorry kind of person.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

it is the heat bulbs that you need to watch out for. imo, the close the basking spot perch is for the uvb lighting, the better. yes it is true within a 12" range, but it all depends on the type of cage and its screen. for instance, i have one 38 Flexarium which measures at 2.5' tall. my uvb perch is about 5 inches away from the top because of the darker screen and my heat light also sits on top of the screen but is only a 40W incandecent, the perch is about the same distance and read with a digital thermometer, doesnt get any higher than 85 with heat in the room. this is for my fischer's and the settings havent changed in months, there is no sign of burn, deformitory or discolouration to its skin.

one thing to keep in mind is with flexariums, you may need to use a 10.0 uvb for larger cages, since the mesh is thicker, you need a stronger ray of uvb readings to penatrate. this is where a perch should be about 12'' away. pet screen could also fall into this category, in which may need a 10.0.

for reptibreeze and other steel mesh cages, a 5.0 should suffice up to a 4' cage sitting directly on top.

 

[Jonasburns]

it is the heat bulbs that you need to watch out for. imo, the close the basking spot perch is for the uvb lighting, the better. yes it is true within a 12" range, but it all depends on the type of cage and its screen. for instance, i have one 38 Flexarium which measures at 2.5' tall. my uvb perch is about 5 inches away from the top because of the darker screen and my heat light also sits on top of the screen but is only a 40W incandecent, the perch is about the same distance and read with a digital thermometer, doesnt get any higher than 85 with heat in the room. this is for my fischer's and the settings havent changed in months, there is no sign of burn, deformitory or discolouration to its skin.

one thing to keep in mind is with flexariums, you may need to use a 10.0 uvb for larger cages, since the mesh is thicker, you need a stronger ray of uvb readings to penatrate. this is where a perch should be about 12'' away. pet screen could also fall into this category, in which may need a 10.0.

for reptibreeze and other steel mesh cages, a 5.0 should suffice up to a 4' cage sitting directly on top.

good stuff i got an all aluminum so i wouldn't have even thought about that.

Speaking of which my house seems to be bobbing between 80-85F do i need a basking bulb during these times in the summer? Is it just the temp they are seeking? This period might be 4-6 months a year when its most hot in phoenix. Otherwise use the bulb all year and get a good misting system?

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i have no idea if this is fact or myth, but somewhere down the lines, i've heard that not providing a heat light phsycologicaly upsets their day and night cycle. it has been getting recordly hot where i live this summer as well, been steady high 80s to mid 90s. regardless whether it is myth or fact, i provide a bask light to both my chams with lowered basking perches, ive also have an isolating fan blowing on low about 5 feet away from all of my cages. i have to keep a pygmy chameleon and crested geckos at high 70s during the day and in glass cages can sometimes be a tricky issue.

 

[Jonasburns]

i have no idea if this is fact or myth, but somewhere down the lines, i've heard that not providing a heat light phsycologicaly upsets their day and night cycle. it has been getting recordly hot where i live this summer as well, been steady high 80s to mid 90s. regardless whether it is myth or fact, i provide a bask light to both my chams with lowered basking perches, ive also have an isolating fan blowing on low about 5 feet away from all of my cages. i have to keep a pygmy chameleon and crested geckos at high 70s during the day and in glass cages can sometimes be a tricky issue.

I would have to agree with this. I have seen this in Iguana's and a Cayman i had long ago. Anecdotal evidence but sound enough reasoning for me.

 

[AESara]

Isn't that because of the UVA the bulbs emit more than the heat? I think I read somewhere that the UVA helps them see a full spectrum instead of seeing everything as drab, which would obviously be psychologically helpful.

I've wondered about the heat lights too since Ohio has been especially hot this summer and is also (always, other than in winter) humid, which makes it harder to keep the heat of the cage in the proper range.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

Isn't that because of the UVA the bulbs emit more than the heat? I think I read somewhere that the UVA helps them see a full spectrum instead of seeing everything as drab, which would obviously be psychologically helpful.

I've wondered about the heat lights too since Ohio has been especially hot this summer and is also (always, other than in winter) humid, which makes it harder to keep the heat of the cage in the proper range.

i would guess this physcological theory would have to do with uvb/uva lighting as well and not so much the heat. i mean, heat is JUST a temperature and you have such bulbs like ceramic light bulbs that dont give off any light and just heat. i read and seen something on that uva/uvb as well, i believe it was on an exo-terra lighting video. i cannot remember exactly, but imo both equally do crucial roles in a chameleon's health and body such as metabolism, body thermoregulating, vitamin and nutrients breakdown. i would always provide both and if temperatures are just to hot, then provide a fan.

 

[Jonasburns]

Isn't that because of the UVA the bulbs emit more than the heat? I think I read somewhere that the UVA helps them see a full spectrum instead of seeing everything as drab, which would obviously be psychologically helpful.

I've wondered about the heat lights too since Ohio has been especially hot this summer and is also (always, other than in winter) humid, which makes it harder to keep the heat of the cage in the proper range.

I dont feel educated enough to really speak on reptile lighting and the related processes but uvguide.co.uk has great answers to reptile light questions.

I think if you can, and you should, try to get as much "natural" sunlight you as you can. By that I mean bulbs that replicate as much "sun light" or frequency of light that naturally occurs in sunlight. This is especially true for people who can't get their cham outdoors as this is what i read is the best way to get UVB / UVA and clearly is the most natural

For me personally im in Arizona ill try to get my cham out as much as is safe. But indoors this means a UVB, plant bulbs and a basking bulb which means more heat and more need for a misting system. So i theorize as i dont have a cham yet, only an enclosure, gauges and a weeks worth of monitoring.

 

[AESara]

Sounds fine to me. I have a quiet little fan that should do the trick.

I noticed, though, that the ReptiGlo 5.0 claims to emit UVA as well as UVB, which sparked my own curiosity about the heat lamps (for use in warm months). Without a meter I suppose I have no way of knowing that the levels are good, so I should play it safe.

 

[Jonasburns]

i would guess this physcological theory would have to do with uvb/uva lighting as well and not so much the heat. i mean, heat is JUST a temperature and you have such bulbs like ceramic light bulbs that dont give off any light and just heat. i read and seen something on that uva/uvb as well, i believe it was on an exo-terra lighting video. i cannot remember exactly, but imo both equally do crucial roles in a chameleon's health and body such as metabolism, body thermoregulating, vitamin and nutrients breakdown. i would always provide both and if temperatures are just to hot, then provide a fan.

Cool ill try this too. Ty

 

[AESara]

For me personally im in Arizona ill try to get my cham out as much as is safe. But indoors this means a UVB, plant bulbs and a basking bulb which means more heat and more need for a misting system. So i theorize as i dont have a cham yet, only an enclosure, gauges and a weeks worth of monitoring.

We have a bee problem in our area this year, so I've been hesitant to take him out much. While it's warm it would be fine to take him out as long as I'm there, but we also have a stray dog problem at all times. I'm afraid that if I were to leave his cage outside while I go do other things, a dog might knock his cage over and injure him.

I might be able to set him up on a table in the back room and prop open a window, however.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i use reptiGLOs myself, SUNs are scarce where i live and when you find them are easily a whopping 55$+ it is ubsurd. if you realy are worried about cons weighing down the uvb lights compared to natural sunlight, then some keepers leave there uvb lights on up to 2 hours longer, for a 14day-10night cycle.

just because chameleons are aborel, doesnt mean they always climb to the canopys and bask in direct sunlight, yes the do, but not a majority of the time i wouldnt think. im basing this on thought and not fact, ive never studied chams in the wild.

therefore with that being stated, not a full spectrum of uvb is penetrating through the leaves to where the animal is at. i believe that with proper calcium supplimentation, this shouldnt ever be a worry in regards to the chameleon's health. but phsycologicaly, could put up barriers between being mentaly stable or not.

 

[AESara]

Right. Thank you for all your input. I'll watch the temps in his cage and if they worry me I'll go with the propped open window idea for a little bit.

 

[Jonasburns]

i use reptiGLOs myself, SUNs are scarce where i live and when you find them are easily a whopping 55$+ it is ubsurd. if you realy are worried about cons weighing down the uvb lights compared to natural sunlight, then some keepers leave there uvb lights on up to 2 hours longer, for a 14day-10night cycle.

just because chameleons are aborel, doesnt mean they always climb to the canopys and bask in direct sunlight, yes the do, but not a majority of the time i wouldnt think. im basing this on thought and not fact, ive never studied chams in the wild.

therefore with that being stated, not a full spectrum of uvb is penetrating through the leaves to where the animal is at. i believe that with proper calcium supplimentation, this shouldnt ever be a worry in regards to the chameleon's health. but phsycologicaly, could put up barriers between being mentaly stable or not.

Agreed. This what im basing most of my thoughts on.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/whatreptilesneed.htm




My concern outdoors is that according to her studies its likely that chameleons don't spend much time canopy level but receive light filtered mid canopy, meaning lower direct levels of light. She also said that the sun in AZ emits 10x the normal amounts a normal reptiglow does. I will indeed need to be careful when going outside.

This is far outside normal beginner concerns but it's just how I think.

*edit*
Excellent chat BTW thank you both

 

[Silkyslim]

Yeah you want to use a variety of light sources to get the specturm light as close to natural sunshine as possible. At least thats what I got from reading this:

http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/dr.html

 

[VeiledOwner87]

just place the cage under the shade, you should be golden and good to go. enjoyed the chat too man, too both of you, any questions i will do my best to help you out. i dont know everything, but basics just give me a shout

 

[summoner12]

I made a post a while back showing readings from a Zoo Med 5.0 and a 10.0 using screen and aluminum foil. If you order you UVB lamps onlne from LLL Reptile or Reptmart, you'll save vs. shopping at a local shop.

But just to give you an idea.... check out this thread; Some Readings