uvb lights

[Hoj]

hi im very new and still asking lots of questions.

1. i am useing a glass terrarim with a screen top i know that most reccomend screened enclosures my problem with this is i live north of toronto canada and it is getting quite cold now and i want to keep the temps up and avoid the cold winter drafts from bothering my guy. the daytime temps are staying in the mid 80's and night time drops to high 60's low 70's. the tank has two swinging doors and measures 18"x18" and 30" tall my cham is still quite small and i am wordering if this cage is ok for him?
i am in the process of designing/building a kick ass custom screened unit but will not be using untill spring.

2. i am useing a exo-terra dual compact floresent top light with 2 26w uvb 5.0 bulbs, sitting directly on top. my worries is that are these lights safe as my little guy likes to sit right up by them and i have heard that they can cause possible blindness in my cham? and i only want the best for my buddy
i also have a ceramic basking light in on the opposite side providing a basking area.

thanks guys

 

[KCcham]

What kind of chameleon do you have? What's it's age? Have you read what others on here do that live in colder climates?

 

[Hoj]

its a male veiled cham i think hes about 4 to 6 months old. hes about 8" total lengh and i have not read much about the colder climates on here but will do

 

[Hoj]

here is my basic care ( changes ) i have got rid of water fall and in process of removing the cocnut substrate


Camo the Chameleon

Breed: Veiled Chameleon
Sex: male (I believe)
D.O.B: late July (estimated)
Purchased: October 21st, 2010 @ PJ’s pets Bramalea 905-729-7428

Feeding: mostly crickets 6 to 8 a day medium sized gut loaded with Zilla cricket and insect food, Zilla green cricket drink with calcium and dusted with Exo Terra calcium with D3 powder twice a week. Have tried some meal worms with no success. ( still trying )

Watering: misting two to three times a day with a hand spray bottle, as well as using a drip cup twice a day with approx, 2 oz of water each time. There is also a Exo-Terra small sized waterfall. All water is treated with Zoo Med dechloraminating agent.

Enclosure: Exo-Terra glass two door terrarium with screen top. Size 18x18x24
½” of coconut substrate on bottom, foam rock wall with fake plants hanging all over, a med sized 4ft flexible vine, large mounted piece of wood, a few large rocks, and a Exo-Terra small waterfall. Also I have a small Pothos plant growing in a pot at the bottom.

Lighting: 1 ceramic heat lamp with 65w bulb n clamp approx, 1” from screen and a Exo-Terra compact fluorescent terrarium canopy with 2 Exo-Terra Repti Glo 5.0 UVB 26w bulbs.

Temperature & Humidity: Top of terrarium is hi 70’s to low 80’s by day and low 70’s high 60’s at night. Bottom is low 70’s by day and low 60’s at night. Both temps measured with Exo-Terra dial thermometers at opposite side of basking light. Humidity is measured with a Exo-Terra hydrometer and is primarily kept between 55 and 75.

 

[KCcham]

I honestly cant remember if the lights you are using are the ones that have caused eye problems or not. I am sure someone will chime in soon with that answer. I have always shyed away from the coil bulbs and gone with the tubes instead.

Do you have calcium WITHOUT D3 that you can use to dust with? Most use the D3 about once a month or so, and use without d3 as a regular dusting source.

I have read from others on here that are in the colder areas that use a small space heater during the night, and wrap one side of the cage to provide some insulation. Also, if you are going to go that route, try to up the humidity because the space heater will start sucking it out of the air.

 

[ghettomike]

hello, im not too far from TO either and also have a veiled except mine is female. She is in a screen enclosure that has two sides of it wrapped in plastic to protect the walls from moisture as well as keep humidity levels up when the heat is on and it along with the help of live plants keeps the humlidity/temp good. I have the same type of light hood that you have but dont use 5.0 coil bulbs init just to be safe (i did for a bit until I read the whole possibility of blindness thing on here) I now use a 18 inch 5.0 linear bulb but i still use the light hood for two 26 watt 6500k cfls for the hibiscus/plants in her enclosure and it also keeps her baskinmg spot at the perfect temp (82ish) so I dont actually need a seperate basking bulb. If I were you I would try to get his new enclosure built sooner than later as he will outgrow it fast. also maybe cutback on the calcium with d3 to twice a month and get a calcium without d3 for the majority of feedings. Try gutloading with veggies/fruits and greens as they are alot better than the store bought gutloads. your cham would prob like some more variety in his diet like superworms (easily gutloaded), silkworms(nutritious), hornworms(juicy), roaches(great as a staple,easily gutloaded), butter worms(high in calcium, good treat), waxworms (good as aoccasional treat as theyare high in fat) Hope all this helps a bit.

 

[Hoj]

kool thanks alot i acctually have started dusting without d3 at every feeding useing Zoo-med repti-calcium w/o d3 and also give the bugs carrots potatoes and apples almost every day with the commercial foods. im going to change the bulb asap as well

 

[carol5208]

Hoj, a couple of things! You need to better gutload your crickets with fresh vegetables and fruits, such as kale, collard greens, romaine(dark leafy) apples, carrots, squash, melons etc. Your gutload is not the best! Also, I would ditch the waterfall. As it might look nice, it is really a place for bacteria to breed, especially if your cham poops in it and then takes a drink out of it. Most chams don't drink from standing water, but some do and why take a chance of your cham getting sick. Edit on the gutload! I was typin the same time as you, but still a no on the waterfall!

 

[kinyonga]

This site has lots of information about the lights...
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

Here's some information I often post for newbies...
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while.

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs....so its important too. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/

 

[Eppler]

Your lights are fine to use but you need to read the directions for the proper distance from basking spot. If you are using a screen top it should be 12" and if you are using 2 of them it should be more because the uvb will travel further out. I would replace one of them for a 2.0.