Veiled chameleon basking a lot and seeming kind of inactive

[Beman]

Thanks for your reply!
Yeah, I was kinda scared about posting on reddit, because I have the MV bulb which is absolutly not recommended there, so I would have probably got a shitstorm from the mods there. Btw this forum and the people on here seem very friendly and helpful

I thought that the temps are a bit high, but it‘s strange that he was this dark color yesterday and the fact he is in his basking area most of the time. I actually already build something (like two pieces of wood screwed together to form an L) so I can raise the fixture up, but only recently got a good device to measure the temps and prior to that was thinking its not hot enough because of his behaviour - thats why i haven‘t installed it yet.

If I get the Arcadia T5 6% (plus fixture) will i get away without the solarmeter? It seems like a good choice to provide more light and have the UH cover more of the cage. I would also switch the MV to a regular heat bulb of course.

About the drinking - I saw him drink from the glass; or sometimes he will drink straight from the (makeshift) dripper. His urates is white-ish like, I guess, it should be. But I was actually thinking about a temp cover for some of the sides > firstly cause of the spraywater and secondly it‘s getting winter here so maybe for the temps.

Thank you all again for the friendly and welcoming feedback and tips.
I was going of of reddit because they seem to know what they are talking about, I also read a good bit from Bill Strand (I think is his name), but Georg is still my first reptile and I was trying to start somewhere.

Btw. i snapped more pics of him about half an hour ago and he looks way more natural than he was yesterday about the same time (7pm - usually i turn off the lights at 8pm)

Cheers,
Chris

So you have a little boy... Based on size I am betting somewhere in the 6-9 month range.

If you can get the arcadia T5HO with the 6% bulb. Then yes I can give you your approximate distance to branch for the right UVI with a bit more info from you. And you would not have to purchase the solarmeter.

You want to try to get one that will go the width of the cage but if you can't just get whatever ProT5 with 6% you can. This form of UVB is going to be safer for him... MV bulbs can produce unstable temps and UVI levels. Typically the UVI is much much higher than a cham should be exposed to. Same with the heat.

And we are more than happy to help you with your chameleon journey.

 

[georg_the_cham]

Check, misread it a bit. Then it’s good.
How large are the crickets? 10 crickets daily is a lot, but you only have him for 3-4 weeks. Therefore if he’s still hungry let him, because he can use a bit more weight. However keep track on him, how he gains weight.

The packages says „large“, but I feel like they are not all that large. Especially compared to the ones reading „medium“ (thoses are reeeally small in my opinion).
Yeah I figured that about his weight… I always have a close eye on HIM!

I’m saying him, thanks for the extra pics, he’s definitely a Georg. That’s solved and you’re not ripped off.

Phew, now I‘m relieved. Thanks for your expertise. Still strange with his casque, huh? Maybe it‘s growth will kick in sooner or later.

Correct and love it here. But, leaving Saturday again.

Enjoy your stay

Keep us posted Chris and we’re here for furthermore questions.

Thank you, I will!

Another question I have about the heat lamps, I see most of them emitting UVA, and I also noticed that the T5 Arcadia has a 30% UVA output or something - could this „double UVA power“ lead to problems?

 

[georg_the_cham]

So you have a little boy... Based on size I am betting somewhere in the 6-9 month range.

If you can get the arcadia T5HO with the 6% bulb. Then yes I can give you your approximate distance to branch for the right UVI with a bit more info from you. And you would not have to purchase the solarmeter.

You want to try to get one that will go the width of the cage but if you can't just get whatever ProT5 with 6% you can. This form of UVB is going to be safer for him... MV bulbs can produce unstable temps and UVI levels. Typically the UVI is much much higher than a cham should be exposed to. Same with the heat.

And we are more than happy to help you with your chameleon journey.

Dude, big thanks for your help!
I gotta say, I feel really understood und accepted here.

I will order the arcadia T5 and a appropriate heat bulb first things first tomorrow morning.

If you really could help me with the setup then, that be pretty awesome.

All the best,
Chris

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! Now that you’ve gotten such great help getting your lighting sorted and so much more, I want to ask about what supplements you’re using. Georg does have a smaller casque and so now I’m curious.

 

[janjan20]

Thanks for your reply!
Yeah, I was kinda scared about posting on reddit, because I have the MV bulb which is absolutly not recommended there, so I would have probably got a shitstorm from the mods there. Btw this forum and the people on here seem very friendly and helpful

I thought that the temps are a bit high, but it‘s strange that he was this dark color yesterday and the fact he is in his basking area most of the time. I actually already build something (like two pieces of wood screwed together to form an L) so I can raise the fixture up, but only recently got a good device to measure the temps and prior to that was thinking its not hot enough because of his behaviour - thats why i haven‘t installed it yet.

If I get the Arcadia T5 6% (plus fixture) will i get away without the solarmeter? It seems like a good choice to provide more light and have the UH cover more of the cage. I would also switch the MV to a regular heat bulb of course.

About the drinking - I saw him drink from the glass; or sometimes he will drink straight from the (makeshift) dripper. His urates is white-ish like, I guess, it should be. But I was actually thinking about a temp cover for some of the sides > firstly cause of the spraywater and secondly it‘s getting winter here so maybe for the temps.

Thank you all again for the friendly and welcoming feedback and tips.
I was going of of reddit because they seem to know what they are talking about, I also read a good bit from Bill Strand (I think is his name), but Georg is still my first reptile and I was trying to start somewhere.

Btw. i snapped more pics of him about half an hour ago and he looks way more natural than he was yesterday about the same time (7pm - usually i turn off the lights at 8pm)

Cheers,
Chris

Better pics! Definitely a boy!

 

[georg_the_cham]

Hi and welcome! Now that you’ve gotten such great help getting your lighting sorted and so much more, I want to ask about what supplements you’re using. Georg does have a smaller casque and so now I’m curious.

hey and thanks for the welcoming
Well I use plain calcium every feeding (which is currently every day) and I used a multivitamin mid september and a few days ago (so I guess once a month).
Unfortunatly I couldn‘t really find a calcium with D3 in my area…

Like I said in a post earlier - I have him for about a month now and he was already smaller than he should be. The guy from the shop said he is from january, I don‘t know if that means „hatched in january“ or „layed in january“ - if that even makes a difference. But sure, the small casque and his overall size is a bit strange for his supposed age…

I attach images of the supplements and a picture of the crickets (thumb for scale )

Thank ya all and have a good day!

 

[MissSkittles]

hey and thanks for the welcoming
Well I use plain calcium every feeding (which is currently every day) and I used a multivitamin mid september and a few days ago (so I guess once a month).
Unfortunatly I couldn‘t really find a calcium with D3 in my area…

Like I said in a post earlier - I have him for about a month now and he was already smaller than he should be. The guy from the shop said he is from january, I don‘t know if that means „hatched in january“ or „layed in january“ - if that even makes a difference. But sure, the small casque and his overall size is a bit strange for his supposed age…

I attach images of the supplements and a picture of the crickets (thumb for scale )

Thank ya all and have a good day!

You are correct in using the calcium without D3 at every feeding, but the multivitamin should be used for one feeding every other week. You also really do need a source of vitamin D3. Your multivitamin has a little, but I don’t think it’s an adequate amount. You will need to order the vitamin D3 if it’s not available locally for you. Once you have it, you’ll want to use the D3 for one feeding every other week too, but not at the same time that you use the multivitamin. For example, on the 1st and 15th of the month you’ll use the multivitamin and then on the 7th and 21st you’ll use the calcium with D3.
Not having the correct and much needed vitamins and minerals along with incorrect uvb is possibly why his casque is small. Hopefully once you get everything corrected, his casque will grow some more.

 

[Beppo]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm not 100 % sure but I think the fluorescent and incandescent bulb ban only applies to household lights not reptile bulb which are classified as a specialist/ speciallality light .the t5ho 6% imo would be a better choice than the mv

Arcadia actually made an announcement that this ban would not affect their bulbs

 

[Sonny13]

Another question I have about the heat lamps, I see most of them emitting UVA, and I also noticed that the T5 Arcadia has a 30% UVA output or something - could this „double UVA power“ lead to problems?

Nope, that ain’t a problem and should be good.

 

[Beman]

Dude, big thanks for your help!
I gotta say, I feel really understood und accepted here.

I will order the arcadia T5 and a appropriate heat bulb first things first tomorrow morning.

If you really could help me with the setup then, that be pretty awesome.

All the best,
Chris

My pleasure just let me know when you get them in and we can go over exacts...


Per the supplements your using they should be fine to use. Calcium without D3 at all feedings and then the multivitamin would be 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Now granted it has a lower D3 amount. That should not be an issue under the correct UVB lighting. The cham will make natural D3 in conversion with the UVB lighting and its body.

 

[georg_the_cham]

My pleasure just let me know when you get them in and we can go over exacts...


Per the supplements your using they should be fine to use. Calcium without D3 at all feedings and then the multivitamin would be 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Now granted it has a lower D3 amount. That should not be an issue under the correct UVB lighting. The cham will make natural D3 in conversion with the UVB lighting and its body.

Aight, I will. Should arrive on monday, hopefully.

Ok got it! So a specific calcium + D3 supplement wouldn‘t be all that necessary?

 

[Beman]

Aight, I will. Should arrive on monday, hopefully.

Ok got it! So a specific calcium + D3 supplement wouldn‘t be all that necessary?

No, not with the correct UVB lighting and UVI at basking. You can have low levels of oral supplemented D3.

 

[georg_the_cham]

No, not with the correct UVB lighting and UVI at basking. You can have low levels of oral supplemented D3.

Hey Beman, hope you‘re doing good!

All the lights arrived today. Unfortunatley, as I had to work longer today, I only got to unpack and install it at about 6:30pm (7pm now - lights go out at 8pm). I‘ll include pics of the current setup.

I checked the infos on the package of the T5 about the distances.

Distance	UV-Index
300mm	4,50
380mm	3,60
500mm	2,50
600mm	1,20

Because the top branch is a little high I had to grab two pieces of wood to raise the fixture a bit (maybe I need higher pieces?). So currently there is a distance of about 30cm to his usual basking spot (branch) to his back or casque its probably a little less…
On the other side of the enclosure the distance is about 22cm to the branch.
I placed the fixture diagonally on top so the highest point should not be directly under the center of the lamp.
I figured the UVi at 30cm with 4,5 is probably to high? But I read somewhere that the mesh reduces the UVi a good bit - is that true?
Should i get higher pieces of wood to increase the distance even more?
If you could help me work out a good placement, I‘d be grateful!

Thank you very much!

All the best,
Chris

 

[Beman]

Hey Beman, hope you‘re doing good!

All the lights arrived today. Unfortunatley, as I had to work longer today, I only got to unpack and install it at about 6:30pm (7pm now - lights go out at 8pm). I‘ll include pics of the current setup.

I checked the infos on the package of the T5 about the distances.

Distance	UV-Index
300mm	4,50
380mm	3,60
500mm	2,50
600mm	1,20

Because the top branch is a little high I had to grab two pieces of wood to raise the fixture a bit (maybe I need higher pieces?). So currently there is a distance of about 30cm to his usual basking spot (branch) to his back or casque its probably a little less…
On the other side of the enclosure the distance is about 22cm to the branch.
I placed the fixture diagonally on top so the highest point should not be directly under the center of the lamp.
I figured the UVi at 30cm with 4,5 is probably to high? But I read somewhere that the mesh reduces the UVi a good bit - is that true?
Should i get higher pieces of wood to increase the distance even more?
If you could help me work out a good placement, I‘d be grateful!

Thank you very much!

All the best,
Chris

Ok so this is without the use of a solarmeter right?

Your wanting a distance of 20-22 cm from the bottom of the light to the branch if this is a 6% T5 bulb going through aluminum window screen material. This will put the cham in a 3-4 UVI range.

The package distance does not account for the screen reducing the UVI output of the bulb.

 

[georg_the_cham]

Ok so this is without the use of a solarmeter right?

Sorry, I forgot to include the following:
„UVI measurements at the center of the strongest point with a solar meter 6.5.“
Thats written below the distance table i posted above. So I‘m guessing it‘s accurate.

Your wanting a distance of 20-22 cm from the bottom of the light to the branch if this is a 6% T5 bulb going through aluminum window screen material. This will put the cham in a 3-4 UVI range.

Yeah it‘s the 6% T5 (Pro) and an aluminium mesh screen. So I could flip the wood pieces to the lower side to actually decrease the distance to the branch - I‘ll try that!

The package distance does not account for the screen reducing the UVI output of the bulb.

Yeah I figured

The T5 is super bright (and white) is that normal? It feels like I wouldn‘t need the regular room light anymore if I want to do anything in that room

Thank you for all your help mate

 

[Sonny13]

The T5 is super bright (and white) is that normal? It feels like I wouldn‘t need the regular room light anymore if I want to do anything in that room

This will cheer up Georg . I know we got a free range in the living room with the longest fixture, when it turns off it’s like pitch black all the sudden (while other lights are switched on).

 

[Beman]

Sorry, I forgot to include the following:
„UVI measurements at the center of the strongest point with a solar meter 6.5.“
Thats written below the distance table i posted above. So I‘m guessing it‘s accurate.

Yeah it‘s the 6% T5 (Pro) and an aluminium mesh screen. So I could flip the wood pieces to the lower side to actually decrease the distance to the branch - I‘ll try that!

Yeah I figured

The T5 is super bright (and white) is that normal? It feels like I wouldn‘t need the regular room light anymore if I want to do anything in that room

Thank you for all your help mate

These are very bright lights. Which is good because they need the lighting.

Ok but your not using a solarmeter to check your levels correct? If that is just what the package is saying then they are not accounting for the reduction in UVI. So you would follow that 20-22 cm for the closest branches. So your doing the total distance from branch to screen then screen to bottom of fixture. What ever those two numbers are should be equal to 20-22 inches for your highest branches in the cage.

Let me know if I am not making sense. lol I try to keep it simple but sometimes I type like everyone should know what I mean

 

[georg_the_cham]

This will cheer up Georg . I know we got a free range in the living room with the longest fixture, when it turns off it’s like pitch black all the sudden (while other lights are switched on).

Yeah for real man, it‘s pretty crazy, what this small bulb can put out

 

[georg_the_cham]

These are very bright lights. Which is good because they need the lighting.

Ok but your not using a solarmeter to check your levels correct? If that is just what the package is saying then they are not accounting for the reduction in UVI. So you would follow that 20-22 cm for the closest branches. So your doing the total distance from branch to screen then screen to bottom of fixture. What ever those two numbers are should be equal to 20-22 inches for your highest branches in the cage.

Let me know if I am not making sense. lol I try to keep it simple but sometimes I type like everyone should know what I mean

No no, I got you! I feel like I unconsciously planed ahead for something like this while building the enclosure. The distance from his basking spot to the top mesh (and therefore the fixture if I just place it on top) is somewhere around 20cm +-.
So I‘ll remove the block of wood on this side and leave it on the other (so the fixture raises slighty - is that a problem?), where the branch is a bit closer - that should lead to the ~22cm along the upper most branch

Too bad tomorrow will be another long day of work so I can only check on Georg through the cam
Lets see how this change will effect him

 

[Beman]

No no, I got you! I feel like I unconsciously planed ahead for something like this while building the enclosure. The distance from his basking spot to the top mesh (and therefore the fixture if I just place it on top) is somewhere around 20cm +-.
So I‘ll remove the block of wood on this side and leave it on the other (so the fixture raises slighty - is that a problem?), where the branch is a bit closer - that should lead to the ~22cm along the upper most branch

Too bad tomorrow will be another long day of work so I can only check on Georg through the cam
Lets see how this change will effect him

So as long as your very highest branches are at that 20-22 cm. I have never raised one side so I do not know if that would effect the florescent bulb. But it is going to change how the reflector reacts depending on how angled up the fixture is. Might try to orient the fixture so that you have the distances you need but do not have to raise part of the fixture. This way the reflector is aiming the light directly down into the cage.

You should see an uptick in activity. The correct UVB directly impacts there energy and appetite.