Ok, here's the disclaimer:
I'm interested in getting into chameleons, and pretty much all I know about them at this point is I saw a bunch at a herp show a couple months ago.
Since my knowledge won't even coat the inside of a thimble I'm doing the research before I get one.. As (in case you haven't noticed) they're a bit spendy.
With that said- I understand they need UV A & B lighting. Obviously this can be provided with UV lamps, but I have also read (somewhere) a mercury vapor lamp will provide UV as well.
Why do I ask about mercury vapor? Well, I grow many tropical plants & thus have several metal halide & high pressure sodium lamps 'round the house. I know its possible to toss a mercury vapor bulb into a halide ballast- But do they really produce enough UV? Or maybe too much?
I don't know.
I have a few unused at the moment 250 watt halide ballasts & a quick check over at ebay says I can get a mercury vapor bulb for under $15 shipped.
Further reading at wikkipedia states: "All mercury vapor lamps (including metal halide lamps) must contain a feature (or be installed in a fixture that contains a feature) that prevents ultraviolet radiation from escaping."
So p'haps that breaks my "just throw in a MV bulb" idea.
But now I wonder.. What about the halide bulbs folks use for their fish-tanks? Salt-water coral setups & such. Doesn't live coral need UV to grow well?
~ Maybe the 'fish-tank' type bulbs do not have the UV blocking feature that other halide 'its just a light' bulbs do.
Why do I ask this? Well, halide bulbs come in many configurations & I have a couple aquarium bulbs lighting some carnivorous plants. The aquarium bulbs are quite small- Would be fairly easy to pop one above a chameleon enclosure. The plants inside would get *Great* light & if the UV output works for the critter, 2 birds 1 stone.
Halide bulbs also put out a bit of heat- Thus one *may* work for a day-time basking lamp.. But I don't think I would depend on it as the only basking lamp as (obviously) at nite-time it would be off.
So. Has anyone out there used any of these lights for their chameleons? I'm rather curious as it would make for a very easy lighting cross-over.
I'm interested in getting into chameleons, and pretty much all I know about them at this point is I saw a bunch at a herp show a couple months ago.
Since my knowledge won't even coat the inside of a thimble I'm doing the research before I get one.. As (in case you haven't noticed) they're a bit spendy.
With that said- I understand they need UV A & B lighting. Obviously this can be provided with UV lamps, but I have also read (somewhere) a mercury vapor lamp will provide UV as well.
Why do I ask about mercury vapor? Well, I grow many tropical plants & thus have several metal halide & high pressure sodium lamps 'round the house. I know its possible to toss a mercury vapor bulb into a halide ballast- But do they really produce enough UV? Or maybe too much?
I don't know.
I have a few unused at the moment 250 watt halide ballasts & a quick check over at ebay says I can get a mercury vapor bulb for under $15 shipped.
Further reading at wikkipedia states: "All mercury vapor lamps (including metal halide lamps) must contain a feature (or be installed in a fixture that contains a feature) that prevents ultraviolet radiation from escaping."
So p'haps that breaks my "just throw in a MV bulb" idea.
But now I wonder.. What about the halide bulbs folks use for their fish-tanks? Salt-water coral setups & such. Doesn't live coral need UV to grow well?
~ Maybe the 'fish-tank' type bulbs do not have the UV blocking feature that other halide 'its just a light' bulbs do.
Why do I ask this? Well, halide bulbs come in many configurations & I have a couple aquarium bulbs lighting some carnivorous plants. The aquarium bulbs are quite small- Would be fairly easy to pop one above a chameleon enclosure. The plants inside would get *Great* light & if the UV output works for the critter, 2 birds 1 stone.
Halide bulbs also put out a bit of heat- Thus one *may* work for a day-time basking lamp.. But I don't think I would depend on it as the only basking lamp as (obviously) at nite-time it would be off.
So. Has anyone out there used any of these lights for their chameleons? I'm rather curious as it would make for a very easy lighting cross-over.
