Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just wondering for my adult veiled chameleon how far from the top of the cage should his basking spot be??? The light will rest right on the metal screen and it is a 75w bulb.

You can't predict based on the bulb wattage or the distance. So much depends also on the temp in your room and other things. The BEST way to determine where the bulb needs to be is to measure the surface temp of the basking branch with the bulb at different distances. Experiment by moving the bulb farther away or closer until the basking branch surface is in the correct basking temp range for your species. Using a regular glass thermometer can be misleading, as the thermometer bulb ends up measuring air temp (which can be lower than the surface temp of something sitting in the light for a while). That's one of many reasons I love the little non-contact infrared temp guns. Point it at any object for a few seconds and it will give you the surface temp within 1-2 degrees. You can move it to measure the temp of any object or area in your cage. They are really inexpensive right now too.