A big part of this "dogma" you describe has to do with the intended audience (and actually the first definition of dogma in Webster's states "something held as an established OPINION". Telling newbies that they probably can't successfully maintain a cham in a glass fish tank with one single constant temp day and night (maintained by visible lights or a UTH) is a responsible and conservative approach for a forum or caresheet to give. There are many other reptile caresheets that suggest temp ranges day and night in addition to chams. We all know that the MAJORITY of chams set up in these conditions fare very poorly, especially by inexperienced keepers who won't even know the cham is dying. What we are trying to explain is that chams are really not suited to the same setup a terrestrial lizard or a snake is in many ways. They need space, they are sensitive to air quality and temperature, they are sensitive to visible light at night, and that you can't expect one to thrive in the typical fish tank dragged in from the garage. If this newbie really gets into the hobby (as all of us did) and maintains many chams over time and discovers that the dogma can be played around with there is nothing wrong with that. Dogma is not law. Most of us have done it including yourself. Look at the fairly common idea of draping a screen cage in plastic to hold in humidity...it does decrease air flow and probably levels out the temp range a bit which seems to defeat the purpose of the screen cage. At least there is the ability to open that cage to air if needed whereas a tank isn't that adjustable. I'm sure my cages don't reach that 10 degree temp drop every night of the year and the chams are OK. Some chams don't seem to care about the temp range (such as deremensis), but a 10 degree drop is safe for most species that are more sensitive. Over time a static temp maintained by the usual heat sources will either dry the cham out too often, and if the setup is that rigid there are probably going to be bacterial and fungal problems too.

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