Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it possible to provide too much uva and uvb light to your panther chameleon? I am thinking about using the repti sun 5.0 in junjunction with a reptisun 10.0 on a 24" x 24" x 48"high screen cage, is that too much UV? Also if anyone knows... i an thinking about getting the BigApple herp misting system it comes with various connectors and nosels for an additional few bucks. Is this mistin system a good bargain of could i go to Home Depot and create someting better? maby noseles that drip every second or so between spraying? Thanks alot!
P.S. if nobody is sure, and enough people want to know, i'll go to HD and check it out...

To answer your question about UVA and UVBs yes they can receive too much. It can contribute to over calcification resulting in calcifying of their organs and skin! I believe they have to receive a large amount of Calcium in conjunction with UVA/UVB but I am not sure as to the amount or the length of time. Personally I would not use that much. I would just use the 10.0 as that is what I use for my panthers and they are doing great! As for the misting system, I don't really like using them so I don't know what to tell you. If I had to choose I probably would get the prefabricated one for aesthetic and easy use reasons. Hope this helps!

0.0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula-Clarise
1.1.0 Panther Chameleons-Diablacito & Mamacita
0.0.63 Panther Chameleon eggs in the incubator!
2.0.0 Cats- Gatsby & Watson
2.0.0 Sugar Gliders-Wilson & Winston
Too many fish to count.

Cheers,
Nick

I personnaly think you can't over do it with the lights. My opinion is do you think any man made bulb is as bright/intense as sitting in the african sun all day? I think not by thats just one mans opinion...

I have used both these bulbs and didn't notice much difference in the chams themselves. I have read somewhere that "too much" UV can interfere with breeding success but I am not an expert on that at all. When I used both bulbs together I staggered the output with timers to simulate a more natural range of exposure. Started off the day with just the 5.0 and had the 10.0 come on in late morning along with my heat spot. It stayed on until about 2 pm. For the rest of the day back to the 5.0. I don't know if it mattered, as all these lights are still pretty weak in comparison to sunlight. But, remember, the cham will need the ability to get out of the more intense light if it wants to. Wild chams aren't exposed to unbroken sun all day either. I would also make sure you are gutloading well, as all the light in the universe won't make up for bad nutrition or too much dusting of the wrong stuff.

Thank you both for your replies!

At petco there is a water dripper for reptiles (Just make sure to by REPTILE declorinator, it's blue) This works great with it dripping on the leaves =D

"Continuous strong UVB irradiance, that a lizard cannot escape, can cause skin damage and eventually malignant tumors, so that is why a gradient is important. The lizard must be allowed the opportunity to regulate its exposure."
http://www.chameleonnews.com/interviewfer.html

UVB, Vitamin D3 and calcium usage...
I thought that it was too much vitamin D3 from supplements (not from UVB exposure) combined with too much calcium that caused organ calcification (and leads to gout) because the vitamin D3 production from sunlight/UVB exposure is self-limiting? ""Extra" UVB above the requirement for D3 production is of no benefit, since as we have seen, the photo-biosynthesis is a self-limiting process; when sufficient is made, additional ultraviolet light merely breaks down any excess formed."
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/uvinviv.htm

UV and panther chameleons...
"Females raised with long (12 hours/day), moderately low exposures produced viable eggs with a significantly higher percentage of hatching compared to those in other environments."
http://www.zoonews.ws/IZN/323/IZN-323.htm

"It has been demonstrated that UVA can influence agonistic, reproductive, and signaling behaviors in some species of lizards (Gehrmann, 1994A) as well as inhibit growth in female panther chameleons, Chamaeleo pardalis (Ferguson, et al., 1996)."
http://www.anapsid.org/gehrman2.html

Chaman and others,
Dont't know what possessed you to think that two bulbs at once was better than one, and if more than one is your desire, why not three ? Point being that if you do even a modest amount of research, you will find zero recommendation for what you propose. Regardless of bulb(s), your critter must have the opportunity to get away from it.
On your second concern, are the critters out there anywhere watered my Mother Nature by a "mist" ? "Heck No" is the answer. A rain is what they are used to. A drip is the next best answer, as many hobbyists have to watch water management with regard to their in-house limitations. But a mist ? Nothing fancy about getting water on a leaf in quantity, is there? What are we thinking? How to waste money ? Successful chameleon keeping is much more in-line with what Mother Nature provides, not what we find aesthetically appealing.
The Chameleon Company

Jim, I'm not quite sure what you're suggesting. Are you saying that you should only hydrate the chams with a drip system?
What about spraying them down with a hand mister? Or are you only against misting "systems"?

Not Jim, but...from my experience...
I use a hand mister and a dripper on my chameleons (except for the babies...I only mist them). Its amazing how difficult it is to get some of them to drink from a misting but they will readily drink when a dripper is used (tavs and dwarf jackson's for example). Others seem to drink more readily from a misting (veileds for example).