Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can Chameleons get enough UV exposure from being outside in the shade?

I put my panthers in their outside cages in the morning they get about an hour of direct sunlight then they are in the shade, I bring them back inside the house in the late afternoon.

I used to have their outside cages where they were in the sun all day long but after the recent heat wave it was too hot so I moved them to where they are now. I'm just wondering if it would be ok to leave them where they are - or move them to where they have sun all day long?

Anyone know?

Thanks!

btw: They have UV bulbs in there inside cages so they get that until sundown as well.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

Insert Silly Quote Here

In the wild, chams would bask in the mornings to warm up, but probably spend the hotter hours of the day in shade. After all, they are forest creatures not desert creatures. If they even have some partial exposure through foliage it is still good. Compared to sunlight, UV lights are pretty minimal, so the daily bask may be enough. Hard to know for sure, but if they are active, eating, drinking, and behaving normally they are probably OK. I haven't been lucky enough to live where my chams could live outdoors so am not an expert on this.

UV light is highly scattered, especially on overcast days. There tends to be more UV in direct sun on a sunny day than in shade, but there is still a lot of UV in the shade. Even so, a few tens of minutes of exposure to the amount of UV in full sun is more than sufficient to meet the needs of the animal for previt. D3 conversion. Many hours (~12) of "UV" fluorescent light is needed because they are so incredibly week compared to the sun.

Chris