Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am getting a vieled chameleon quite soon. i need to know what to use in the cage
i have the structure set up, all screen cept platic bottom. i do not know what lights to get. my cage in 64 by 17 by 24. i know i need a basking lamp and another lamp. i think i am getting a ZOOmed ReptiSun 5.0 UVB. idk if this is right or where to put it. i also need to know what wattage basking lamp and such.
thanks very much

For the basking lamp I would not reccomend the regular basking lamp. they break or blow in 1-2 months. I'd either go with a ceramic heat lamp or if your temp. is not to cold just use a 100watt regular light bulb.
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From Sunny Florida
Jovana's kids listed below
1.1 Veileds
1.0 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Tamatave Panther

Depending on how much other light is on the cage the ceramic might not provide enough overall light...not sure. The ReptiSun is always a safe bet. They are all the same "watts", but depending on how large your cage is you may want a double fixture and to get one that will cover as much of the cage as possible lengthwise. You can't overdo them and they don't produce much heat for burning. As for basking light, any old regular light bulb will work. I like those crystal clear ones...generally brighter for a cage. Control the lights with simple lamp timers...you don't have to remember to turn them on or off every day. For other caging info there are good pics of setups on www.adcham.com and www.chameleonnews.com to give you ideas. Safe plants many of us use include Ficus, Hibiscus, Schefflera, and Pothos. These are commonly sold at larger stores like KMart, WalMart, Home Depot as "tropical foliage" plants. They are often sprayed with pesticides so you need to wash them off well in soapy water, repot the plant in clean soil with NO perlite or vermiculite (whitish popcorn stuff). Get rid of the store soil as it often has systemic pesticides in it. The more plants in the cage the better, as the cham will feel more secure and it will help keep the cage humidity up. Invest in good temp and humidity gauges with remote probes, not the little analog ones from most pet shops. They are much more reliable.

my room in fact get kind of cold so im getting a red bulb for nighttime
i built my cage and have a pothos in it where should i get new soil? in a
small quantity