I think, after reading the paper, the best method that can be inferred would be to use MV bulbs, but limit the exposure to less than a few hours a day.
In my large cage, my male veild WILL self limit his exposure to the MV bulb, only basking under it for an hour or so, then avoiding it the rest of the day. He went so far as to remain in the cooler part of the cage, devoid of heat, to stay away from the UV rays . I responded by turning the MV bulb on for only 2 hours in the morning and 1 in the afternoon, with a heat lamp during the entire day. this seemd to make him happy.
That fits in with Dr. ferguson's results. The high amounts of UVA in the reptisuns could have been responsible for their reproductive problems. Since they were "forced" to remain exposed to the UVA all day, without shade, this is not surprising, since UVA is commonly believed to be responsible for behavioral "well being".
This study should be done using MV bulbs, larger cages, and variation in Exposure times and distance from the bulb.
The ability/tendancy of chameleons to self regulate would be important to observe. If they are adept at doing so, observation of the behavior would aid in the understanding of optimum UV levels for the species. For example, if out of a group of chameleons, the average time spent in 50 microwatts per sq. cm. of UVB, is two hours a day, with them moving OUT of the radiation for the remainder of time, we can then expose the animals in smaller cages to that amount of radiation, then shut the light off.
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