UV Bulbs for Veiled Chameleons
We thought we’d be clever and save a little money in the process. We bought a full-spectrum UVA/UVB plant bulb to give Zeke his daily dose of UV-goodness. It was a cheap-ish light, about $6 from Walmart.
Unfortunately, the stupid things burn out. Like every three weeks or so. At $6/each, this is expensive.
They are also not as good as real reptile bulbs. We had no idea. Our vet even said that he was “the best looking chameleon [she had] ever seen.” He had always been a bit quirky - uncoordinated, a bad shedder (lots of problems there), and occasionally lethargic. We switched to a real reptile bulb (50W ZooMed basking spot-lamp) and the difference was amazing. Within a few days, he started shedding in large healthy pieces, he seems a bit more coordinated, and he’s much more active. He even seems friendlier - well, at least to me [Ted], he still freaks out when he sees Jennifer.
Don’t buy cheap bulbs.
It’s just not worth it. Don’t jeopardize the health of your Veiled Chameleon to save a few bucks. You won’t really save anything - the real bulbs are better quality and will survive the heat of a parabolic reflector much longer. Of course, people don’t own Veileds because they are cheap pets. More importantly, cheap bulbs will hurt your chameleon.
Edit: I’ve written a new article about Veiled Chameleons and UV bulbs in response to your comment. Thanks!
January 22nd, 2008 22:49
please go out and buy a proper UVB light! it must be a florescent tube for the best results. a reptisun 5.o has proven the best quality and proven ability to produce uv light effectively up to 12″ away. those so called basking bulbs do not even produce a measurable amount of uv light and will cause severe MBD. your chameleon should NEVER be lethargic! poor humidity will account for bad shedding and improper husbandry in general will cause a sick and uncoordinated chameleon.
go to http://www.martinsreptiles.co.uk/ukchams/intro_uvlighting_tests.pdf for research about the lights.
go here http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com for a complete care guide.
i am sorry to say this but if you do not change your habits and get a proper light your chameleon will suffer and ultimately die.
February 4th, 2008 11:38
[...] Thanks to a concerned reader of my last post about veiled chameleon light bulbs, we realized that a UVA-only was not sufficient to take care of Ezekiel. Jenni (the reader, not my wife Jennifer) was concerned that we had bought a basking bulb instead of a proper UV bulb, and she’s quite right: there is some evidence that without proper UVB irradiation, veiled chameleons may develop metabolic bone disease and die. There is at least one study that suggests that veileds don’t really need UVB if they are properly supplemented with vitamin powder on their food; nevertheless, we subscribe to the philosophy of “better safe than sorry.” [...]