Ted Carnahan

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.”

Thus, we replaced our ordinary UVA bulb with a UVA/B bulb to help encourage healthy vitamin D3 production. The bulbs are more expensive, but it’s definitely worthwhile. And good bulbs like the Reptisun line of bulbs are now available in compact fluorescent, so you can use your old reflector.

Two items to remember: UV bulbs are no substitute for a infrared bulb of some sort to allow for sunning and temperature self-regulation. Also, UVB bulbs will continue emitting visible light for a long time, but they run out of steam in the UV spectrum within 12 months, so replace your bulb(s) yearly.

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!