# Arcadia Panther Chameleon Lighting Guide



## mrluke (Apr 26, 2011)

I know there are a few chameleon keepers on here and I know that John from Arcadia is also fairly active so looking to pull together some opinions on heating/lighting/UV for Panther Chameleon.

I am seriously considering changing up my lighting for a couple of main reasons. Firstly I struggle with temps in the winter but I am worried about burns from using high wattages and secondly my chameleon is noticeably much happier and has better colours when he has been out in natural sunlight. This suggests to me that his lighting is currently not ideal.

Basking spot is set a 32c (90f) but currently sits around 28c/29c (82f/84f)

My current setup is pretty standard. I have a mesh Muji cage (24" x 24" x 48") with an Arcadia 24" 6% UVB strip light in an Arcadia canopy across the front of the cage. At the back I have an Arcadia 75W basking light (no uv) and a Arcadia Jungle Dawn LED (are you seeing a theme here?).

Arcadia's website provides the following lighting guide for Panther Chameleons 










Which recommends using a D3 UV Basking light as well as the spot light and the UV strip light. The D3 basking light makes me nervous as it is a self ballasted Mercury Vapour D3 UV BASKING LAMP : Arcadia Reptile which I know are a type that have historically caused problems in Chameleons. I have also heard that this bulb would not be able to be attached to a dimmer stat however I am not sure whether this is true or not as its not mentioned on Arcadia's website.

Arcadia point out that their bulb provides a natural balance of warmth and UVA & UVB and I am a big advocate of trying to recreate natural conditions. 

Does anybody have experience of these particular Arcadia bulbs? I have always been very impressed with the research that Arcadia do to try and provide the best conditions for animals but their advice here is different to the current "accepted wisdom"

TLDR; Does anybody follow the Arcadia lighting guide?


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

ignore that lighting guide, its out of date and I have written a brand new one that is very easy to use and really cutting edge.

Have a listen to this pod cast I did for the USA, it will give a real insight into UVB and chams.

then pop back with any questions

Ep 55: MBD & UVB in Chameleons with John Courteney-Smith - Chameleon Breeder Podcast

We can look at your system, ,slight adjustments can make all the difference. How old is the lamp itself?

John




mrluke said:


> I know there are a few chameleon keepers on here and I know that John from Arcadia is also fairly active so looking to pull together some opinions on heating/lighting/UV for Panther Chameleon.
> 
> I am seriously considering changing up my lighting for a couple of main reasons. Firstly I struggle with temps in the winter but I am worried about burns from using high wattages and secondly my chameleon is noticeably much happier and has better colours when he has been out in natural sunlight. This suggests to me that his lighting is currently not ideal.
> 
> ...


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## mrluke (Apr 26, 2011)

Thanks John, that's really helpful.

Can you share a copy of your brand new cutting edge guide?

I have listened through your podcast and really agree with your whole approach to wild recreation.

What would you recommend as "best practice" for a typical panther setup in a 2x2x4 mesh viv?

When I first setup my 2x2x4 I tried to setup quite powerful lights and position them a long way from the basking spot 15-18" unfortunately my cham then scaled up onto the roof of his viv and got burnt  since this I have gone for much lower powered lamps to ensure that the difference between basking spot and highest point of enclosure is much smaller.

Are you supposed to have the basking spots very close to the top of the cage and then mount the lights a long way above the cage?#

With everybody doing what they think is best it is very difficult to find examples of genuine best practice online.


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

The new guide will be published on our new site, early this year I hope.

Yes we need to be careful about climbing,

So we move and adjust lighting and decoration to suit

In theory, if the correct upper heat matches the upper index basking spot it should be disinclined to climb, in theory


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