Lighting for flexariums

[Saskia]

So I got myself a new cham - now I can't remember what lighting is necessary - in summer I put them outside for natural sunlight - but what about winter? And I want a light source that I can put 'over' the flexarium (and not inside) that wouldn't burn the gauze of the flexarium. Any help would be appreciated.

[it_bit_me]

The lamp that comes with an clamp works well if you need some distance between a warm bulb and the cage.

[Chameleons]

I used to use 30w UV tubes simply paid on top of the flexariums. The nettings absorbs some of the UV but so long as they are getting natural daylight for a few days each week, that should be sufficient. There was never a problem with heat and netting as the tubes are cold.

I assume that you have Veiled? So long as you keep an eye on them, you can often put them out doors even in the winter. It is important to keep them out of any cold winds and only put them out when the temperatures have risen but Veiled are far more tolerant of temperature than most people think - in their native habitat the night time temperatures plummet and even daytimes can be cool. In the wild they can takes steps to protect themselves by hiding etc but in a cage, in a sheltered corner in the Highveld, I put mine out doors for a few hours as often as I could and had success in breeding them.

Of course, if you have started the chameleon on a constant high temperature regimen (which is not good for them) then you can't simply stick them out in 15c and expect them to be healthy but a cooler winter temperature, to match the shorter days is natural and will help the breeding cycle and quality of eggs etc. It may not work for everyone but it did for me.

[Chameleons]

"I used to use 30w UV tubes simply paid on top of the flexariums" - should read 'simply placed on top'.... a curse on autospellcheck!

Just to clarify - if you are going to put them outside in winter, the air temperature should be 20c or above and not below. Be very careful of cold wind or drafts. I have let Veiled go down to 15c without ill effects but this was part of a controlled set up and should not be done unless monitored carefully and all other aspects are factored in.