Heat lamp substitute?

[J-Man]

I was wondering... is the use of a heat lamp solely for the heat? or also the lighting? Because I discovered today that a space heater might be a very good substitute for a heat lamp. I don't really know how to put it in words, but if you put it right by the cage you can literally move your hand from one side of the cage to the other and feel the difference. So they can still thermoregulate but there's no light... has anybody ever done this before? just a thought.

[Pookie]

if it's a cham it needs the special UV in the lighting. This helps it absorb the much needed calcium in its bones. Lighting is def. a neccesity!

[J-Man]

no no... I have a heat lamp and a uv lamp... I'm just saying instead of the heat lamp... I'd leave the uv lamp there

[Trace]

Interesting question Jeremy... I actually don't know if a space heater will work, but in all accounts just may?

To get on the topic of lighting and chameleons... yes they DO need UV light for proper health, but most store brand "heat" bulbs DO NOT produce any of the UVA and UVB spectrums. The expensive Powersun bulbs are the exception though, so unless you have one of them, you will still need to buy one of those fluorescent reptile tubes. I will not spend $5 or more on a bulb that solely gives off heat, when a regular light bulb that you can buy in the grocery store does just the same thing. Hey, I can buy a 4 pack of light bulbs for .99 cents and they last just as long as the pet store bulb.

To sum up... I use the fluorescent Iguana Light 5.0 tube for the UV and a regular household 60watt light bulb for heat on all of my cages.

Also, chameleons can tolerate a temperature drop at night, so if you opt for the space heater idea, you can certainly turn it off at night with no ill effects.

Hope this helps.

Trace

[Wuntu Menny]

Sorry, the only substitute for the heat lamp is the sun. While there are species that rely strictly on ambient temps to regulate their metabolism, for basking species you need a lamp. This is how they thermoregulate. If you deny them the ability to choose what temp and for how long, you will have a very stressed chameleon.

WM

[J-Man]

wuntu, what about the fact that it gets gradually warmer from one side of the cage to the other?

[choriona]

I use a huge space heater in my entire cham room during the winter months...BUT it tends to really dry things out. The humidity levels drop drastically. So, get a hygrometer in there looking at your humidity, or you'll have partial sheds and one thristy dried out chamy friend!

[choriona]

oh...thats a space heater plus everyone has their own heat lamps.

[chamitch]

haha i have a good story about space heaters. my mom when i was gone was screwign aroudn with my cage. bumped a timer. then she was so worried because the lights didnt work. so she got a space heater and put it by my glass! terrarium. well leaves turned black and the glass cracked. how ******.
mitch

[Wuntu Menny]

J-Man, I'm not sure I understand your Q. If you use a space heater instead of a basking light, you effectively eliminate any thermal gradient in the enclosure by creating a uniform ambient temp.

Most basking chams prefer a localized source of heat where they can soak up radiation at their discretion. They equate the light source with heat. Just try subbing an IR or black heat lamp and see how confused and stressed they get. Also, as choriona stated, the heater will dry out the air so much that you will have to provide supplemental humidity to counter it's effects.

Montane sp and some terrestrial forms usually avoid direct sun exposure and fair better in a cage with more subtle gradients in temp. You can achieve this with low wattage incadescent bulbs, ceramic heat emitters, or even a UTH.

WM

[eyespy]

Most lizards use bony armor plating to absorb UV and infrared radation as a means of thermoregulation. Taking away a light source deprives them of the ability to store heat in their cartilage and makes it much tougher for them to maintain body temps.

[Pookie]

gee, it seems that many people haven't been reading this entire thread. He claims to have both a HEAT lamp AND a UV lamp. He's wondering if it would be ok to replace the HEAT lamp, not the UV lamp, and use a space heater instead, for heat purposes, not light! Although i would think the heat lamp would be easier to work with and not use so much electricity! But maybe that's because i'm cheap :)

[Pookie]

I also agree w/ wuntu about how the basking usually involves the light and heat mix. And if you separate the two it might not be the best thing for the animal...IMO

[eyespy]

The heat lamp throws UVA and IR that the space heater wouldn't so it's not a good idea. The UV lamp mainly just throws UVB.

[J-Man]

I know that this particular bulb gives off UVB and UVA.... Also, I'm not sure if I explained this correctly but it doesn't just heat the whole cage... it's a gradual thing so they can still thermoregulate. It's not just a constant ambient temp throughout the cage.

[eyespy]

J-Man, for chams it's still ideal to have heat and light together, "dark" heat sources don't give off the wavelengths of radiant energy they need for proper thermoregulation. Unless you are using a mercury vapor bulb, you still need a fluorscent and an incandescant light combo to get all the wavelengths you need.

[J-Man]

oh ok I get it... I think. Sounds good to me... just a thought.

J-meister

P.S. I'm just about to post another un orthodox idea if you wanna comment on that.

[Big AL]

I use the Mercury Vapor Bulbs for all my reptiles. Everything they need is in one bulb. Just keep it simple :)

[LISA127]

UV lamps provide both UVB and UVA.

[eyespy]

Fluorescent UVB lamps produce such a miniscule amount of UVA that they tend to confuse basking animals. UVA is the "hot" component of UV light that helps to raise body temperature, and chams and other animals will often try to bask under the tubes thinking they can heat up as it looks much hotter than it is. Fluorescents barely even get warm.

I've seen plenty of heliotherm lizards like chameleons, agamids and iguanids have digestion problems because of this confusion. They see heat more than they feel it and have a very tough time keeping their core body temperature high enough when there is a bulb that emits "visual heat" but not actual heat.