Thoughts on the Chameleon Cantina?
- Thread starter MantisFTW
- Start date
MantisFTW
Member
Just wanted to give an update on how the Cantina has been working for me since I got it. It really is wonderful, as the above poster said, it reduces misting time by half because now I only have to mist to keep up humidity.
No more fussing with a dripper and more importantly no more fussing with a drainage system. As long as you completely clean it out and sterilize it at least once a week, bacteria wont be an issue. There is also a little plastic guard along with the carbon filter pad so that crickets or other bugs dont drown and fester.
There is also a switch to alter the flow of the water for chams that have an easier time seeing a drip as opposed to a flow.
It is however NOT FOR EVERYONE, because not all chams take to it as well and will just ignore it. In my experience though, if you leave it in long enough (days, sometimes even weeks), your cham will eventually get over the "new, strange object" factor and see it as a source of running water. You can also play around with the water flow adjuster to see what his preference is. Just keep misting as usual for hydration UNTIL you see him drinking from it.
No more fussing with a dripper and more importantly no more fussing with a drainage system. As long as you completely clean it out and sterilize it at least once a week, bacteria wont be an issue. There is also a little plastic guard along with the carbon filter pad so that crickets or other bugs dont drown and fester.
There is also a switch to alter the flow of the water for chams that have an easier time seeing a drip as opposed to a flow.
It is however NOT FOR EVERYONE, because not all chams take to it as well and will just ignore it. In my experience though, if you leave it in long enough (days, sometimes even weeks), your cham will eventually get over the "new, strange object" factor and see it as a source of running water. You can also play around with the water flow adjuster to see what his preference is. Just keep misting as usual for hydration UNTIL you see him drinking from it.
happy
Member
Im not sure if you are referring to the bio-bubble thing... or the chameleon cantina(drinking fountain). in most instances, i wouldn't put a chameleon in the bio-bubble. I've never had a cham that could utilize one myself so i wont rule out chams like pygmies. The fountain, its a toss up for most members in here, they understand it has to be cleaned almost on a daily basis... chams will tend to poo in it.... i think.....
MantisFTW
Member
Were talking about the drinking fountain, not the biobubble. Ive heard that its not really that great though.
Thats not really true about the cantina. I clean mine but maybe once a week or so. Chams dont poop in it, theres hardly room for them to poop in it because it has a hood. They would really have to crawl in and intentionally do it lol, its pretty small. It also has a filter, and anyone that has a mistking or automatic mister has standing stagnant reservoir water so if growing bacteria is an issue, it should be with mistkings too. As long as you do it regularly, it still saves time and water by having to mist more often. Just mist to keep up humidity now.
sapphira80
New Member
Carbon filters do NOT kill bacteria, they just filter out contaminants like chlorine, minerals, salts, etc. So you cannot just change the water in a fountain to clean it, it would need to be taken apart and sanitized to kill all the bacteria.
Clean water also will not just randomly become tainted with bacteria either... It has to be contaminated with bacteria for more bacteria to grow. If you are putting distilled water in a mister, if it's sealed, it shouldn't come in contact with bacteria (but you would change regularly anyway). When the water is flowing and not sealed, like in a fountain, your cham may not purposely poo in it, but it's easily contaminated if there are bacteria in his feet (or a cricket that stepped in poo climbs onto or in the water)... That's the concern with fountains. It's not that you CAN'T use them, it's just that they need to be meticulously sanitized on a frequent basis or they turn into bacteria factories, which will make your chameleon very sick.
Here's a link about carbon filtration if you want to read more about it. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question209.htm
(Also aquarium filtration is different because fish live in water and you make sure your filtration media is colonized with good bacteria to keep the bad bacteria levels down.)
Clean water also will not just randomly become tainted with bacteria either... It has to be contaminated with bacteria for more bacteria to grow. If you are putting distilled water in a mister, if it's sealed, it shouldn't come in contact with bacteria (but you would change regularly anyway). When the water is flowing and not sealed, like in a fountain, your cham may not purposely poo in it, but it's easily contaminated if there are bacteria in his feet (or a cricket that stepped in poo climbs onto or in the water)... That's the concern with fountains. It's not that you CAN'T use them, it's just that they need to be meticulously sanitized on a frequent basis or they turn into bacteria factories, which will make your chameleon very sick.
Here's a link about carbon filtration if you want to read more about it. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question209.htm
(Also aquarium filtration is different because fish live in water and you make sure your filtration media is colonized with good bacteria to keep the bad bacteria levels down.)
Just wanted to give an update on how the Cantina has been working for me since I got it. It really is wonderful, as the above poster said, it reduces misting time by half because now I only have to mist to keep up humidity.
No more fussing with a dripper and more importantly no more fussing with a drainage system. As long as you completely clean it out and sterilize it at least once a week, bacteria wont be an issue. There is also a little plastic guard along with the carbon filter pad so that crickets or other bugs dont drown and fester.
There is also a switch to alter the flow of the water for chams that have an easier time seeing a drip as opposed to a flow.
It is however NOT FOR EVERYONE, because not all chams take to it as well and will just ignore it. In my experience though, if you leave it in long enough (days, sometimes even weeks), your cham will eventually get over the "new, strange object" factor and see it as a source of running water. You can also play around with the water flow adjuster to see what his preference is. Just keep misting as usual for hydration UNTIL you see him drinking from it.
How do you sterilize it?
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have had a cantina for months now. I tested it first with one of my Quads which did drink from it.
I have mine set up in such a way the animals cannot crap in it and food items can not fall into it. That is key.
I have it set up where I can just take it apart and clean it every other week or so.
Currently I have it with Atlas. I still use a dripper, a mister, even give him two showers a week, just to make sure he drinks. He drinks from everything so I wouldn't force him to just drink from the cantina.
When I want to really clean the whole system I use one drop of bleach, let it all run for an hour, then rinse it all out again and replace the water. I don't see crap growing on the water tube that way.
I have mine set up in such a way the animals cannot crap in it and food items can not fall into it. That is key.
I have it set up where I can just take it apart and clean it every other week or so.
Currently I have it with Atlas. I still use a dripper, a mister, even give him two showers a week, just to make sure he drinks. He drinks from everything so I wouldn't force him to just drink from the cantina.
When I want to really clean the whole system I use one drop of bleach, let it all run for an hour, then rinse it all out again and replace the water. I don't see crap growing on the water tube that way.
ridgebax1
Avid Member
I have seen both but what I have now seems to work just fine. As far as the Biobubble, I think it looks like it could be incorporated into a free range habitat. However I do not think it would be appropriate as an outdoor habitat. There is nothing that could prevent the cham from escaping the environment or becoming a prey item for another animal. If one wants to take the cham outdoors I think a screen cage is better and safer.
MantisFTW
Member
Yes, that is important to know too. I take apart and clean mine about every two weeks or so and run it under hot water, get inside the tube too. Must be serialized and not just change the water.
JamesB88
Established Member
I bought one a while back, the cantina...looked good but just too small and my first Cham died in it, my guess due to stagnate air creating an uri as the only airflow on those things is a small square mesh opening in the back. Not a fan of it I also had the drinking fountain thing too, the humidity did stay high but I'm not a fan of the setup seems like a kids toy. Go with what works and get a screen cage in my opinion.
savage13
Avid Member
Thank you for the reply but I meant drinking fountain not The enclosure..
JamesB88
Established Member
got ya. Well for that one I'd do what works best and get a misting system. When I had the fountain it needed regular cleaning and smelled due to dead crickets. I guess it's not the worst if you plan on daily cleaning. And sorry I thought you meant the actual cantina!
rotadennis
Member
I bought one for my setup. So far my cham hasn't even touched it,
Peachypink
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have one. I used it for a couple of weeks then took it out. Cleaning it every day became a huge pain in my badonkadonk. The charcoal filter thing was awful because it would drop pieces of carbon and left a gritty dust in the water no matter how much you tried to flush it out. There just isn't a need for it if you are misting correctly and its too much of a pain to have in there just for the fun of it.
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