Andrew1283
Chameleon Enthusiast
We can’t have enough of these posts, can we?
I had a substrate tray in my Reptibreeze XL enclosure and hated removing it for cleaning. I had to navigate the branches (my scaffolding goes to the floor) and it always scared Tony. Crap regularly fell in the crevices between the screen and the tray along with runaway bugs. Talk about disgusting.
I finally tossed the substrate tray and got smart. My stand is a wooden table measuring 25” x 25”. What a find! Anyway, I used a 2 1/4” (57mm) hole saw on the black plastic base and then a 4” (102mm) hole saw on the wood table underneath. You want the plastic floor’s hole to be smaller than the table’s hole so water doesn’t touch the wooden table. Check out the photos below to see what I mean.
I have a black bucket on the shelf below and this system works beautifully. The black bucket is discrete and nearly invisible for aesthetics. This is in my living space after all. I have coroplast sheets affixed tightly against screens on two sides, and situated my plants in a way that I can spray in the direction of the coroplast sheets only.
The last pic is from underneath the table. If you were a tiny person standing in the drainage bucket (lol) this would be your view.
How do I prevent escapees from a 2 1/4” hole? Easy! A potted plant on top of the hole bends the plastic sheet just enough to make the water run to the center, and into the hole. It also seals the hole from any escapees, but lets water go freely. The wood beneath the plastic hole has been bone dry for a month now, so I’m confident enough to post this as a viable option.
I had a substrate tray in my Reptibreeze XL enclosure and hated removing it for cleaning. I had to navigate the branches (my scaffolding goes to the floor) and it always scared Tony. Crap regularly fell in the crevices between the screen and the tray along with runaway bugs. Talk about disgusting.
I finally tossed the substrate tray and got smart. My stand is a wooden table measuring 25” x 25”. What a find! Anyway, I used a 2 1/4” (57mm) hole saw on the black plastic base and then a 4” (102mm) hole saw on the wood table underneath. You want the plastic floor’s hole to be smaller than the table’s hole so water doesn’t touch the wooden table. Check out the photos below to see what I mean.
I have a black bucket on the shelf below and this system works beautifully. The black bucket is discrete and nearly invisible for aesthetics. This is in my living space after all. I have coroplast sheets affixed tightly against screens on two sides, and situated my plants in a way that I can spray in the direction of the coroplast sheets only.
The last pic is from underneath the table. If you were a tiny person standing in the drainage bucket (lol) this would be your view.
How do I prevent escapees from a 2 1/4” hole? Easy! A potted plant on top of the hole bends the plastic sheet just enough to make the water run to the center, and into the hole. It also seals the hole from any escapees, but lets water go freely. The wood beneath the plastic hole has been bone dry for a month now, so I’m confident enough to post this as a viable option.
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