Bad H2O???Please help

[dtown]

In my vivarium there is a water table that is about an inch or so deep. There is probably 2-3 inches of space between the substrate and the water. I have a fiberglass window screen that I used for the substrate divider. For my substrate I used Coco Husk. Now here's the problem: the coco husk (which is intended for terrarium use) is well above the water line but it is turning the water a brownish red color. I want to know if I should worry about this because I made a waterfall for my chams to drink from. I have had them in there new home for about 3 weeks and there is no sign of any problems. Please let me know if the water is toxic or not??

 

[grantman40]

waterfalls are a big "no-no" they are basically a breeding pool for bacteria and thatll make ur chameleon sick and possibly die, so yes if u dont clean or refill the waterfall with new water everyday it is bad water

 

[rachelk]

You said you made a waterfall? Could you explain this a little more... Is it from a dripper? Because waterfalls are not a good idea because of bacteria. I use a drip system and I have it drip down the plants into a cup and then dump the cup out when it's down and start all over again. Also, just a suggestion, you should get rid of the substrate and fiberglass mesh divider all together. Sounds like you would have a hard time keeping it clean. Try either paper towels for the bottom or reptile carpet, it is usualy sold at petstores. The reptile carpet you can clean very easily and it can be resused a lot! as long as you keep it clean and it helps with humidity.

 

[Sang]

i can already tell that from his enclosure, he has a type of rock that is charcoal based, we use these for dart frogs, to creat moisture.


you need to find a way to remove that water from their, typically you build what is called a false bottom, and set the rock *red round balls* on it. and you make sure to set a tube all the way to the bottom, that you can either stick like a shop vac down the tube to remove the water.

allthough you probably don't want a substrate, and you really should be using a screen mesh enclosure,*depending on your location*

 

[lanceman]

It sounds like you are treading very dangerous ground with that setup also housing multiple chams in small enclosure again very risky.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

How can I say this, your setup is so wrong for chameleons. Get rid of all the water and all the substrate including the clay balls. You need to do research or your chameleons will not last very long.

 

[chamelisa]

Hi Dtown,

Unfortunately, everyone here is right about that enclosure being so wrong for your chameleons.

Check out this thread by Marty at MistKing. It's for dart frogs.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/90-gallon-dart-frog-19121/

Seems like you might like getting into something like that.