does this setup work for drainage?

[catherine]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking into getting a panther but this will be my first chameleon. I wanted to make sure that everything is setup well before I start looking. I currently have geckos but haven't dealt with live plants before or non glass enclosures. Particularly, I'm not sure about the live plant aspect.

I'm thinking of getting the largest flexarium I can find, and putting a flextray underneath on a stand. Then I'll get a few potted plants and have them raised in the tank on top of plastic drawers like the picture attached where I'll drill a hole in the middle of the top of the drawers. Theoretically, the water will flow from the plant into the plastic drawer so i could just open the drawer and pour out the water inside. Has anyone tried this? Is there a big problem with this idea? Does anyone have a simple way of draining for a newbie? (I read most of the past posts which seem quite difficult)

Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

 

[Vegas Chad]

I think that is a great idea actually!

 

[LittleLionLover]

Decent idea but I'm wondering....would'nt water still get underneath those drawers?If so that'd be a great place for bacteria to breed IMHO.

 

[chequepoint]

I use a different size one of those on my 18X18 cage.. Works very nicely. I don't know how it would work on a flexarium. I hate flexariums

That said, the only issue is that water is heavy. 7lbs a gallon give or take. That plastic is flexible.. If you let 6 inches of water build up in the drawer, emptying it
becomes an athletic event that ends to end in something getting wet that you didn't want to. So empty it at around an inch or so..

I've attached a picture of my first baby setup using that style drainage. The cage only had half the vines in it when I took that pic that it ended up with, so don't use it as an example of a perfect setup.

The plastic tray the plant is sitting in has holes drilled in all the feet so that they water drains through. Directly under the plant is a hole with a drainage screen. There is a large rectangle cut through the top of the drawer structure.. water goes right into the plastic drawer.

Also, that power strip is in a horrible location due to water, etc. and was moved before I ever started spraying.

 

[nick barta]

Where are you located??

 

[sarrobi]

That's funny, I was thinking of doing the same thing. I actually went to Wal-Mart to look today, but couldn't find a drawer to fit inside my chameleon's cage. I didn't think of just situating the cage - sans floor piece - on the plastic drawer (thanks Chequepoint). I'm going to try either this or just a milk crate turned on its side in the cage with a tupperware container inside.

 

[summoner12]

haha that is a good idea. I have done some things like this... and my biggest issue is getting the thing to where I need to dump it.... I run a lot of water through my cages so even if I dumped something like this each day it would be a pain......... But for one cham and hand misting.... and even if you ran a mist king system, I htink it is a great idea.