Drainage success

[Bernie]

So I finally succeeded with some drainage. Very simple and not too expensive either. Here's how I did it...

I went to IKEA and got myself a coffee table for £25. This is a 78cm x 78cm square table. Drilled a hole in the middle. Maybe about 25mm ish.

I then got myself an attachment for a silicone tube. The part that screws on the end of the tube. I used a knife to cut off the base of it.

I then drilled a hole in the middle of the White plastic board that sits at the bottom of the Reptibreeze and glued the silicone tube fitting to it.

The weight of my plant pot puts a slight bow in the plastic base so the water runs to the centre/hole.

I have a plastic tub collecting the water below. I will be getting some hose pipe and pushing it on to the tapered attachment underneath so I can have it draining into a bucket.

I hope this makes sense!

Also just built a second drainage table for my new Reptibreeze that came today. So goodbye to the wooden viv you see above! My Yemen is moving house!

 

[Elizadolots]

That's a nice solution! I like it. With Ikea tables being as inexpensive as they are, it's a great way to go.

 

[melrito]

Great idea!

 

[dionysus19]

I bought some cheap giant sponges that are used for collecting a shitton of water. There only like 5 bucks. I put 3 in mine and whenever needed jst squeeze the sponges in a bucket and put the sponges back in

 

[PeriTanz]

I bought some cheap giant sponges that are used for collecting a shitton of water. There only like 5 bucks. I put 3 in mine and whenever needed jst squeeze the sponges in a bucket and put the sponges back in

I might worry about bacteria collecting or mold growing on the sponges.

 

[dionysus19]

They build up occasionaly in which you got to wash them...but my cage is custom so the water collection is not in same cage as cham

 

[withlime]

Our first drainage set up was very similar! We used a $10 ikea table with a hole, funnel, and bucket. We did add some shower curtain around the bottom of the reptibreeze so that the whole table wouldn't get wet and rot. It worked great for our needs at the time.

I must say, years later, I love our automated drainage system so I don't have to worry about dumping buckets all the time

 

[Bernie]

I now have both setups draining. No leakage or anything. I empty the tubs underneath once a day.

Once the hose pipes are fitted i can use a large bucket that will hopefully allow me to go a few days without emptying if necessary.

My only criticism of this is that sometimes the white plastic can hold drops of water on the surface which means any feeders that walk on the bottom get wet. But I suppose you cant always have it all!

 

[Bizzle90]

Hey Bernie,

I just bought the exact same table from IKEA for $30! haha, so I'm stealing this idea...

what kind of plant is that in the middle? it's nice looking!

 

[Bernie]

Hey Bernie,

I just bought the exact same table from IKEA for $30! haha, so I'm stealing this idea...

what kind of plant is that in the middle? it's nice looking!

Go for it - I stressed for days trying to think of an easy/cheap solution so I know how frustrating it can be.

The plant is a "DRACAENA MASSANGEANA" - They actually sell these at IKEA too (in the UK anyway) They cost about £15-20 which would probably be about $20-25 at a guess.

 

[Bizzle90]

Those are the plants I saw there! I wanted to make sure that they were safe before I had bought them, but I guess they are!

Are they hardy? and are they strong enough to hold your cham?

Thanks - I was stressing about this too!...I also have the same cage so, you felt my pain!

 

[Bernie]

Those are the plants I saw there! I wanted to make sure that they were safe before I had bought them, but I guess they are!

Are they hardy? and are they strong enough to hold your cham?

Thanks - I was stressing about this too!...I also have the same cage so, you felt my pain!

My Cham's are quite young still, around the 4months mark. So they can climb over these quite well still. Not sure if they'll cope so well when they get bigger though. But I have plenty of vines in and around so they tend to stick to the paths. They love to sleep under the leaves though. They provide great cover for this.

Pretty sure they are in the safe plant section on here.

 

[seanUTD]

They build up occasionaly in which you got to wash them...but my cage is custom so the water collection is not in same cage as cham

I would still worry... Bacteria as well as mold can easy have spores that move through the air and affect not only your cham but you as well... IMHO I think you need to change drainage systems.. A build up of water ANYWHERE is a bad idea, in the cage or not...

 

[Elizadolots]

dionysus, as the sponges were so inexpensive, why don't you get 2 sets. At the end of every day you can either run them through the dishwasher or put them in the microwave on high for 2 minutes to sterilize them. That way, you'll know there's no danger.