Dripper help please!

[Miss Lily]

I was previously using a plastic pint 'glass' which decided to flood her cage on Saturday, lol, so this new dripper can be 'aimed' to drip where I want it to and it's a great improvement on the cup. The cup method worked ok to start with, but, it was becoming increasingly difficult to aim the drips onto a leaf (she keeps eating them, lol) without flooding the floor of the cage.

So I have made Amy a new dripper using a plastic sweet jar, 3 way adjustable valve and aquarium airline tubing. Does anyone know how to get a steady drip with this kind of dripper? It works fine, but there seems to be a lot of air in the tube so it will drip fast for a few seconds, then stop while the air comes through. Is it something I've done wrong? Help please!

 

[Cjd713]

It would probably help if we can see some pictures, then I may be able to help Good Luck

 

[jheitz]

I have to prime the tubing each time I refill my zoomed little dripper. Just run at full for two seconds filling the tubing with water then adjust for your desired drp rate. You can also pinch the tubing to force air bubbles out. Hope this helps- Jason

 

[Miss Lily]

I have to prime the tubing each time I refill my zoomed little dripper. Just run at full for two seconds filling the tubing with water then adjust for your desired drp rate. You can also pinch the tubing to force air bubbles out. Hope this helps- Jason

Ahhh! Thank you! I'll give it a try in the morning! At the moment it is running water and air at about 50/50. I didn't think to run it on full first. Thanks!

 

[laurie]

Ahhh! Thank you! I'll give it a try in the morning! At the moment it is running water and air at about 50/50. I didn't think to run it on full first. Thanks!

Tiff, Jason has it correct. Even with my overhead drippers I foten have to let the air out of the tube to get the drip rate i need. Hang in there,you are getting it all working and Amy loves you.

 

[Miss Lily]

Tiff, Jason has it correct. Even with my overhead drippers I foten have to let the air out of the tube to get the drip rate i need. Hang in there,you are getting it all working and Amy loves you.

Cheers Laurie! I didn't realise I had to do this to get the drip rate right! It coughs and splutters too much, lol! I'll do as suggested tomorrow. Amy just sat and looked at it yesterday - she was checking everything out as I put in a different plant for her too! Then she sat with her head right under the drips! Still didn't see her drink though, but her urates are looking better now. There used to be an orange tint right on the end, but I've been running a dripper of sorts for around 2 months now, so I think she's getting the hang of it at last!

 

[sandrachameleon]

The more water in the container, the more water pressure, the faster the flow. As the water level decreases, it is natural for the drip rate to lessen. My drippers seem to drip well without having to Prime though. where is the valve placed?

 

[Jonas]

I always build my own dripper with old soda bottles, air regulating valve (for aquarium air pump hoses), and some silicone. I like the "T" shaped valves where the "I" in the "T" is a screw that chokes the air, they give the best regulation posibilities.

If there is no drainage in the cage, I usually put a large plastig glass under it (like a beer glas), put a piece of cloth over it and secure it with a rubber band. I push down a little in the middle of the cloth and the water will collect nicely without any risk of the chameleon drowning or drinking water contaminated by feces or anything else.

 

[Miss Lily]

I always build my own dripper with old soda bottles, air regulating valve (for aquarium air pump hoses), and some silicone. I like the "T" shaped valves where the "I" in the "T" is a screw that chokes the air, they give the best regulation posibilities.

If there is no drainage in the cage, I usually put a large plastig glass under it (like a beer glas), put a piece of cloth over it and secure it with a rubber band. I push down a little in the middle of the cloth and the water will collect nicely without any risk of the chameleon drowning or drinking water contaminated by feces or anything else.

Yes I used one of those "T" valves. I have also used suction clips to attache the tubing to the side of the cage. I have a drainage solution already - I punched drain holes in a plastic plant pot saucer which I placed on top of a large ceramic pot and empty it once or twice a day. It works really well! Here's a pic of my invention and another of it in use in Amy's house (on the left in the pic)!

 

[jojackson]

Looks like you have the hang of it Lil, remember also that gravity is your freind, the higher suspended the resevoir the better the flow.

 

[Miss Lily]

The dripper is no better! I tried turning it full on first then reducing the flow but I just get faster air bubbles! Maybe I need to position it higher above the cage? Or maybe I put the valve on the wrong way, I don't know! I'll post pics tomorrow - Amy is asleep now, it's 10.30pm here in a very wet and windy UK!