Drippers!

[Bernie]

These things do my head in.

I havent got a drainage system set up. My aim is to collect the water at the bottom of the viv into a plastic tub. At the moment I am using a sandwich box type tub with holes in the lid. Despite this - my viv is still flooding. I am sure its the bouncing of the water.

I dont want to remove the lid in case my Cham was ever to drown. Unlikely - but not taking the risk.

Any tips on collecting water in a non-messy way? I was thinking of maybe some type of net over the top like you see in a pond?

I am determined to get this system working properly it really cant be that difficult.

 

[melrito]

You can use a bigger tupperware/rubbermaid type box which is maybe 4-6 inches deep that fits the bottom of the cage, then use a plastic mesh (you can buy this at a hardware store) and use a hot glue gun to glue the mesh to the edges of the top of the container. If you use a plastic mesh, you won't have any rough or sharp edges that could hurt your chameleon and you will guarantee that it cannot climb inside and that crickets or other bugs cannot get into the water. You can easily dump it out and any fecal material can be easily cleaned from the mesh. Hope this helps

 

[Sodbuster]

In my guy Xanders cage, all I did was drill a 1/4 inch hole into the collecting tray that sits underneith his cage, bought some 1/4 inch tubing from home depot, cut it into a 2 foot peice, took a lighter to the end so it curled a little bit and would hold the end in the hole then put the other end in a bucket. I hope this all makes sense. I"ll try to post pictures tonight when I get home from work.

 

[Solid Snake]

What is the bottom of your enclosure made of?

 

[Elizadolots]

There are any number of fabrics which will prevent your chameleon from falling in yet allow water to pass right through. Nylon net and tulle jump to mind.

 

[Bernie]

I went to the hardware store after work and grabbed some pond netting. I have glued it to the plastic tubs so this will hopefully, fingers crossed, be the end of my issue.

Thanks for the suggestions folks!

 

[meleondollars]

How did this turn out and any pictures?

 

[Bernie]

How did this turn out and any pictures?

Turned out ok thanks. I have my dripper hanging and the water collecting in a tub below.

 

[OrangeCrush]

The best thing to do is make a drainage system as soon as you can. You def don't want any standing water in the cage. I have been making a few mods to my custom made cage as time goes on. The one thing I noticed was that i started out with a stain piece of wood for the bottom with a bunch of holes drilled in to it. This did not work at all there was still puddles of water collecting at the bottom and in a week there was signs of mold forming on the underneath side. Mold is the worst thing that can happen. That is why it's very important that your cage and drain and dry out at all time. So I removed the piece of wood and replaced it with all aluminum screening. This works much better and all of the water just falls right though. I have placed to deep metal cooking sheets underneath. This collects all of the water very wel but I am adding my drainage system to it today. I am tired of emptying the two pans it will be much easier having all of the water just drain into a bucket.

 

[Bernie]

I have decided to get rid of my wooden viv and replace it with another Reptibreeze. This way I can put both vivs on a stand and create some proper drainage into a single location like you are talking about.

Hopefully I can have this sorted in the next couple of weeks!