Dripping system! Crickets! Cham!?

[skully23]

I can't seem to find anything that constantly drips. I have used ice cubes which are said to be a bad idea and then i have tried a water bottle with a hole in the lid.
Does anyone know an easy constant cheap dripping system??

I also wanted to know how many crickets should be fed to a veiled chameleon a day.

 

[jessica]

I used a plastic mayo jar for a while, it worked pretty good.

I just put a real small hole it the bottom and unscrewed the cap a little.

LLL has real cheap drippers for like 6$

 

[Courtney]

its much better and eaiser on you to buy a $6 dripper many pet stores have them. andthere is no guess work!!!!

 

[pssh]

Buy a little dripper. The other ones from lll are hard to twist, so it hard to get it to drip the way you want.

The amount of crickets depends on the age. You should also use other feeders.

 

[chameleon97]

then i have tried a water bottle with a hole in the lid.

There has to be holes top and bottom.
Finger-On-The-Straw effect.

-Steve

 

[jojackson]

The larger the better, suspended or placed above the cage so gravity assists. An aquarium check valve (screw type) will adjust the flow. Longer tubing works better.

 

[renzo0684]

I love the ZOO MED LITTLE DRIPPER got it at PETCO for 12 bucks

 

[skully23]

Since the dripper is cheap I will buy one but right now I will try to find a way to keep it constant. I have money coming soon and I will buy the dripper.

Pssh, by you saying "use other feeders" what should i use? The pet store I go to only has crickets and no meal worms..worms etc.. that I know of. Could you give me a list of different foods they can also have

My veiled chameleon has been eating atleast 15 or more crickets a day. I leave ten before I go to school and then add five when I get home. He ate 20 the other day. =O

 

[renzo0684]

Since the dripper is cheap I will buy one but right now I will try to find a way to keep it constant. I have money coming soon and I will buy the dripper.

Pssh, by you saying "use other feeders" what should i use? The pet store I go to only has crickets and no meal worms..worms etc.. that I know of. Could you give me a list of different foods they can also have

My veiled chameleon has been eating atleast 15 or more crickets a day. I leave ten before I go to school and then add five when I get home. He ate 20 the other day. =O

How old is he? Depending on the size 10-12 should be good. Chameleons will over eat

If you ask PSSH she will tell you dubias... Which is a fantastic idea because she talked me into getting a colony... I am ordering a starter colony for 100 that comes with adult males and females and some nymphs.... But you can use silkies, wax worms, phoenix worms and you can get all these from the site sponsers!

 

[skully23]

How old is he? Depending on the size 10-12 should be good. Chameleons will over eat

If you ask PSSH she will tell you dubias... Which is a fantastic idea because she talked me into getting a colony... I am ordering a starter colony for 100 that comes with adult males and females and some nymphs.... But you can use silkies, wax worms, phoenix worms and you can get all these from the site sponsers!

I looked up dubias and I don't think I want cochroaches running around.I can work on other things but I was told regular feeding of the worms would cause fatting. He is in his months...i say over 3 months but I am not sure. You have been asking questions yourself...so I'm not exactly sure on what you say.

 

[skully23]

I love the ZOO MED LITTLE DRIPPER got it at PETCO for 12 bucks

I just found that same dripper on petco.com and found it was a 2 out of a 5 rating. Everyone was complaining about the valve suddenly pouring water or not working at all. I am quite mixed up on what I want to do. I think I should go back to ice cubes because it dripped fine.
Can anyone give me a reason not to use cubes?

Renz, how did the dripper work out for you?

 

[renzo0684]

I love that little dripper.... Dont use ice cube because it is super cold water that will be dripping onto your cham. That is the main reason... And when you say "you have been asking questions too' so you dont know to listen to me? Yeah I ask questions and give answers to questions I have asked, its like paying it forward. So if you seached and saw that I asked the saame questions you are, you obviously saw the answer that I got from most of the same people posting on your thread why did you ask the same question?

 

[pssh]

I've been using a little dripper for almost 9 years just fine.

Silkworms, cockroaches, stick bugs, hornworms, Phoenix worms, and crickets can be fed regularly without fattening. Butterworms, waxworms, mealworms (very sparingly), superworms, and flies can be given as treats to vary the diet.

I prefer dubia cockroaches because they can't climb, don't jump, DONT SMELL!!!, look like large Rollie pollies, reproduce quickly, and don't smell. Plus they don't smell. They're also meatier than crickets and they don't make any noise. I've never had an escape with mine. I keep them in a 20 gallon tank with a screen. I actually think they're fun to play with! plus once they start reproducing, you only have to buy crickets every now and then as an enrichment feeder! They don't survive well in cold and pretty much die, and they prefer dirt to carpet so they try to leave the house if they escape.

 

[skully23]

I love that little dripper.... Dont use ice cube because it is super cold water that will be dripping onto your cham. That is the main reason... And when you say "you have been asking questions too' so you dont know to listen to me? Yeah I ask questions and give answers to questions I have asked, its like paying it forward. So if you seached and saw that I asked the saame questions you are, you obviously saw the answer that I got from most of the same people posting on your thread why did you ask the same question?

I ask to make sure...

I stopped using the ice cubes days ago and finally got something to work. I took a mini water bottle and poked a small hole on the bottom and one on the lid. Then I took paper clips and wrapped it around the lid area and took it up through the screen to hold on. It drips fine and he drank quite a bit of it. If it fails at any point in time I will buy a dripper.
I am going to post a picture of my dripping system next post I hope.

 

[jojackson]

I am quite mixed up on what I want to do. I think I should go back to ice cubes because it dripped fine.
Can anyone give me a reason not to use cubes?

Because they are inefficient, unless you fill your freezer with them, especially in summer, you wont have enough. In summer the drops will evaporate and be useless. More importantly, because those drops that manage to fall on leaves, eventually wont sustain your lizard. Its better to use a dripper regardless the type of feeders you offer.
I beleive using a tube going into the cage, and giving the lizard direct access is best.
If you have ever seen a cham guzzel directly from a dripper, you'll wonder how it ever got enough from drips on leaves.
As your cham gets bigger, its water requirements do also, so the sooner you get it used to a dripper the better.
You dont have to buy one, you can make your own, very cheaply.
As I said earlier, the larger the resevoir (water holder) the better. Place it above the cage, use a cheap plastic screw type aquarium flow adjuster and itll run all day, depending on the flow rate/size. All you need to do is make sure of your drainage capacity.
I use a ten litre/2 gallon water container, standard aquarium tubing, 1x standard aquarium screw flow adjuster.

2 gal container : $5 from supermarket
tubing/valve: $2 each petstore

 

[skully23]

I got it!

Here is my new dripping system!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44910169@N07/4179090877/

Toward the bottom of the bottle you can see a drop of water hanging, thats where it drips. I perched up on that branch to keep the weight off the paper clips that go up through the top. Its all secure and he has drank from it.

Thanks

 

[jojackson]

I can't seem to find anything that constantly drips.

How long will that constantly drip for? Very very slow, perhaps a few hrs.
That very slow rate will evaporate in summer and may not sustain a larger cham.
Looks like a pain to remove for filling/replacing. Dosen't look to stable, it may be a risk to your cham. You cant control the flow.
2/5

 

[pssh]

Plus plastics release toxins in the heat and it the sun. I don't know if the lamp and the UVB light would be sun-like enough to cause the plastic to release toxins into the water, but I wouldn't risk it.

 

[jojackson]

Lol, I dont know about that, though any plastics you apply heat to might outgas infitesimally small levels of toxins, many things do in the home anyway.
More to the point, the placement near heat source will cause the water to evaporate.
Its just not alot better than the icecubes mate.
Still difficult for the lizard to access Imo, if you run a tube in you can place it at your lizards convenience, control flow and fill it from outside the cage.

 

[skully23]

Not a pain to remove. I just push the bottle up to that hole and pour water in. I seen my chameleon drink a bunch of it by standing on that branch. It drips off the leaves and down into a real plant. He spends time in the real plant and drinks from the leaves. I am using this until I have money to buy one. If i buy a dripper and it don't work..this system I have will stay.

Its easy to remove and it is stable.