mist system question.

[MoxDZ]

I have a Jackson's Chameleon in a 30x18x30 open air enclosure.
I have the monsoon rs400 auto misting system.
I also have a fog system (home made; humidifier and hose).

My question is, do I have the right settings for the auto mister set?
I currently have it misting once every hour for 20-30 seconds.
Do I have too much misting or too little?

I am worried, because last night I noticed the Chameleon thristy and let him drink from a spray bottle I have.

What is ideal occuring time and duration?

 

[babyjoe]

It all depends on your humidity levels really.I just hand mist twice a day for about a minute and that keeps everything all right.is the mister your chams only drinking source?
I leave a dripper running through the day too and mine drinks from that

 

[MoxDZ]

Yes it is its only drink source. Is that ok. I just turned it back to every 2 hours for 30 sec.

 

[Barb]

Bumping this thread as I am trying to figure out the same thing with my monsoon. Mine is for a male veiled, approx 1 yr. old and the monsoon is the only water source. I was going to do every two hours for 4-8 seconds. I live in Chicago, so heat is on. Any suggestions or does this sound okay? Also, do you let it run at night when they are sleeping?

 

[chamerina]

I'm new to wonderful world of chameleons, but from what I've read and experience with our Leon thus far, it looks like you want to have a misting session for at least 3 minutes if not 5. We currently have our mister scheduled for 8 minutes 1 hour after lights on, then 3 and 5 minute mistings at 12 pm and 3 pm and a final misting for 5 minutes at 5:30 pm.

30 seconds of misting is not enough for jacksons. They like to be west and absorb some of the moisture through their skin as well. I found that Leon doesn't even start drinking until 3 minutes into misting - same goes for when I hand misted him.

 

[deadhd5]

I am sorry to hear that you purchased the Monsoon, I made the same mistake. The problem is, many chams need long misting sessions to trigger their drinking response. However, the longest misting session the Monsoon can handle is inadequate, that is if the timer even works.

Suggestion #1 - Get an external timer, set the monsoon to the longest session, and schedule back to back to back misting sessions on the external timer.

or more preferable
Suggestion #2 - Pick up an aquazamp or mistking misting system.

Good luck!

 

[deadhd5]

My Jackson's misting schedule:

6:45 - 10 minutes
10:30 - 8 minutes
1:30 - 5 minutes
4:15 - 3 minutes

 

[Barb]

Darn it. I guess I should have asked about it before I purchased it. However, I could possibly take it back.
So, you don't mist past 4:15 p.m. Or their bed time? So no misting after they are down for the day I take it.
Also, I use store bought distilled water. Should it be warm, cool, cold?
I will look into the other misters you suggested, incase I can return the monsoon.
Thanks.

 

[deadhd5]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news on the Monsoon. It is a nice looking system, I just don't understand the timer setup and quality. I was very frustrated after buying it. I thought I had solved the misting length problem with an external timer, but the system automatically follows the built in timer when turned on by the external timer instead of going to the "on" position so the length of the misting could be completely controlled by the external timer.

You will want the cage to dry out completely before lights out in order to reduce the risk of bacteria, mold, and fungal issues in the cage and eventually on your chameleon. My lights go out at 7:15, so I give about 3 hours to dry before lights out.

Distilled water is great. It is best to warm it up (I put an aquarium heater in the resevoir) but is not necessary. They seem to enjoy the warm showers much more and are more likely to sit under the mist and fully hydrate if the water is warm.

Good luck!

 

[cubanbee]

You want to have the last misting session of the day end with enough time left with the lights on to dry out the cage before they go off and your chameleon goes to sleep. That will vary on the size of your cage, how much you mist, etc, but that's what you want to aim for. Dry leaves, etc between when they go to bed and you mist the next AM. This helps prevent respiratory infections.

Another vote for trying to return the Monsoon, they have a bad reputation for how long they last and the timer settings issue. The other two folks have mentioned are highly recommended by many here on the forum, for nearly the same price.

As a matter of fact, my AquaZamp just arrived today, I'm excited! No more spray bottle!

 

[Barb]

Okay. Going to work on returning the monsoon. Should have figured it was no good, when the first one I bought didn't work at all. Will be buying the aquazamp, as it comes all ready to put together. The mistking, unless I'm wrong, you have to supply the bucket and drill holes etc. for 25.00 more, I can have one ready to go.
I will make sure the last misting is done early enough and I have extra aquarium heaters on hand, so I will heat it also.
Now, does anyone know the difference in the aquazamp rain unit and mist u it. They are the same price. So which one?
Thanks

 

[chamerina]

I know that mistking is currently doing free shipping for orders over $100. It looks like everyone has positive things to say about both mistking and aquazamp. I believe that both of the companies provide excellent service as well

 

[Barb]

Well, I tried. But I have no receipt, so I am stuck with the monsoon. Because its considered a big ticket item, they would only exchange for the same product, without a receipt I will use it until it poops out and then I will either make my own, or purchase one of the other ones. I might even just make my own and have the two run together. That way when the monsoon poops out, I will know that my Cham is still getting misted from the other. Thanks for the help everyone. I will ask first next time.