New to the forum, quick question or two.

[Metalboop]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. I'm currently waiting for my new panther ambilobe from Kammerflage to reach 2.5 months. Should be around late august-mid September. I'm in the process of getting all my supplies. I already ordered my cage (small) and setup kit. Including the correct lamps and bulbs. I'm also planning on a hybiscus and probably a ficus.

Now onto the questions haha. I'm on the verge of ordering a mist king starter since I only have one cage (for now atleast). The only thing that's kept me from ordering it is that my cham's cage will be in my bedroom. How much water do they get on the surroundings outside the cage? I watched a few vids of them on YouTube and read about 40 posts on hear about the mist king but havnt heard this issue addressed. Is the floor and or wall around it soaked after a cycle? I'd hate to have to replace drywall/ mold on the floor/ or god forbid my tv or x-box getting wet and shorting out.

And how many misting cycles do you usually run per day? For how long?

Do you take any extra precautions for drainage in your potted plants to prevent over watering? Such as sand or rocks?

Sorry to bombard you with this much reading. Any help is much appreciated

 

[camimom]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. I'm currently waiting for my new panther ambilobe from Kammerflage to reach 2.5 months. Should be around late august-mid September. I'm in the process of getting all my supplies. I already ordered my cage (small) and setup kit. Including the correct lamps and bulbs. I'm also planning on a hybiscus and probably a ficus.

Now onto the questions haha. I'm on the verge of ordering a mist king starter since I only have one cage (for now atleast). The only thing that's kept me from ordering it is that my cham's cage will be in my bedroom. How much water do they get on the surroundings outside the cage? I watched a few vids of them on YouTube and read about 40 posts on hear about the mist king but havnt heard this issue addressed. Is the floor and or wall around it soaked after a cycle? I'd hate to have to replace drywall/ mold on the floor/ or god forbid my tv or x-box getting wet and shorting out.

And how many misting cycles do you usually run per day? For how long?

Do you take any extra precautions for drainage in your potted plants to prevent over watering? Such as sand or rocks?

Sorry to bombard you with this much reading. Any help is much appreciated

FIrst- welcome! second, yay to getting the first cham!
now, to your questions, I cant tell you if the misting systems spray around the cage as i dont currently use one.
However, as for the rest of your questions i can answer that. most chams should be misted 3-5 times a day, for 1-2 minutes each, depending on the humidity level changes. if you find your cage stays really low on the humidity, then do more mistings, if it stays higher, do less, or do them for shorter periods of time.
as for plants, you MUST put rocks on top of the dirt, this is actually to prevent your cham from eating the dirt, which they do, whether while shooting at a feeder, or simply cuz they want to eat dirt. and yes they will eat dirt sometimes.
good luck!

 

[Metalboop]

Yup, I was planning on some flat river rocks to put on top of the soil. I was wondering more about drainage for the plant to prevent overwatering with the misting system. Or are the common cage plants (ficus, hybiscus, dwarf umbrella and such) not bothered by them?

 

[camimom]

Yup, I was planning on some flat river rocks to put on top of the soil. I was wondering more about drainage for the plant to prevent overwatering with the misting system. Or are the common cage plants (ficus, hybiscus, dwarf umbrella and such) not bothered by them?

I use a big litter dripper for my cham. I have four medium sized pothos in his cage, and so far have not had any problems with drainage.

 

[krknieriem]

I have a mistking basic and I absolutely love it.....good choice. What you may want to do is search previous threads on how people did their drainage for their enclosures. I bought a cheap table off CL and cut a hole in it so it drains into a bin. I dont have a problem with getting mist on walls, every once in awhile I have to reposition my misting head so the water doesnt drip down the screen but I dont have any mold issues.

 

[richpass6]

Yup, I was planning on some flat river rocks to put on top of the soil. I was wondering more about drainage for the plant to prevent overwatering with the misting system. Or are the common cage plants (ficus, hybiscus, dwarf umbrella and such) not bothered by them?

thats the thing with chameleons, water is essential. regardless if its water dripping or water misting you will need some sort of pan or dish. i could post some pics of what i do to solve this problem.
...too much water dripping on a ficus will kill it. hibiscus is very hard to keep healthy in doors..it will lose its leaves and start to die. i recommend an scheffelera arborincola (dwarf umbrella) for your baby because its small and will fill a small size cage well. later on when its older and needs a large size cage you can put a nice ficus or umbrella tree in the cage. pothos works well though and can take a lot of water so the choice of plant is yours. you can also position your dripping or misting away from the soil of the plant to avoid drowning it.

bottom line lol get the mist king and make a drain pan of some sort.

 

[Metalboop]

Thanks for advice guys. I have plans for a drainage table/stand. Kind of a combo of 2 different ones I've seen.

I plan on drilling several tiny holes in the center of the hard plastic bottom. As well as trying to place the heavier plant closer to the middle so the water flows down to the wholes. Under the cage will be a rubber made storage lid with a drain in the center. With a 2 foot tall stand underneath with slotted bars or a hole for the drain to go through. I'll have it drain into a bin. Should be pretty simple, I already started the lid with the drain.

 

[Jerdog]

I can't imagine not having a mistking. It really is awesome, I had the same questions when I planned my setup. I use a black nitestand like table I picked up at target for $14. I cut a hole in the center of it and flush mounted a funnel for drainage. Using a piece of acrylic I got at lowes I drilled a bunch of small holes that sit above the funnel, the acrylic is thin and quite flexible. When the potted plant sits on top it flexes like a funnel as well and all the water falls toward the center down the holes through the funnel into a bucket. (the acrylic being the bottom panel inside the cage) The mist really doesn't seem to go outside the cage at all, maybe just a drop here or there. I love the setup, it is easy as Sunday morning!