Newbie - several questions

[lily2521]

I'm doing lots of online searching and I'm starting to piece by piece purchase my terrarium set up for a juvenile male carpet. Along the way I've come up with a couple of questions about setup and daily care, I figured it'd be easiest to throw all of my questions into one longer thread:

*Dripper - is there one that somehow mounts inside of the cage? I like things to be neat and tidy, and if I can somehow avoid having one just sitting on top I'd like to.

*If I'm hand-misting 3x a day, how long should I have the dripper going?

*Do I need a drainage system, I'm not exactly the handy type, I see so many that people here have built but I'm afraid I might not be capable of building something like that. If I don't, where does the excess water go? I'm guessing you don't want it pooling at the bottom. I'm okay with having to empty something daily, but I just don't know what works best, open for suggestions here.

*Electrical safety - this may seem silly but with lighting and outlets, and water from misters, drippers, how do you assure everything is done safely from an electrical standpoint??

*Same with the lighting on the cage, if I'm gone during the day and the lights are on for the cham during the day, how do you assure this isn't a fire hazard? I'm assuming some of the bulbs can get quite warm?

*Cleaning - how often should I do a full on thorough cleaning of the cage? I'm guessing daily I'll just want to wipe it out to assure daily cleanliness?

*Humidity Levels - these should vary throughout the day, and don't need to be constant, correct? It's more about just having several humid spikes throughout the day? I live in an area that can get quite dry during the wintertime, so I'm hoping between 3 misting's a day, doing the shower curtain liner on 3 sides in winter, and having live plants I can keep humidity where I need it to be?

*Feeders - I know you're supposed to gut load your feeders, which I plan on doing the night before a morning feed. But...what if I have a night where I am not home or something to gut load? Is it okay to feed a regular (non-gut loaded) cricket every now and then if needed?

*I've read it's best to let your cham be alone for a few days to acclimate to his new home, do I put his live food in a cup, or let the crickets run free in his cage? I'd like to try hand-feeding at some point but I'm guessing that's not best right away.

If I come up with more questions I may add them - thanks for the help here, everyone has been great at answering questions and offering advice, I'm so glad I found these forums!

 

[Carlton]

I'm doing lots of online searching and I'm starting to piece by piece purchase my terrarium set up for a juvenile male carpet. Along the way I've come up with a couple of questions about setup and daily care, I figured it'd be easiest to throw all of my questions into one longer thread:

*Dripper - is there one that somehow mounts inside of the cage? I like things to be neat and tidy, and if I can somehow avoid having one just sitting on top I'd like to.

Drippers need gravity and a vertical drop to work right. I suppose you could put the dripper container on something next to the cage rather than on top. Either way, you need it to be above the cage in some way.


*If I'm hand-misting 3x a day, how long should I have the dripper going?

You may not need a dripper at all if there is a lot of foliage that holds water droplets for some time after you finish misting. The key is providing water droplets in enough quantity and for a long enough time for your cham to satisfy its need to drink.


*Do I need a drainage system, I'm not exactly the handy type, I see so many that people here have built but I'm afraid I might not be capable of building something like that. If I don't, where does the excess water go? I'm guessing you don't want it pooling at the bottom. I'm okay with having to empty something daily, but I just don't know what works best, open for suggestions here.

So much depends on how often you can clean the cage bottom and what sort of cage bottom you have. I see nothing wrong with sponging the water out of the cage each day. You will need a catch container for the dripper however. Remember, it will need to be the same capacity as the dripper container. At different seasons most of it may evaporate by the end of the day. If your room is humid maybe not. Just have to watch and see. You could use paper towels to absorb excess water if you want. The main thing is you don't want pools of standing water for days on end absorbing all sorts of grunge (poop etc).


*Electrical safety - this may seem silly but with lighting and outlets, and water from misters, drippers, how do you assure everything is done safely from an electrical standpoint??

Use what they call a "drip loop" when arranging the electrical cords. The cords should droop below and then up to the level of the electrical outlet so any water will drip off the cord before reaching the socket.


*Same with the lighting on the cage, if I'm gone during the day and the lights are on for the cham during the day, how do you assure this isn't a fire hazard? I'm assuming some of the bulbs can get quite warm?

Chams don't require very hot lighting, so as long as the bulbs are in correct fixtures that are vented and nothing flammable is put directly over or next to the fixtures (papers, curtains, shades, plastics, wooden furniture) you should be good. I always use a fixture with a ceramic socket rather than plastic. Shield the basking bulb from water spray too.


*Cleaning - how often should I do a full on thorough cleaning of the cage? I'm guessing daily I'll just want to wipe it out to assure daily cleanliness?

One carpet cham isn't going to create a huge mess every day. A wipe down with a herp-safe sanitizing solution should be good. If your cham prefers pooping on the plants (many like to poop in private while hiding in the plants) you will want to clean the plant leaves regularly as he'll be licking water off these leaves. I break down my cages for a more thorough cleaning every few months...sort of depends on the setup, how I offer feeders, and the cham.


*Humidity Levels - these should vary throughout the day, and don't need to be constant, correct? It's more about just having several humid spikes throughout the day? I live in an area that can get quite dry during the wintertime, so I'm hoping between 3 misting's a day, doing the shower curtain liner on 3 sides in winter, and having live plants I can keep humidity where I need it to be?

Yes, you don't want or need humidity to be constant. You'll have to watch and adjust the cage to your particular room climate by season. Lots of live foliage and the shower curtain option can buffer humidity pretty well.


*Feeders - I know you're supposed to gut load your feeders, which I plan on doing the night before a morning feed. But...what if I have a night where I am not home or something to gut load? Is it okay to feed a regular (non-gut loaded) cricket every now and then if needed?

Yes. Good nutrition happens over time. One deficient feeder won't matter. If you feed your insects well the entire time you have them that is most important.


*I've read it's best to let your cham be alone for a few days to acclimate to his new home, do I put his live food in a cup, or let the crickets run free in his cage? I'd like to try hand-feeding at some point but I'm guessing that's not best right away.

I prefer offering insects in a larger bin nestled in the cage, so the cham can watch them moving around, climb to a convenient perch and shoot when it wants to. I also put a pinch of dry gutload in the bin with them. I don't use the typical deli cup approach. Free ranging insects isn't always a good idea as they usually hide pretty quickly (harder for the cham to even find them and you won't know how much is actually eaten) and may feed on grunge you don't want your cham ingesting. Also, loose feeders lose their gut contents quite fast and if hungry can chew on a sleeping cham.


If I come up with more questions I may add them - thanks for the help here, everyone has been great at answering questions and offering advice, I'm so glad I found these forums![/QUOTE]

 

[lily2521]

Carlson Thanks so much for your detailed response!

In regards to drip systems, the more I read about them the more I think I might want to look into doing something.

I see many with just 1 hold in the middle of the cage floor, directing the water down into a bucket, but how do you direct the water that hits the cage floor towards the middle where the hole is drilled? Is the floor angled to direct the water somehow? I don't get it!

 

[Carlton]

Carlson Thanks so much for your detailed response!

In regards to drip systems, the more I read about them the more I think I might want to look into doing something.

I see many with just 1 hold in the middle of the cage floor, directing the water down into a bucket, but how do you direct the water that hits the cage floor towards the middle where the hole is drilled? Is the floor angled to direct the water somehow? I don't get it!

People have done various things to get the water to go where they want it to. Probably the simplest is to tip the cage frame slightly so the water runs to one corner where you can sponge it up. Just put something flat under two or three corners of the frame so it tips. Doesn't take much. You can run a bead of silicone caulk along the edge of the floor panel where the water will gather so it doesn't drip outside the cage (you may not have to do this if your cage bottom panel has a lip on it). Depending on how rigid the cage bottom happens to be, you could cluster your plant pots in the center so the floor panel sags a little, and drill a drain hole at the low point. Others have melted the plastic slightly to create a sag...put a brick in the center of the floor panel or wherever you want the water to run to, and carefully heat the floor panel from underneath with a hot hair dryer or pocket torch. When the panel just starts to sag, remove the heat and let it cool. Then drill the drain hole.

 

[lily2521]

People have done various things to get the water to go where they want it to. Probably the simplest is to tip the cage frame slightly so the water runs to one corner where you can sponge it up. Just put something flat under two or three corners of the frame so it tips. Doesn't take much. You can run a bead of silicone caulk along the edge of the floor panel where the water will gather so it doesn't drip outside the cage (you may not have to do this if your cage bottom panel has a lip on it). Depending on how rigid the cage bottom happens to be, you could cluster your plant pots in the center so the floor panel sags a little, and drill a drain hole at the low point. Others have melted the plastic slightly to create a sag...put a brick in the center of the floor panel or wherever you want the water to run to, and carefully heat the floor panel from underneath with a hot hair dryer or pocket torch. When the panel just starts to sag, remove the heat and let it cool. Then drill the drain hole.

Awesome, again thank you. The more I think of it the more I think a drainage system is the way to go, especially as I get everything set up before getting a cham home, might as well do it now!