Opinions on repti foggers?

[georginab]

I have a sambava panther chameleon who is a few weeks from being 5 months old and I use a reptifogger, I've read up about it and people say its not good to use because it would make the humidity too high, since I live with my boyfriend one of us is always here and monitoring it so it doesn't go higher than 60, the fogger goes on every half hour for 30 mins (depending on the humidity when it turns on) we still mist but I find if I just mist all day the humidity drops too fast.. Also my cham will either hiss and croak his throat at the fogger when it turns on or I've seen him even sit under the fog?

 

[happy]

I don't use a reptifogger, i went to walmart picked up a vicks room humidifier, piped the output into the enclosure, put the humidifier on a timer, 6 times a day, for 30 minutes. it keeps relative humidity up to 55-60%..
the output is connected with a 1/2 inch fish tank suction hose, that was never used, and a spray paint can lid with a hole drilled in it. its not pretty, but it works.. and if you don't look at it... it don't look too bad...

as far as making the humidity too high... do you have a gauge?
thats really the only good way to tell...

 

[georginab]

Does it still pour fog into the cage and does your chameleon seem to mind it? We never let the humidity get higher than its supposed to by monitoring the humidity and turning the timer off every so often :/ but I've read people don't use it for that reason.. If a gauge is something to read the humidity then yes thanks for the help

 

[laurie]

Years ago I used reptifoggers. Then i gave them all away, but only after warning the people who wanted them that they are a piece of crap. They have a very short life span, and do not perform uniformly. I buy humidifiers from target. Crane brand work well, I have used them for years.

 

[georginab]

Does it bother your cham? And do you have it sitting beside the cage?

 

[Carlton]

Does it bother your cham? And do you have it sitting beside the cage?

You don't want to run the humidifier all the time. Use a multiple setting timer to create wetter and drier cycles in the cage. Depending on the design of the humidifier you can attach pvc pipe or pool tubing to the spout and direct the fog into the cage through a slit in the mesh. If you set the humidifier next to the cage the fog can often bead up on the mesh and drip down the outside, so be sure there's some sort of pan underneath. However, a humidifier sitting in the room next to the cage will still help.

 

[Carlton]

I have a sambava panther chameleon who is a few weeks from being 5 months old and I use a reptifogger, I've read up about it and people say its not good to use because it would make the humidity too high, since I live with my boyfriend one of us is always here and monitoring it so it doesn't go higher than 60, the fogger goes on every half hour for 30 mins (depending on the humidity when it turns on) we still mist but I find if I just mist all day the humidity drops too fast.. Also my cham will either hiss and croak his throat at the fogger when it turns on or I've seen him even sit under the fog?

You might try putting the fogger above the cage so the mist drifts down onto the cage plants. It might disturb him less. Though most of my chams didn't pay too much attention to my foggers. Yes, cycling it off and on is best so the cage has a chance to dry out for a while each day.

 

[happy]

if she is sitting where it dumps out, she moves, it kinda scares her. after the first run, before the lights kick on, she's still asleep, i run for 1 hour. it drips "rain" onto foliage. she wakes up to fresh rain. then througout the day it kicks on and off. i dont have it attached to an automatic humidity switch, so its just timed right now. i do tend to dump it near where she sleeps... as i said earlier, she moves out of the way when it first kicks on, but she will move through it... and does not seem to mind... its just that first puff that startles her....

 

[happy]

when i get home tonight, ill take a few pictures and post them.... maybe post a video, so you can see what i mean.

 

[georginab]

Thanks everyone for the help our fogger came with a tube and we have it extended to the top so the fog is pouring down but he hates it all, even tough he loves licking the wetness from the fog when its turned off.. I'm going to get a humidifier and see how that works out

 

[happy]

The humidifier does the same thing... but the cost, for me was much better. it definitely dumps fog into the enclosure. mine has a 2 gallon reservoir, so i dont have to fill it up but once a week. I refill it when doing enclosure maintenance, janitorial, and general upkeep.

 

[Carlton]

Thanks everyone for the help our fogger came with a tube and we have it extended to the top so the fog is pouring down but he hates it all, even tough he loves licking the wetness from the fog when its turned off.. I'm going to get a humidifier and see how that works out

Just realize that there are 3 basic types of humidifiers:

Ultrasonic humidifiers use the same technology as your fogger. It will also create fog. An advantage of this type is that it creates droplets on the cage foliage and you don't need replaceable wicks.

Evaporative humidifiers work by blowing air through a water-saturated wick. The wicks need to be changed out fairly often as they are breeding grounds for bacteria and mold, and hard water will clog them up.

Vaporizers create steam by heating water to boiling. The steam is HOT and will damage your live plants, raise the cage temp, and could hurt your cham if it gets too close.

 

[georginab]

Just realize that there are 3 basic types of humidifiers:

Ultrasonic humidifiers use the same technology as your fogger. It will also create fog. An advantage of this type is that it creates droplets on the cage foliage and you don't need replaceable wicks.

Evaporative humidifiers work by blowing air through a water-saturated wick. The wicks need to be changed out fairly often as they are breeding grounds for bacteria and mold, and hard water will clog them up.

Vaporizers create steam by heating water to boiling. The steam is HOT and will damage your live plants, raise the cage temp, and could hurt your cham if it gets too close.

So what do you recommend? I would like to try the evaporative humidifier so the fog won't be bothering him anymore but continue to mist the plants so there's still droplets of water

 

[Carlton]

So what do you recommend? I would like to try the evaporative humidifier so the fog won't be bothering him anymore but continue to mist the plants so there's still droplets of water

I prefer the ultrasonic type as they are simpler...no wick to hassle with. Also, the evaporative type may not produce a heavy enough vapor to condense on the leaves as well. Not sure about that. You could try positioning the fogger or a bushy plant so the vapor pours through it rather than on the cham itself. Maybe it won't worry him as much. How long have you been using the fogger? It may simply be that he needs time to get used to it. Again, I haven't had a cham get too upset by foggers, or if they did it was temporary.

Oh, one other thing to remember. If you have hard water (do you see water spots build up on everything?) you will need to keep the ultrasonic unit clean. Clean it with vinegar regularly. This will keep the mineral deposits from damaging the nebulizer (the disk that creates the fog).

 

[happy]

this is a video of a Poor mans enclosure humidifier.

images: Green HighHat mister

its same type as the reptimister, IE; ultrasonic.

holy crap the images are huge, going to remove, and just add the album.

 

[georginab]

I prefer the ultrasonic type as they are simpler...no wick to hassle with. Also, the evaporative type may not produce a heavy enough vapor to condense on the leaves as well. Not sure about that. You could try positioning the fogger or a bushy plant so the vapor pours through it rather than on the cham itself. Maybe it won't worry him as much. How long have you been using the fogger? It may simply be that he needs time to get used to it. Again, I haven't had a cham get too upset by foggers, or if they did it was temporary.

Oh, one other thing to remember. If you have hard water (do you see water spots build up on everything?) you will need to keep the ultrasonic unit clean. Clean it with vinegar regularly. This will keep the mineral deposits from damaging the nebulizer (the disk that creates the fog).

I have tried putting it on a plant and it does bother him less but he still just sits there and looks around at the fog or starts getting mad :/ it could be he's not used to it like you said or maybe because he is a juvenile, we got him a month and a couple weeks ago and I'd roughly say we got the fogger 2 maybe 3 weeks after we got him. I definitely have hard water because it becomes hard to read the thermometer from the water marks, thank you