removing excess water from tank

[marxous]

how do you ppz with glass enclosures remove the excess water from spraying etx? I tried lining the bottom with pat grass, but it couldnt drink the water fast enough,,, so i think it began rotting, and smellin funny... i took it out today. now theres nothing in the bottom, but i think soon im going to have to soak up excess water with a towel... just wondering how others do ti?!

 

[Julirs]

I soak up the water with a towel!!!!!

 

[Julirs]

I have a mesh reptarium with a soft liner by the way.

 

[Creampuff]

I have a tank cuz cham is still a baby (2 months)...yea mostly towels are the way to go. Kind of a pain yea. Can't wait for him to be big enough for the screen cage . I used to have soil with towels over it but the crickets kept going under as well as the fruit flies and I was afraid of impaction. The stress wasnt worth it so now its just towels.

 

[marxous]

ya thats what i thought, i just know that there are many inventive peoples on this site, and i thought i would see if anyone had anything inventive!

 

[Creampuff]

what about a tank drainage system? since we cant exactly drill holes in glass (but im sure u can try) you can get a board and slant it at the bottom of the cage to bring all the excess water to the corner of the cage where a tube can be set up to suck up all the water. or make a hole in that particular corner and put a bucket at the bottom to catch the water. You see I have many "inventive ideas" im just kinda lazy to make it when I know im going to move him sometime soon But good luck searching for something

 

[KeijiLLC]

why not just have a small plant and mist daily for a bit out of the tank?

 

[marxous]

both are great ideas, i think though it helps with the humidity when you mist inside a tank, and thus is better for the chameleon as long as you maintain the cleanliness of the tank!

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Marxous
I see you keep fish tanks, some very large ones at that. It was after years experience myself of keeping fish tanks and terrariums with mixed species that lead me to the idea of building my chameleon enclosure the way I did. Rather than trying to mop up or drain away excess water from the bottom of my tank I simply keep enough in there to circulate and filter like a regular fish tank. There is only a small amount of water in the tank itself and most of it is below a sort of floating island. Much of the water volume is contained in a large external Fluval filter which is really over kill as far as filter capacity is concerned, but I deliberately used a larger size filter to contain the extra water capacity in the whole system. My cleaning procedure consist of routinely spaying everything down and doing frequent water changes. Misting in my enclosure only helps to replace water lost through evaporation. I live in a very dry climate, especially in the winter time when we heat the house with a forced air furnace. My enclosure maintains a very functional humidity gradient, from hot and dry at the top to cool and humid near the bottom.
My design isn't for everyone and would never work for a female chameleon that's for sure, but I'm into the second year with this set up and it has been working great for me. My male veiled chameleon is healthy and happy, and the fish I keep in the water is doing fine as well. The pothos plant I planted in one of the hanging pot has grown down into the water area and rooted out, so the plant now probably gets most of it nutrients and water directly from there, thus it is acting as a sort of extra water purifier absorbing the excess nitrogen from the water.