To much water?

[Brit12]

So over the weekend I purchased a little dripper, in case you dont know its a water dripping system. I set it to be very slow at least i thought so but yesterday i came home to the water drained and sitting in the bottom of my cage. I have the drip dripping into a live plant, and today i went and got a tray to put the pot in and put some repti bark into the bottom of the cage (i know that chams may eat it but if it helps fine),The pot tray was filled with water when I cam home tonight. What is the best way to get water to your cham? I mist the cage throughout the day. Or does anyone have a great idea of what to do so I dont have a watery mess?

 

[RePtAr11]

try and make the drips come off of vines and leaves then into a decent size pot with dirt to catch the droplets. and do not forget to cover the dirt or substrate with rocks or screen as the lil thing might get dirt hungry lol i know mine does. but maybe thats just a veiled thing.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

You do not have to fill the whole little dripper up! It only needs to drip for a few hours so only put in enough as you need. My chams drink in the morning consistently so I only put in enough water to last until the afternoon at a very slow drip rate. You want the cage to be able to dry out, and reptibark at the bottom is not going to be a good solution. Not only is a risk for impaction, as you know, but if it sits there wet it is a breeding ground for bacteria and mold - neither of which are creating healthy living conditions for your cham. Reptibark doesn't dry out quickly so it won't be absorbing much if it's still wet from the day before so it won't be that helpful anyway. Try putting in less water. It takes a little trial and error to get the amount right, but it works to hydrate your cham and not flood your cage. If you can't get that to work then I'd suggest drilling a hole through the bottom and putting a bucket underneath to catch water. A good drainage system will be far more effective and cleaner than any substrate in the cage.

 

[panthercham]

You do not have to fill the whole little dripper up! It only needs to drip for a few hours so only put in enough as you need. My chams drink in the morning consistently so I only put in enough water to last until the afternoon at a very slow drip rate. You want the cage to be able to dry out, and reptibark at the bottom is not going to be a good solution. Not only is a risk for impaction, as you know, but if it sits there wet it is a breeding ground for bacteria and mold - neither of which are creating healthy living conditions for your cham. Reptibark doesn't dry out quickly so it won't be absorbing much if it's still wet from the day before so it won't be that helpful anyway. Try putting in less water. It takes a little trial and error to get the amount right, but it works to hydrate your cham and not flood your cage. If you can't get that to work then I'd suggest drilling a hole through the bottom and putting a bucket underneath to catch water. A good drainage system will be far more effective and cleaner than any substrate in the cage.

Great advice!

Is that your cham in the avatar? If so is he on the floor like that? I noticed that it has been asked in other threads but you never answered.

Why are you using Repti Bark if you know its not good?

The best thing to do with the dripper is to just test it when you are home and tweak it until you get it right. Sometimes it can take a while to get it to drip really slow and get it to drip off a leaf and then down into a container.

I have mine only going for a few hours during the day along with mistings. It drips into a bowl or plant that I empty every evening.

If you have it dripping into a potted plant then just make sure it has time to dry out and empty the dish underneath it every night.

Little Drippers are an art to get just right sometimes

 

[Elizadolots]

As mentioned, drill holes (I suggest more than one, though one will do it) in the floor, place the cage over something that will catch the water that comes out the holes. If it seems to pool elsewhere, put a rock or pot or something near the holes to weigh the floor down there.

Definitely have the dripper drip onto a plant, but it will need to drain out of the plant (trust me on that) so your cage needs drainage.

 

[Samcham1]

I put my cage on top of a sterelite container and drilled holes in the lid. it not only catches the water, but adds height to the cage also.