Ultra Sonic Fogger/Mister

[Nihil]

Yesterday I went into a hippy shop and they had these cool "Mystic Fountains" which made me wonder if they'd be useful for raising humidity, I did some searching and found that Exo-Terra and Zoo Med both make their own version for reptiles, I've read the reviews and it seemed 50/50 split, the diaphragms seemed to be the issue with not lasting long enough, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these and can share some input, I've read so far that the water droplets are less than 5 microns and to quote a statement I read comparing 5 microns to the average mister is "like comparing a BB to a basketball" I've also seen them called "Dry Humidifiers" and learned that an Aeroponics company makes their version (Retail 400 bucks) and the dropplets are so small they're instantly absorbed into the plant, which made me think, that could be beneficial to other living animals skin as well...they're definetely cool...anyway, just thought I'd ask

Oh, and to add, they're also called Ionic Misters, and they do somethin like those Ionic air purifiers with the negative and positive nutron charging and all that hippy soothing stuff too...which I've seen claimed by some reptile spray products that are supposed to help with humidity and "the over all well being of your animals" anyway...any thoughts?

 

[Tygerr]

I've used those 'Mystic Fountains' type fogger devices before.

I'm not really a huge fan. From a practical perspective, if you put them in a nice deep reservoir they don't create much fog, but if you put them in a shallower dish, the water runs out far too quickly.
Also, there is the issue of delivering the mist/fog to your chams. I don't want to be leaving a bowl of water inside my cham cages - it just creates more mess (the fogger does splash quite a bit too), and more stuff to clean/worry about, plus I can't see the point of creating more humidity at the bottom of the cage - the pot plants do that already.
I did manage to fashion a device that would make the fog spill over from the water bowl into the cages from the top. That had the desired effect: a sort of fog rolling in over the top of the cage.

But my chams didn't seem to like it. In fact, they avoided the foggy area as if there were men in there with hook-hands (like in the John Carpenter movie)... And it doesn't create enough condensation to provide drinking water for the chams (although there is a bit of splashing from the fogger - most of that ends up on the floor).

So basically, although these sort of devices may appeal to our aesthetic preferences, and it also satisfies our need to create what we think is a more realistic simulated environment, but at the end of the day the most practical and effective methods of hydration remain misting and dripping.

So don't fall for the marketing: we don't need all the foggers and waterfalls that these reptile companies try to push on us.

 

[Nihil]

Finally, a response, I was just curious about them, I plan on running a drip system for hydration, I was curious about using that for humidty, I live in the desert with 20-50% humidity, depending on time of year, keeping Veileds was a breeze, but they're an arid species, I thought if I mounted an ultrasonic above the cage and let it fall down the foliage, it'd raise the humidity, they're only 30 bucks so I might just experiment anyway, I dunno, I'm still conjuring up things and tryin to get as much info from others with their own experiences, thanks for the advice so far!

I've used those 'Mystic Fountains' type fogger devices before.

I'm not really a huge fan. From a practical perspective, if you put them in a nice deep reservoir they don't create much fog, but if you put them in a shallower dish, the water runs out far too quickly.
Also, there is the issue of delivering the mist/fog to your chams. I don't want to be leaving a bowl of water inside my cham cages - it just creates more mess (the fogger does splash quite a bit too), and more stuff to clean/worry about, plus I can't see the point of creating more humidity at the bottom of the cage - the pot plants do that already.
I did manage to fashion a device that would make the fog spill over from the water bowl into the cages from the top. That had the desired effect: a sort of fog rolling in over the top of the cage.

But my chams didn't seem to like it. In fact, they avoided the foggy area as if there were men in there with hook-hands (like in the John Carpenter movie)... And it doesn't create enough condensation to provide drinking water for the chams (although there is a bit of splashing from the fogger - most of that ends up on the floor).

So basically, although these sort of devices may appeal to our aesthetic preferences, and it also satisfies our need to create what we think is a more realistic simulated environment, but at the end of the day the most practical and effective methods of hydration remain misting and dripping.

So don't fall for the marketing: we don't need all the foggers and waterfalls that these reptile companies try to push on us.

 

[jesseesperto]

a small humidifier from a drug store might help. also with any dish of water crickets always drown themselves.

 

[Tygerr]

keeping Veileds was a breeze, but they're an arid species

That's actually a bit of a fallacy. Although the Veileds do come from the Middle East, where the levels of rainfall are relatively low, the chameleons actually live in valleys and wadis, and along coastal regions where the humidity is actually quite high, and there is plenty of condensation for drinking water.
The only true 'arid' species of chameleon is the Chamaeleo namaquensis which lives in the heat and dryness of the Namib/Namaqualand deserts (but even it has ways and means of satisfying its need for water).

I thought if I mounted an ultrasonic above the cage and let it fall down the foliage, it'd raise the humidity

Yeah, that's what I built mine to do. But after more experimentation, I think a humidifier setup is far more effective (albeit more costly).
Read this article for more ideas: http://www.chameleonnews.com/humidifier.html

they're only 30 bucks so I might just experiment anyway

Yeah you're right, it probably is worth a bit of experimentation (but I got mine for a lot less than 30 dollars - you should do some searching on eBay for similar devices).

 

[Nihil]

Yeah, not arid, by any means, but a lot less humidity, they were in average of 60-75% humidity, I did look on ebay and it seemed the price averaged around 30 bucks, I've got my drip system, and I'll have a lot of foliage, the plan is to set everything up in the next few days and monitor everything and take the necessary actions to make everything perfect, so we'll see

That's actually a bit of a fallacy. Although the Veileds do come from the Middle East, where the levels of rainfall are relatively low, the chameleons actually live in valleys and wadis, and along coastal regions where the humidity is actually quite high, and there is plenty of condensation for drinking water.
The only true 'arid' species of chameleon is the Chamaeleo namaquensis which lives in the heat and dryness of the Namib/Namaqualand deserts (but even it has ways and means of satisfying its need for water).


Yeah, that's what I built mine to do. But after more experimentation, I think a humidifier setup is far more effective (albeit more costly).
Read this article for more ideas: http://www.chameleonnews.com/humidifier.html


Yeah you're right, it probably is worth a bit of experimentation (but I got mine for a lot less than 30 dollars - you should do some searching on eBay for similar devices).