Anyone else's cham hate/scared of mist king nozzles?

[ajs]

My 6-7 month old panther has been going through some behavior changes (as some of you may know), but I realized that it was a pretty drastic change from what his normal was as soon as I had installed a mist king in his enclosure.

This morning he was eager to get out of his enclosure again, very willing to climb onto my hand. So much so that he grabbed onto it while I was putting roaches into his feeding cup. I went to place him on his top perch after he climbed onto my hand and we got a little close to the misting nozzle and he puffed up and hissed at it.

I feel like this made me realize that he started acting different after I installed the mist king. Although, shortly before that i had also upgraded his UVB to a T5HO 6% (dual with 6500k single reflector) and installed dragon ledges shortly before that. But, I didnt notice as drastic of a change until the nozzle was in there.

Has anyone else seen their cham be afraid of the misting nozzles?

Should I try to hide the nozzle somewhat or move it to a different location in the cage?

I am in the slow process of building a DIY 36x24x36 enclosure for him as well, so I'm hoping this would give him extra space to feel secure from these evil nozzles of doom

 

[jamest0o0]

The sudden spraying from a new object might have him a little alarmed. They'll calm down, panthers adjust pretty quick. My cham will be upset about a change of a branch for weeks lol.

What I always did for my misters was set them on top of the screen spraying down. I liked the effect better as well. It would drip from the screen like rain while still allowing a lot of mist to get through.

 

[ajs]

The sudden spraying from a new object might have him a little alarmed. They'll calm down, panthers adjust pretty quick. My cham will be upset about a change of a branch for weeks lol.

What I always did for my misters was set them on top of the screen spraying down. I liked the effect better as well. It would drip from the screen like rain while still allowing a lot of mist to get through.

I like that idea. I might have to wait until the bigger cage is finished. There's pretty limited space on the top of his current cage and I'm nervous to spray the light fixtures on accident

 

[Ruthless]

With you making all these changes to it’s enclosure your Panther is not adjusted yet. It’s like getting him/her for the first time again so you will have to wait for it to become familiar and comfortable with its new surroundings. And for your misting session you can help by simulating rain coming by having the heat light shut off 10-15 minutes before the mist starts and your uvb light off around 5 minutes before the misting starts. This will give him a warning that the rain is coming and let him choose to retreat or stay put.

 

[ajs]

With you making all these changes to it’s enclosure your Panther is not adjusted yet. It’s like getting him/her for the first time again so you will have to wait for it to become familiar and comfortable with its new surroundings. And for your misting session you can help by simulating rain coming by having the heat light shut off 10-15 minutes before the mist starts and your uvb light off around 5 minutes before the misting starts. This will give him a warning that the rain is coming and let him choose to retreat or stay put.

I have thought about implementing that a couple times a week with longer sessions to simulate a good rain.

I currently only have a short 1.5 minute session shortly after the lights come on. The couple others I have are throughout the night.

Do you turn the lights off for every session if it's during the day?

 

[jamest0o0]

I have thought about implementing that a couple times a week with longer sessions to simulate a good rain.

I currently only have a short 1.5 minute session shortly after the lights come on. The couple others I have are throughout the night.

Do you turn the lights off for every session if it's during the day?

It's cool if you do, but not absolutely necessary. Mine always did fine when misted during the day. The lights out thing is a very recent addition. I don't disagree with it, but don't think it makes too much of a difference either.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

This morning he was eager to get out of his enclosure again, very willing to climb onto my hand. So much so that he grabbed onto it while I was putting roaches into his feeding cup. I went to place him on his top perch after he climbed onto my hand and we got a little close to the misting nozzle and he puffed up and hissed at it.

My SWAG would be that he may have been close to—or even checking out—the new nozzle when it turned on, and got a rude surprise.

Imagine waking up first thing in the morning, and while still groggy, noticing something directly above you. As you squint to make out what it is, it sprays you in the face. Not cool.

I haven't played with one of these things (misters) yet, but is there a way of attaching some kind of deflector or diffuser directly in front of the nozzle to attenuate some of the "rudenes"?
Just far enough away that anything hitting the deflector should drip down like drizzling rain, while most of the mist still disperses.

 

[MissSkittles]

My SWAG would be that he may have been close to—or even checking out—the new nozzle when it turned on, and got a rude surprise.

Imagine waking up first thing in the morning, and while still groggy, noticing something directly above you. As you squint to make out what it is, it sprays you in the face. Not cool.

I haven't played with one of these things (misters) yet, but is there a way of attaching some kind of deflector or diffuser directly in front of the nozzle to attenuate some of the "rudenes"?
Just far enough away that anything hitting the deflector should drip down like drizzling rain, while most of the mist still disperses.

If you have a vining plant, attach a good long vine to the enclosure top or however to block some of the spray.

 

[Lennoncham]

Agree with everything above. Just want to add make sure the line is secured good. They don’t really like the vibrations.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Agree with everything above. Just want to add make sure the line is secured good. They don’t really like the vibrations.

THX. Good to know ahead of time.

 

[KobaOregonherper]

The rain drip setup is worth every penny. I struggled forever getting Koba to stay consistently hydrated. Pretty sure the dripping triggers the need to drink. (I used a basic drip system before... never worked)

 

[jamest0o0]

I have the rain drip as well

 

[ajs]

I switched up the misting to go off about 1.5 hours before lights on this morning and noticed my cham on the floor of his enclosure about 15 minutes after the lights turned on.

He climbed up and ate a couple dubias and a BSF or two before I left and seemed to be okay I think. But, I had never seen him on the floor before so it scared me a bit.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[Beman]

I switched up the misting to go off about 1.5 hours before lights on this morning and noticed my cham on the floor of his enclosure about 15 minutes after the lights turned on.

He climbed up and ate a couple dubias and a BSF or two before I left and seemed to be okay I think. But, I had never seen him on the floor before so it scared me a bit.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

They will crawl on the floor as they start to mature... exploring their territory.

As far as the mistking... He will adjust but when they are used to hand misting they know it is coming because you bring the bottle. The mistking just kicks on. Beman has learned the schedule of his. So in the morning with the timing of mine. He stays low in his plants when the first misting kicks on. Then he comes up to basking as the lights start kicking on. Then the next misting kicks on. He is already up and out of the way by then. At night when my lights start kicking off then my misting cycle starts. Typically he is still on the top when the first one kicks on. Then he goes to his sleeping spot before the last one happens and final T5 kicks off. I adjusted my cycle a few months ago and I could tell it threw him off the first few weeks. Then he got used to it and now it is fine.
Make sure all your tubes are secured so it is not rattling the cage.

 

[mujino]

I point the mister heads so there is a small space that doesn’t get hit directly - it just get the mist that bounces off the leaves. If he doesn’t want to get sprayed he sits there. Haven’t had any problems with mister aggression, but that could just be his temperament.