Draining system??

F

FooL111394

New Member
Hello, I am new to this forum and I have been studying panther chameleon care for a few years now but I havent heard much about a draining system.
What is it? Like a hole in the bottom of the cage or wat? Can someone please help me out? I'm pretty sure my cage size is 48x72x32 if that helps for anything.?.?
 
If you have a mist system or keep the enclosure wet for extended periods, I would recommend some sort of drainage. I built a square base for my enclosures with no floor, and just a lip inside the top edges of the base, for the enclosure to sit on. There is sort of a very slight, inverted pyramid type shape instead of a flat base, with a funnel on the bottom (outside), which drains into a bucket for easy emptying. The stand is on legs so a bucket can fit underneath. Basically, the water goes through the screen floor, goes down the slight slop and drains into a bucket. Hard to imagine, but I have no pics. Also, there are 2 removable cross bars to support a plant inside the enclosure. Sorry if this is confusing
 
i have a pvc bottom in my cages. i hade come cham stands made for my cages and i put a small drain with a "cricket catcher" in the bottom of the cages and drain the excess water into a 5 gal bucket. i dump it once a week.
the weight of the plant causes the pvc bottom to bow a bit so the water all drains out. and of corse the dead crickets are in the catcher ! ! ! i will post pics tonight
 
this is very similar to how im thinking of doing mine.

I have a flexiviv with a 4" plastic base. This will be used to collect/hold the water.
Im going to place a sheet of PVC under the whole cage, and place 2/3 coins under all but one corner. on that corner i'll connect some type of tubing up to flow into a large dripper.
If I find the plastic tray holds too much water, i'll just add a couple more coins under the corners.
 
here's an idea that my brother tossed at me today i'm i'm actually thinking about testing it in a separate cage from my cham to see how it works. Many of the plant people here know it's a common practice to put gravel in the bottom of the pot so that the water will drain out the bottom better and to avoid having the roots sit in water. He actually suggested that i drill a hole in the bottom of my saucer and run a piece tubing or hose down through the bottom of the cage to a catch tray below. Depending on the duration and frequencies of drips the soil shouldn't be sitting in still water b/c the gravel allows for better drainage.

Personally i see it as a complicated way to just make a catch cup for a dripper(cup with screen over it to catch majority of water from the dripper) except in this case the plant/soil/gravel layer is serving as a screen.


Right now i have a coupe holes in the back corner, but i'm thinking the holes themselves are too small b/c water will stand an eighth of an inch over top of them without ever draining through. It's not enough water for the weight of the water to break the cohesion in order for it to drain through the small hole. I'm probably going to turn these holes into small slits but for now i'm still letting my chameleon adjust and taking him in and out is not an option. So after misting i'm left running a tooth pick up through the hole to break the tension and letting the water drain out.
 
I kept it pretty simple, but it's working great. I have one of the screen cages from LLL, with the plastic/PVC bottom panel. I bought a metal sink drain at Lowes, drilled multiple holes in a circle the same size as the drain in the plastic cage bottom, and then affixed the drain to the underside, directly beneath the holes, with a combination adhesive/sealant. Over the bootom of the drain I used the same adhesive to attach a piece of screen the same size as the drain opening (to prevent crickets escaping). I elevated the entire cage on a metal frame, and placed a plastic pan directly underneath the drain to catch the water. So far working like a charm, and the metal sink drain and sealant cost me less than $10 (I already had the metal frame to elevate the cage).
 
I have a close tie with a steelwork manufacturer through work. Im going to try and get a steel base made up for the mesh cage to sit in. the base will contain a lip around the inside for a mesh grill to sit on which the mesh tank will sit on.

I'll plumb some sort of dripping pipe down to a dripper (since im in the UK i dont require the long misting times like most of you guys do).
 
So Pirate55 said:
here's an idea that my brother tossed at me today i'm i'm actually thinking about testing it in a separate cage from my cham to see how it works. Many of the plant people here know it's a common practice to put gravel in the bottom of the pot so that the water will drain out the bottom better and to avoid having the roots sit in water. He actually suggested that i drill a hole in the bottom of my saucer and run a piece tubing or hose down through the bottom of the cage to a catch tray below. Depending on the duration and frequencies of drips the soil shouldn't be sitting in still water b/c the gravel allows for better drainage.

Personally i see it as a complicated way to just make a catch cup for a dripper(cup with screen over it to catch majority of water from the dripper) except in this case the plant/soil/gravel layer is serving as a screen.


Right now i have a coupe holes in the back corner, but i'm thinking the holes themselves are too small b/c water will stand an eighth of an inch over top of them without ever draining through. It's not enough water for the weight of the water to break the cohesion in order for it to drain through the small hole. I'm probably going to turn these holes into small slits but for now i'm still letting my chameleon adjust and taking him in and out is not an option. So after misting i'm left running a tooth pick up through the hole to break the tension and letting the water drain out.
Click to expand...
Thats I good Idea I have heard of this before and people say the extrs tube is better since without it the water can sort of run uder the bottom of where it is dripping which with the tube it will not do this and decrease mold etc.:D
 
When I setup my Flexarium I use this home made dranage system.

The plastic tray has a hole cut into it. There is then a bathtub strainer and a funnel glued to the plastic just under the hole. You then raise up the corners to creat an uneven bottom and the water rushes to the middle of the cage where the hole is. Then place the cage on a surface with a hole large enough for the funnel to fit. Place a catch bucket or jug.

BTW, I do not use UVB CFLs anymore. These pictures are from 'the early days' haha

IMG_6070RS.jpg


IMG_6078RS.jpg


IMG_6073RS.jpg


IMG_6072RS.jpg
 
wendysjungle said:
I kept it pretty simple, but it's working great. I have one of the screen cages from LLL, with the plastic/PVC bottom panel. I bought a metal sink drain at Lowes, drilled multiple holes in a circle the same size as the drain in the plastic cage bottom, and then affixed the drain to the underside, directly beneath the holes, with a combination adhesive/sealant. Over the bootom of the drain I used the same adhesive to attach a piece of screen the same size as the drain opening (to prevent crickets escaping). I elevated the entire cage on a metal frame, and placed a plastic pan directly underneath the drain to catch the water. So far working like a charm, and the metal sink drain and sealant cost me less than $10 (I already had the metal frame to elevate the cage).
Click to expand...
dang another good idea hmmm dont know which to pick but i think I'm gonna keep it simple:D
 
with luck... lots of it... Should have some ready for the NARBC show... My CNC is down so cant make the required mold :( I do have 16x16 plane ol pans though... not the 2 level ones.

~Chad



Dave Weldon said:
Howdy,

Here's an article on drainage: http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=73
Notice the photo of the fancy custom built collection tray :). Sorry, they're not for sale :eek:.

Many keepers are waiting for Jason and friends to finish-up with their drain pan prototyping. https://www.chameleonforums.com/custom-molded-drip-trays-8334/
Click to expand...
 
summoner12 said:
When I setup my Flexarium I use this home made dranage system.

The plastic tray has a hole cut into it. There is then a bathtub strainer and a funnel glued to the plastic just under the hole. You then raise up the corners to creat an uneven bottom and the water rushes to the middle of the cage where the hole is. Then place the cage on a surface with a hole large enough for the funnel to fit. Place a catch bucket or jug.

BTW, I do not use UVB CFLs anymore. These pictures are from 'the early days' haha

IMG_6070RS.jpg


IMG_6078RS.jpg


IMG_6073RS.jpg


IMG_6072RS.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pics. I really appreciate it. Looks like water mixed with pee.lol
 
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