Drilling holes in enclosure bottom

[mj ellerby]

I need to drill holes in the bottom of my enclosure for drainage but I'm really worried about those pesky crickets finding their way out. I feed my guy large crickets and was thinking of using a 7/64 drill bit which is pretty tiny, but then I'm afraid my holes might be too small to be effective.

Can anyone please tell me what drill bit size has been working for them. I sure appreciate the feedback as I need to get this done before leaving on vacation.

Thanks!

 

[ChameleonTide]

I just imagine they will fall into drip tray below and prob drown.

 

[Lennoncham]

I would think that as long as the holes are smaller than the crickets you should be fine. I used a small drill bit. Way smaller then the crickets and drilled a ton of holes and havnt had and escapees. From those holes anyways.

 

[mj ellerby]

Thanks for the info.

 

[paulkaranik]

Or cut out a section and replace with a screen smaller than th3 crickets you are using

 

[Twitchet]

Dont know how many holes you are planning but I just get a piece of small piece of sponge from a bath sponge or car sponge and squish it up tightly ,poke through the hole and it expands, crickets wouldn't get through but water does.

 

[jamest0o0]

I think you're overthinking this

 

[mj ellerby]

Or cut out a section and replace with a screen smaller than th3 crickets you are using

I hadn't thought of that.

 

[mj ellerby]

Thanks for the ideas. Maybe I'm a little overthinking it, but I watched those darn crickets squeezing out of a hole in my keeper I didn't know was there and found crickets for days all around my house, ugh. Don't want that again if I can help it.

 

[GregJD]

I put a dog pad at the bottom of mine. I use substrate because I didn't know better at first. I took it out and my guy got all depressed, so back in it went with a dog pad underneath to keep it from looking like the swamp down the road.

I haven't yet soaked his cage enough to overload the dog bad. It also works to roll up throw away substrate, dead crickets, dropped and lost superworms, and poop all without any spills on our floor.

 

[addicks]

I purchased this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DKJQZE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and used a jigsaw to cut to size.

I can't see why you couldn't just drill your own holes and get the same result. I haven't had any crickets escaping.

 

[Mr.Freeze the cham]

I need to drill holes in the bottom of my enclosure for drainage but I'm really worried about those pesky crickets finding their way out. I feed my guy large crickets and was thinking of using a 7/64 drill bit which is pretty tiny, but then I'm afraid my holes might be too small to be effective.

Can anyone please tell me what drill bit size has been working for them. I sure appreciate the feedback as I need to get this done before leaving on vacation.

Thanks!

I have drilled holes in the bottom of both of my chameleon cages and in my nosy be's cage the holes are slightly larger than the ones in my ambilobe's cage. There are only like 3 crickets that escape every month from the holes I drilled in the nosy be's cage. When they do escape though, they just fall into the bin where the water drains into though.

 

[eahoormann]

I'm brand new to this world, but we just got our little Leif a few days ago with the pretty standard starter kit cage with the pvc like bottom. We are adding a dripper/mister to his cage shortly and we were concerned with the drainage.

What are the thoughts of adding a pretty sturdy meshing (Like the walls of the cage) to the bottom under the carpet substrate?? We would then put a pan under to allow for any excess runoff...

 

[mj ellerby]

I purchased this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DKJQZE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and used a jigsaw to cut to size.

I can't see why you couldn't just drill your own holes and get the same result. I haven't had any crickets escaping.

Thanks for sharing the link. It gave me an idea for hole size and placement.

 

[mj ellerby]

I'm brand new to this world, but we just got our little Leif a few days ago with the pretty standard starter kit cage with the pvc like bottom. We are adding a dripper/mister to his cage shortly and we were concerned with the drainage.

What are the thoughts of adding a pretty sturdy meshing (Like the walls of the cage) to the bottom under the carpet substrate?? We would then put a pan under to allow for any excess runoff...

I would remove the substrate, personally, as it can become a breeding ground for bacteria and crickets can end up hiding and dying under it. Better to go with paper towels on the bottom to soak up water and just change out every day or so. When I had a small enclosure I also found a large square container to put under my dripper with vinyl mesh over the top so nobody would drown, ie crickets or my cham for whatever reason.

 

[Mrfly2]

Thanks for sharing the link. It gave me an idea for hole size and placement.

What size holes did you go with, mine are currently to small to be effective..

Wondering what size you settled on

 

[Beman]

What size holes did you go with, mine are currently to small to be effective..

Wondering what size you settled on

This is a really old thread. Not sure you will get feedback from the original poster. I have drilled holes in my bottom panel and had to go with a 1/4 inch diameter hole. Otherwise the water does not drip through and creates a seal on itself.

 

[Mrfly2]

This is a really old thread. Not sure you will get feedback from the original poster. I have drilled holes in my bottom panel and had to go with a 1/4 inch diameter hole. Otherwise the water does not drip through and creates a seal on itself.

Thanks a bunch that is exactly my problem