Excess water from my dripper!

[OptimusCham]

Dumb question #1

Okay so I've finally made myself a dripper (very basic, just a used & cleaned out smallish Ribena bottle with two tiny holes, one at each end) and I've noticed that if I let the water drip down & eventually end up in the plant pot it just drains right through & into the bowl I've got placed underneath to contain excess water in one place.

So I moved the dripper about until most of the droplets landed in a small plastic tub on the floor.

My question to you is, is there a more efficiant method of catching the water without having to build an entire drainage system at the bottom?

 

[KarmenCham]

All I did for my dripper was a plastic cup with x2 pin holes and I have this



at the bottom of the viv what doesn't Evaporate I just empty before lights out. I am NOT going to try to cut through the glass base as with my luck I will ruin my chams home and who would have thought something So damn small could produce Soo much spoor!

 

[OptimusCham]

All I did for my dripper was a plastic cup with x2 pin holes and I have this



at the bottom of the viv what doesn't Evaporate I just empty before lights out. I am NOT going to try to cut through the glass base as with my luck I will ruin my chams home and who would have thought something So damn small could produce Soo much spoor!

Ah good idea! I've rooted around & found 3 medium sized water bowls like yours & a small one. Dotted them about the floor, safe to say the floor should stay mostly dry now I shall inspect the damage tomorrow evening & report back with the results

 

[ApocalypseUK]

Personally its not a dumb question and I would also love to see a more efficient drainage system that doesn't involve me drilling holes at the bottom and stuff but unfortunately for me there isn't. I'm using a small bucket at the min that allows the big dripper to drip onto the leafs then drip straight into the bucket and I just empty everyday and any excess water that build around the bottom of the cage from this, spraying or my humidifier I just use kitchen towels again everyday.

so for me everyday its lights on, empty bucket, kitchen towel bottom of cage getting rid of an excess water plus his poop and then back in place, then feed him but mine's 3 months old in 2 days and he doesn't care me doing this one bit.

Unfortunately, I will admit its very annoying having to do this but and I'd prefer not to, but once he get's older anyways I'm planning of actually going for a full out beast cage with perfect drainage system and all sorts but at the min this is what I do for this.

 

[OptimusCham]

Personally its not a dumb question and I would also love to see a more efficient drainage system that doesn't involve me drilling holes at the bottom and stuff but unfortunately for me there isn't. I'm using a small bucket at the min that allows the big dripper to drip onto the leafs then drip straight into the bucket and I just empty everyday and any excess water that build around the bottom of the cage from this, spraying or my humidifier I just use kitchen towels again everyday.

so for me everyday its lights on, empty bucket, kitchen towel bottom of cage getting rid of an excess water plus his poop and then back in place, then feed him but mine's 3 months old in 2 days and he doesn't care me doing this one bit.

Unfortunately, I will admit its very annoying having to do this but and I'd prefer not to, but once he get's older anyways I'm planning of actually going for a full out beast cage with perfect drainage system and all sorts but at the min this is what I do for this.

It seems like, until the final enclosure is required, most people go for the small container/bowl at the bottom of the enclosure option. Well, thanks for all your input I can't wait to get started on making the big corner viv soon!

 

[ApocalypseUK]

Lol yeh I think it's because being babies you might as well, it's when there fully grown when things get a little more serious

 

[OptimusCham]

Lol yeh I think it's because being babies you might as well, it's when there fully grown when things get a little more serious

aha yeah exactly Optimus can be a right pain though, anytime I want to go into his house for whatever reason, whether it be to empty the bowls or clean out his poo & dead locusts etc, 9/10 times he comes rushing over to me & before I can finish what I'm doing he's running up my arm aha! So I have to put him into another exo-terra until I'm done in his house :')

 

[Ninkylou]

I used the collection container underneath for a while. Try to put some screening over it. I got tired of fishing out dead feeders and there is a risk that if your cham fell in they could not right themselves and drown. I used plastic wrap that I poked holes in and secured over the drainage with a rubber band.

 

[MelissaB]

I did the container thing for a couple days, and then switched my little guy to his big boy home. I had made a drainage system for it, and he cup feeds and hunts like a champ, so I felt he was ready for the switch. I used a clean nylon stocking and a rubber band to hold it on the jar, it worked really well.

 

[sandrachameleon]

So I moved the dripper about until most of the droplets landed in a small plastic tub on the floor.

this (above) is all I do. no need for fancy - I just dump the collection bowl daily, wash it weekly. the end.
I open every cage pretty much daily anyways, to feed, so its not like this is a big deal. Probably I spend 15 minutes total (several cages)

 

[KarmenCham]

Thats why I put the Jungle vine into the Waterbowl, least then if she does get in she has some way of getting hold of it to aid in getting out, or failing that it has a little ramp at back

 

[ataraxia]

1. What size enclosure?
2. What kind of chameleon?
3. How old?
4. Pictures of the complete set up?

 

[pssh]

Cups/bowls work. If its a small chameleon, put some mesh or something over the bowl so it can't fall in.

If you have a screen cage of standard size, LLL reptile has plastic drainage trays that you put under the cage.

 

[OptimusCham]

1. What size enclosure?
2. What kind of chameleon?
3. How old?
4. Pictures of the complete set up?

1. 2' x 2' x 3'
2. Ambilobe Panther
3. 7 months old
4. This is the setup

This is what I'm using now to collect the water. There's 4 in total, 3 medium and 1 small.

And this is Optimus himself

On a side note, there's all them locusts at the back but he doesn't really seem all that interested in them. They're within easy reach for him & they're just sitting there waiting to be eaten. Is he just not hungry right now or...? I'm a little concerened

 

[pssh]

Sorry, I didn't see you were across the pond. But yeah, a bowl/cup works well.

How much does he normally eat? A lot of chameleons will start to slow down around 6-9 months old. They may start wanting to eat every other day instead of every day, or fewer insects every day than before. As long as he is still growing he should be fine (a scale really helps to see if he has gained weight or not. Just weigh once every week or two.) Be sure to remove the uneaten insects before nighttime so they dont have the opportunity to bite him. Plus you want to re-gutload them before offering them again.

Edit: Also be aware that some chameleons like to poop in water dishes and some will also drink from them. You dont want him to start drinking poop water! Bugs, especially crickets (I dont know about locusts,) will drown themselves in water dishes, so be sure to empty it every day. I just used to put some cloth/mesh over to top of the cups and rubberband it in place to prevent any water poops, drinking from the water, or drowning bugs.

 

[OptimusCham]

How much does he normally eat? A lot of chameleons will start to slow down around 6-9 months old. They may start wanting to eat every other day instead of every day, or fewer insects every day than before. As long as he is still growing he should be fine (a scale really helps to see if he has gained weight or not. Just weigh once every week or two.) Be sure to remove the uneaten insects before nighttime so they dont have the opportunity to bite him. Plus you want to re-gutload them before offering them again.

I'm not sure exactly how many he normally eats, but I think it was around 1 or 2 medium sized locusts each day or every other day, but now I think he's slowed down to about 1 locust every other day. He shed today though so he's clearly growing But yeah, I'll make sure to weigh him every week to make sure he stays healthy