Exoterra dripper plant.

Anything that uses recycled water I would be cautious off. You need top notch cleanliness. If they happen to poop on the plant and bacteria grows your only asking for trouble. It basically looks like the same idea as a waterfall just slower and fake plants.

Plus $45 is a lot especially when you can make a dripper for a few dollars.
 
I used an exotera waterfall on my first chameleon who lived for 5 years with no apparent side effects. I had to cup feed to keep the crickets out of it and cleaned it weekly. I do not use nor recommend it but still don't buy into the paranoia. It works fine if used properly.

Not that I plan to use one as I love the maintenance free misting systems but I'd like to know if these new drippers have solved the maintenance issues of the waterfall.

I may have to get one to test it out.

Jason

kdc5019 said:
Anything that uses recycled water I would be cautious off. You need top notch cleanliness. If they happen to poop on the plant and bacteria grows your only asking for trouble. It basically looks like the same idea as a waterfall just slower and fake plants.

Plus $45 is a lot especially when you can make a dripper for a few dollars.
Click to expand...
 
I'm very curious about these too. I'm waiting for a show or another chance to see one in person before buying. I wonder, if it does use recycled water, if there's a way to "MacGyver" it to take water from my Raindome reservoir. I'll have to see it before I can determine that. I do like the look of Exoterra fake plants. I think they have some of the nicest looking out there so if this could work for chams, it would be really cool!
 
I have used one. I liked it; I was able to control the water flow to a nice drip and my chameleon immediately recognized it and began using it. It does use recycled water, but I changed it out every day and didn't have trouble with him defecating on the plant or in the water - lucky placement, perhaps. My one complaint is that the motor broke (perhaps poor quality, or perhaps I just got a bad one by chance) so I am in the works with talking to Hagen to get a replacement pump. Also, if your cham is heavy and decides to walk on the leaves, he can possibly bend it into a different direction so that the drip no longer cascades into the reservoir...then you've got a mini flood on your hands!
 
Exoterra dripper plant

I came across the same problem when I found out about this plant. The concept sounds good, but the recycled water doesn't. I took a risk and bought it with the idea that if I didn't like the water pump part I'd just use the leaves on their own and place it under a dripper or as a water channel when misting.

First I just placed it in the middle of the enclosure and let little Nosy get used to the plant. I bought the large version which is pretty tall and didn't want his first experience of it to be a huge towering water dripping monster.

The next morning when I went to mist the cage i started by spraying on the plant and it immediately channeled the water onto the leaves underneath. Nosy looked at it for a second and immediately went straight up to it and drank from the water dripping from the first leaf onto the second. Result. Usually it takes a while for his drinking instinct to kick in but this happened instantly.

Then I thought about how I would use the full functionality of the plant. I didn't want to use the recycling method as it was designed for so updated my draining setup allowing the plant to draw water from a filtered water reserve and collect in a drip tray.

The tubing provided isn't the longest, so I ended up twist tying the plant to the side of the enclosure and pushing the tubing through the side.

I change the water every day and the pump is on a timer and comes on at certain intervals during the day. I don't leave it to automatically start in the morning as I like to see him drink for peace of mind and also to make sure it works (sometimes an air bubble gets caught in the tubes and you have to fiddle with it to correct the flow).

I also aim the automatic mister across the enclosure hitting the dripper plant for more droplets between the intervals where the pump is on, making more use of the mister.

I've attached a few photos of my setup, and hope it helps anyone with their decision on getting it or not.

DSC_0036.jpg

DSC_0039.jpg
 
You can always make your own inline charcoal, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, etc filter. Very simple to make, or just convert a refrigerator filter. Most have hose fittings at the end, already.
 
junglefries said:
You can always make your own inline charcoal, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, etc filter. Very simple to make, or just convert a refrigerator filter. Most have hose fittings at the end, already.
Click to expand...
Genious @junglefries thanks man
 
Don't get this. Hard to get the water to fall back into the reservoir and either way it's way too short to be of use.
 
zlew said:
Don't get this. Hard to get the water to fall back into the reservoir and either way it's way too short to be of use.
Click to expand...
Hey zlew,

The way the plant is designed it is supposed to work like a waterfall using recycled water. See the video below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uswn8stK8TE

I'm not a fan of the idea of my cham drinking recycled water that he could have poo'd in so the water from the reservoir runs down the leaf and then falls into the drip tray at the bottom of the enclosure which I throw away at the end of the day.
 
Very neat concept. I bet it wouldn't be too difficult to attach it to an automated misting system. Just in-line a small ball-valve to adjust the flow.


I sense a new project in the works...
 
He he yes dlegare, you have already read my mind. I've already upgraded to a larger capacity reservoir and am seeing if I can build my own pump to raindome. I'm presuming pressure is going to be a problem for adequate misting so if the DIY version doesn't work then I think i'll look for a commercial misting kit which draws from an external reservoir. Watch this space :)
 
hey CaptainNemo, yea i saw someone post that on here a while ago. Looks really cool. Here's a video of it in action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ2nMKNZ8Uo.

Not sure how it would work in my setup though. It attaches by suction cups so I would need to tie it to the screen, which will make it a pain to take out when I want to change the water / clean the unit. I guess you could glue a metal sheet on the back and use a strong magnet to keep it on the cage, but i'm presuming as it holds water and a pump it will be quite heavy, stick a curious chameleon on top of it and that a lot of weight for a magnet to hold. When you set it all up add some photo's i'm eager to see it !
 
I just ordered the large dripper plant. My plan is to integrate with my misting system. I'll re-post here to let everyone know how this project goes.
 
Exo Terra Plant

Recently I purchased one of these Exo Terra dripper plants. The next day I found a poop in the reservoir and immediately became concerned about bacteria. I thought it would be a good idea when I bought it, but realized I was asking for trouble. I decided to remove the pump and attach a Big Dripper to the plant. Instead of recycling nasty water I can fill the reservoir and gravity feed the water through the plant from above. The water drips into a Tupperware container which I attached the spare valve that came with the Big Dripper and from that, I ran another tube out of the cage into a one gallon water jug. Adjusted properly, one gallon of water will last throughout the day.

As far as keeping the plant from moving, I epoxied it to a small piece of marble taken off an old trophies base.
 
Just changed the design of what I described above. I took a large reptile dish from my local pet shop and drilled a hole in the side. From this I attached a piece of tubing to act as a drain and sealed it with water weld epoxy. The dish is large enough for me to secure the plant to its inside, also using the epoxy putty. I now run the tube to a 5 gallon pail under the cages table. The picture is a little fuzzy, but you get the idea.
 

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Tombegood said:
Just changed the design of what I described above. I took a large reptile dish from my local pet shop and drilled a hole in the side. From this I attached a piece of tubing to act as a drain and sealed it with water weld epoxy. The dish is large enough for me to secure the plant to its inside, also using the epoxy putty. I now run the tube to a 5 gallon pail under the cages table. The picture is a little fuzzy, but you get the idea.
Click to expand...

The next thing I plan on doing is purchasing another big dripper and running the tube from that to the original big dripper using the spare valve, attaching it to the other side of the jug opposite the original valve. Water seeks its own level, so both will drain at the same rate and now double my water supply.
 
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