Foggers, a Tool or a Danger?

[kinyonga]

@PetNcs said..."Some are C arabicus but not all"...a little clarity would help for people who don't know... Listing what each one is so people wIll know/can learn would be very helpful.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Good article. I didn't know that people were unaware of this issue to be honest. I've known for a long ass time that foggers are problematic. Best thing I ever came up with was having the mist king go off about an hour before "sunrise" for about one minute. That was the best "morning dew" I could ever come up with. Seemed to work for smaller species.

 

[cyberlocc]

Good article. I didn't know that people were unaware of this issue to be honest. I've known for a long ass time that foggers are problematic. Best thing I ever came up with was having the mist king go off about an hour before "sunrise" for about one minute. That was the best "morning dew" I could ever come up with. Seemed to work for smaller species.

I do the same. Great to see you around again, your presence is always missed when your away .

 

[CasqueAbove]

Don’t bacteria and fungus grow in our, misters, hand or automatic ?
I think cleaning is the key, no matter what the source. Any time we start misting or spraying or fogging we introduce this danger.
Realistically we should clean and sanitize these like we do our own dishes.

This slime or film grows quickly in any similar environment.

Like trying to simulate sun, rain and true outside fog is tricky.

 

[cyberlocc]

Don’t bacteria and fungus grow in our, misters, hand or automatic ?
I think cleaning is the key, no matter what the source. Any time we start misting or spraying or fogging we introduce this danger.
Realistically we should clean and sanitize these like we do our own dishes.

This slime or film grows quickly in any similar environment.

Like trying to simulate sun, rain and true outside fog is tricky.

I'm not sure tbh about hand misters, the pressurized ones. I think bacteria would have a hard time growing in a pressurized sealed system.


As to the Mister, kind of but different. Yes the mister resovoir can grow bacteria, but not the lines contrast to the fogger. The mister is also not putting the bacteria into 5 micron water drops where it can get deep into the lungs.

Some folks, have setup their misters to avoid this issue, Myself included. My mister is hooked directly to RO supply line, so it is a closed loop bacteria free system. T That cannot be achieved with a fogger.

if you were to clean the fogger, everyday or at least every 2-3 days as it's said to at least, Tubes and all, yes it avoids that issue. However most folks do not clean their Foggers that often, some don't at all. This is why I made the post, to raise awareness to the facts, not to tell you don't fog .

 

[CasqueAbove]

I'm not sure tbh about hand misters, the pressurized ones. I think bacteria would have a hard time growing in a pressurized sealed system.


As to the Mister, kind of but different. Yes the mister resovoir can grow bacteria, but not the lines contrast to the fogger. The mister is also not putting the bacteria into 5 micron water drops where it can get deep into the lungs.

Some folks, have setup their misters to avoid this issue, Myself included. My mister is hooked directly to RO supply line, so it is a closed loop bacteria free system. T That cannot be achieved with a fogger.

if you were to clean the fogger, everyday or at least every 2-3 days as it's said to at least, Tubes and all, yes it avoids that issue. However most folks do not clean their Foggers that often, some don't at all. This is why I made the post, to raise awareness to the facts, not to tell you don't fog .

I agree it’s ignored too much. Even for people we are supposed to clean them.

I added because cleaning our misters and Foggers gets skipped too much. By me as well.
How is your RO set up, Do you run the RO straight to pump? I have been filling a bucket, I like your idea.

 

[cyberlocc]

I agree it’s ignored too much. Even for people we are supposed to clean them.

I added because cleaning our misters and Foggers gets skipped too much. By me as well.
How is your RO set up, Do you run the RO straight to pump? I have been filling a bucket, I like your idea.

RO system feeds the Tank, the RO storage Tank, that then feeds out to a Faucet, I T'ed that line, and ran to the Pump.

You have to put a solenoid before the pump, and turn it on with the pump though. As the pressure will push water through the pump, pump is not a valve.

Closed Loop System, No bacteria, no refilling, all greatness .

 

[Persnickety Parson's]

This is a really stupid question, but a long time ago, when fogger were first becoming a thing in the states, I've heard people saying that the fogger can destroy an animals organs, especially frogs, due to the ultrasonic vibrations.

Is there any merit to these claims at all? Was that a product of the more primitive designs and no longer an issue? (Assuming it was one)

Sorry to sound so stupid, but that's something that I've been wondering about for years.

But I'm currently researching foggers, and the best systems, so this data point would be helpful.

Thanks.

 

[cyberlocc]

This is a really stupid question, but a long time ago, when fogger were first becoming a thing in the states, I've heard people saying that the fogger can destroy an animals organs, especially frogs, due to the ultrasonic vibrations.

Is there any merit to these claims at all? Was that a product of the more primitive designs and no longer an issue? (Assuming it was one)

Sorry to sound so stupid, but that's something that I've been wondering about for years.

But I'm currently researching foggers, and the best systems, so this data point would be helpful.

Thanks.

The vibrations would only be in the device. So I think they are meaning if the fogger was inside of the Viv.

I have no idea though, never heard of that. Seems possible that an animal sitting on the device, or very close to it, may have some discomfort.

 

[CasqueAbove]

This is a really stupid question, but a long time ago, when fogger were first becoming a thing in the states, I've heard people saying that the fogger can destroy an animals organs, especially frogs, due to the ultrasonic vibrations.

Is there any merit to these claims at all? Was that a product of the more primitive designs and no longer an issue? (Assuming it was one)

Sorry to sound so stupid, but that's something that I've been wondering about for years.

But I'm currently researching foggers, and the best systems, so this data point would be helpful.

Thanks.

I remember older systems where the unit went in a water bowl.
I could see it in this situation.

 

[cyberlocc]

I remember older systems where the unit went in a water bowl.
I could see it in this situation.

Well the really good Foggers, are small units and you put them into your own bowl/reservoir.

So I could see someone making a waterfall Viv, with a Fogger in it, I have seen them on YouTube in fact.

In that instance, ya it could maybe injure the frogs, IDK.

 

[Riddell1984]

I have recently set up a fogger in my vivarium as I am struggling to keep the humidity up even with misting. I've been instructed by the vets that the chameleons branches shouldn't be wet all day round as the constant walking on damp branches is very bad for chams feet. But now reading this feed im not sure whether it is a good thing to have or not.

 

[JacksJill]

They need to be kept clean to be used safely. How much humidity are you aiming for during the day. Usually 40-50% is sufficient. Your vet is right constantly wet feet can get infected.

 

[Riddell1984]

During the day I try to keep it around 50 and at night I think it remains the same. But some days the humidity can drop to 30 and I have to mist constantly and I mean unleash a tropical rainstorm in his viv every few hours just to keep it at 50. Sometimes it will spike to 70-80.
I also have a small trickle fan running at the top in the mesh to maintain clean airflow but this is drying everything out.
I starting to realise now why chams are in madasgar and not the South of england.
I suppose my questions are. Should I turn the fan off at night and fogger on for higher humidity and during the day fogger off and fan on with misting. Hoping that the overnight fogging produces a good humid starting point for the day.
Or not use the fogger at all because of respiratory risks.
I dont know really. Just curious as to what is the best.

 

[JacksJill]

This is why chameleon keeping is an art and not a one size fits all equation. You could try reducing the amount of time or strength of your fan. Reducing the wattage or placement of your basking light might help, depends. You could just humidify the room a little to up your ambient humidity. Your nasal passages will thank you for that.

 

[Multivitamins]

Great read

 

[Taylor81]

During the day I try to keep it around 50 and at night I think it remains the same. But some days the humidity can drop to 30 and I have to mist constantly and I mean unleash a tropical rainstorm in his viv every few hours just to keep it at 50. Sometimes it will spike to 70-80.
I also have a small trickle fan running at the top in the mesh to maintain clean airflow but this is drying everything out.
I starting to realise now why chams are in madasgar and not the South of england.
I suppose my questions are. Should I turn the fan off at night and fogger on for higher humidity and during the day fogger off and fan on with misting. Hoping that the overnight fogging produces a good humid starting point for the day.
Or not use the fogger at all because of respiratory risks.
I dont know really. Just curious as to what is the best.

You definitely do not want to run the fogger during the daytime. Most will say it can cause a URI with the increased daytime temps but it does not work alone, sanitation and airflow is a large part of the equation but for keeping things simple I would urge to not fog during the daytime.

Not seeing the setup all I can suggest would be possibly more live plants if not planted very dense? Good amounts of foliage help retain good humidity pockets in the cage.

 

[leedragon]

So II haven been reading this thread up to page 4.amd my conclh3is that waterfalls are not comparable to Foggers. For instance the water walls are inside the chameleon charge in direct contact with everything that is in there and can get inside. And the it is mixed over and over again byt the pump. The fogger sits on the outside. Sealed and without anything mixing the water inside. Why does it need to be cleaned and the pipes dry every day or week when none one is cleaning or drying the pipes and nossels of the mysting systems? Why doesn't the pipes and tubes of mysting system buil up slim and bacteria? For that matter the piping in our houses where we get all the water that goes around is not dried up or cleaned ever. And I am convinced it does have slim build inside.

Are there people who have just hade their Foggers running the same way as musters and not cleaning or drying them up and hade positive results?

 

[Beman]

So II haven been reading this thread up to page 4.amd my conclh3is that waterfalls are not comparable to Foggers. For instance the water walls are inside the chameleon charge in direct contact with everything that is in there and can get inside. And the it is mixed over and over again byt the pump. The fogger sits on the outside. Sealed and without anything mixing the water inside. Why does it need to be cleaned and the pipes dry every day or week when none one is cleaning or drying the pipes and nossels of the mysting systems? Why doesn't the pipes and tubes of mysting system buil up slim and bacteria? For that matter the piping in our houses where we get all the water that goes around is not dried up or cleaned ever. And I am convinced it does have slim build inside.

Are there people who have just hade their Foggers running the same way as musters and not cleaning or drying them up and hade positive results?

When I was fogging I used the PVC pipes with joints to pull them apart easily for cleaning. I only cleaned the pvc once a month to every other month. I noticed no real build up there only that it dried out completely between use. With the bendable tube that came with the fogger it never dried out which was why I switched to the PVC. Now I did clean out the fogger once a month because in the base of the unit it did build up a slimy layer. I think due to the electronics of the machine and it getting warm while running.

I do not clean out my mistking tubes but I do clean the reservoir every month just to ensure there is nothing going on there.

 

[Jpeff]

Misting system used black tubing. Light won't penetrate black. So if pipe is in walls it doesn't get light. Most fogger don't use black. They also have more air contact then mist systems do. Air that going in can have anything in it. So then you get stuff growing