Hydrophobic screen? Getting fog into the cage.

[APailthorp]

Here's a picture of my fog setup around a Crane ultrasonic humidifier:

It works pretty well, and I'm happy with my discovery that a (Slinky brand) "Pop Toob" is a really good match for the plastic accordion tube that comes with a Repti-fogger.

The problem is that moisture condenses on the screen and blocks the flow of more fog. You can see that here:

Here's what it looks like after I've wiped the water off with a paper towel. It is hard to tell from the picture, but a lot more fog is going into the cage, and the hygrometer will measure the change. This will last for a while, but is soon back to the above.


I could cut a port in the top of the screen. I have to figure out what to use to finish to a nice ring that doesn't tear or poke and is just the right size (know of screen port kits?).

I'm wondering if there is a chameleon safe way to make a patch of screen hydrophobic.

Here's the very heavy vinyl tube I used before finding the lightweight pop toob. The pop toobs will collect more water in the ridges, and have to be supported to not get a low spot where water will pool; the same must be true of the Repitfogger. The accordion tube is the best feature of the Reptifogger in my opinion, but the pop toob is as good. (The 1 liter bottle of the Reptifogger is way too small.)

 

[junglefries]

I made a t using pvc pieces at the end. It disperses the fog, keeping it ftom building up in between the screen. Extend the t out a couple inches on each end and use pvc elbows to aim directly downward.

 

[Brassaxe]

The screen is just acting like a heatsink, cooling down and condensing the water vapor. Spread the vapor out over a larger area on the screen and it should help.

 

[kcbunique]

The screen is just acting like a heatsink, cooling down and condensing the water vapor. Spread the vapor out over a larger area on the screen and it should help.

This is a great method and I have barely any build up for it, just cut the tubing on an angle at the end so that it is tapered back an inch or 2 from the tip and so that it lays flat wit hthe open end on the screen and less water build up will happen due to a greater surface area. Also I'm not 100% on this but in my mind letting it build up and block some is going to take away from the humidity but you will also have a "dripper" system with it that will add to humidity as well.

 

[APailthorp]

The drawback of the buildup is that it blocks moisture enough to get less into the cage. The excess back pressure actually seems to cause the humidifier to stay fuller longer.

I have experimented some with making a kind of tent around the angled tube using a wet paper towel, making a larger area for the fog to flow through the screen.

Now I'm thinking can I find a plastic plumbing part that will exactly fit the surround of my dome basking light, punch a hole in the side, and pipe the fog into the dome light. The heat of the 40W household bulb will help prevent condensation and might help with humidity dispersal. I think the bulb can stand 100% humidity.

 

[kcbunique]

The drawback of the buildup is that it blocks moisture enough to get less into the cage. The excess back pressure actually seems to cause the humidifier to stay fuller longer.

I have experimented some with making a kind of tent around the angled tube using a wet paper towel, making a larger area for the fog to flow through the screen.

Now I'm thinking can I find a plastic plumbing part that will exactly fit the surround of my dome basking light, punch a hole in the side, and pipe the fog into the dome light. The heat of the 40W household bulb will help prevent condensation and might help with humidity dispersal. I think the bulb can stand 100% humidity.

I understand that completely. I was having the same problem... actually my tubing was too long and curved down in one section and then back up, and it was filled with water inside the tubing due to condensation. I cut the tube shorter so its only about a foot maybe a foot and a half long and just bends straight from the humidifier to the top of the cage, I set it to a lower setting onthe humidifier because shortening the tube caused less condensation on the way to exiting the tube. In turning it to a lower setting now I am getting much less build up on the screen.

As far as plugging it into the lamp, I would refrain from doing that. You may run into more issues of either A] loss of humidity due to evaporation from the light giving off heat, you may loose more than what you loose from letting the build up occur. Or B] you may burn through the build quicker or ruin the whole light unit from water condensing in it.

Could you maybe cut a hole in the screen and zip tie the tubing into the hole.

 

[APailthorp]

One of the nice things about the accordion pop toob is it is easy adjust the length.

I cut off the top of a water bottle and taped it to the end of the hose. That seems to have made a chamber that gets more fog into the cage. There is still a large amount of drops collecting, but the dome of the top of the bottle bounces the fog around until it finds a way in, instead of rolling off to the side. The moisture patch is much larger.