Need help with draining system asap!

[Tommy Bonnet]

Hey everyone!

So I built my chameleons cages and they are other made from wood and screen. I made them both the same so whatever I do for one will work for the other.

The problem is water sitting on the bottom of the cage. As you can see from the pics the bottom is a flat piece of wood and the water is building up to the point of soaking threw to the cabinets below. I'm worried about bad bacteria and fungal growth. I was thinking of just putting a hole in the back but the problem is the cage is pretty level so that won't work.

Any ideas are appreciated!

 

[brownie64]

If it were me I would put a substreight pan that is waterproof. if you can't find one commercially then fabricate one. Just make sure it has a slope so when you put a bulkhead in it the water will drain off.

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

Substrate pan? I Googled it and didn't come up with anything.

 

[brownie64]

I think dragon strand has them they are a vender here on this forum look at the sponsors at the bottom of the home page you can find there link there with the other sponsors. Not sure they have one to fit you enclosure if it is homemade but worth looking into. Might be called a drainage pan. Your going to probably fabricate something to fit your homemade enclosure.

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

Yea that's what I was thinking. I'm trying to come up with dimensions for a custom bottom that slopes on all sides and drains in the middle. Make it with wood and plastic sheeting.

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

I think I'm going to remove the floor divide it into two pieces and make it a planter box. I'll plant some plants in the bottom soil and rocks.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

If the wood isn't treated and the water is soaking trough it or into it, eventually you're going to run into mold problems. And once you do, the cage will pretty much have to be tossed out or the wood will have to be replaced. Try polyvarathane or any other outdoor wood treatment product.

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

I am just going.to.remove the wood floor and coat the bottom in plastic wrap. Fill with dirt plant my plants and top with large rocks.. This should work right?

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

I am just going.to.remove the wood floor and coat the bottom in plastic wrap. Fill with dirt plant my plants and top with large rocks.. This should work right?

Depending on how much plants you have and how heavily planted it is, it may or may not. I suggest making a drainage place in the plastic and keeping the plants potted.

 

[brownie64]

I am just going.to.remove the wood floor and coat the bottom in plastic wrap. Fill with dirt plant my plants and top with large rocks.. This should work right?

If you do that it will help, but you will probably still need a drainage bulkhead to get out excess water. If your soil stays too moist it will kill your plants do to root rot. And you will more than likely have issues with mold and bacteria. But if you use the right substreight set up a drainage layer with bulkhead it should be fine.

 

[brownie64]

Like this but with a drainage bulkhead.

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

Ok. I will get started on it asap. Thank you.

 

[tinypaws]

maybe dragonstrand has something: http://dragonstrand.com/product/universal-19-heavy-duty-drainage-tray/ I have one of their cages and the drip tray is some sort of plastic, not as sturdy as it looks, but is water proof. They also have a substrate tray.

I have researched shower pans at the hardware store, but they are too expensive.

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

I have a lot of plumbing parts at my disposal so the bulkhead won't be a problem. The only issue is the waterproof tray. I will look at the link provided thank you!

 

[Tommy Bonnet]

Unfortunately they don't have anything to fit the dimensions of my enclosure. It is 3' wide and 2' deep

 

[Garrett]

I've been keeping chameleons for a long time and have tried just about every drainage setup out there. I think the best working\cheapest\most sanitary setup is building a simple drain table like this. The problem with the drainage trays is eventually they will fill up with debris and feces and are difficult to clean because the water stagnates in them under the cage and you have to remove the whole cage to clean them.
This is just a simple wood frame, a few inches larger than the cages on width and depth. Lined with 6ml painters plastic stapled to the wood, sloped to one end with a hole that drips into a bucket or pipe. Then place something on top that will support the cage, allow water to easily pass, but won't let the chameleons get out.
I've seen some people use pvc pipe bars as supports, I've used wire shelving before. This setup is using greenhouse benchtop material. The best part of this system is the feces fall down to the plastic and wash down into the drain hole so almost zero cage cleaning, and you could run your misting or drip system 24/7 with no leaks.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

I don't see the need for a crazy amount of substrate like that. Charcoal and ecoearth? Why the charcoal? Chameleons don't have a noticable smell. All you're doing is adding money to your bills. And the hassle of changing the substrate out as well.

 

[JoCarp]

I think if you replace the wood floor that has been penetrated by water and replace it with new wood (you'll be better off with plywood than particleboard too even if it's not as thick, it will hold weight much better over time) then use a plastic sheet it will be the best cost effective plan for you. You can build your slope with the new wood, place a drain at the bottom of the slope and be done.

If you want to look at my albums, I have an armoire I'm converting currently and I built in a .25" plywood slope that drops .875" over a 22" run which isn't much, but plenty to keep water from standing. I then drilled a hole at the back and used "liquid nails" to glue down a 6 mil plastic sheet that I bought in a roll and cut to size. I think it came in 100 foot rolls, but it was still cheaper than most trays I could find. Anyway, hope that helps, but the biggest thing I saw is that you need to use different wood for your base, that particle board will be impossible to keep from getting saturated and even if there weren't water on/getting into it, it will still sag on you over time with any weight on it.

Good luck!

 

[Carlton]

I am just going.to.remove the wood floor and coat the bottom in plastic wrap. Fill with dirt plant my plants and top with large rocks.. This should work right?

You will be surprised how easily moisture gets trapped under the plastic wrap if there are any folds, creases or seams. If you can get some coroplast its easy to work with and sealable with caulk. Don't use caulk with mildew inhibitors...they are toxins

.

 

[Carlton]

I've been keeping chameleons for a long time and have tried just about every drainage setup out there. I think the best working\cheapest\most sanitary setup is building a simple drain table like this. The problem with the drainage trays is eventually they will fill up with debris and feces and are difficult to clean because the water stagnates in them under the cage and you have to remove the whole cage to clean them.
This is just a simple wood frame, a few inches larger than the cages on width and depth. Lined with 6ml painters plastic stapled to the wood, sloped to one end with a hole that drips into a bucket or pipe. Then place something on top that will support the cage, allow water to easily pass, but won't let the chameleons get out.
I've seen some people use pvc pipe bars as supports, I've used wire shelving before. This setup is using greenhouse benchtop material. The best part of this system is the feces fall down to the plastic and wash down into the drain hole so almost zero cage cleaning, and you could run your misting or drip system 24/7 with no leaks.

If you are planning ahead, look for hydroponics flood table trays. Larger sized ABS plastic trays that can be ordered with drains installed. And, they'll work with available drain and pipe fittings. They are rigid and hold a lot of weight.