Plants and Glass "Drainage"?

Biggest downfall of glass is the weight! Empty the largest Exo Terra is like 90 lbs I think. I’ve moved mine completed, it’s well into the 150 range. Thank god for the fore-arm forklift straps, they worked great moving this beast. The dragon strand cages look amazing, and functionally, are just as good or better.
 
BJ Vynz said:
Okay. I'll try looking up info on settings up drainage layers. If you (or anyone) have any suggestions for good reads I'll be happy to read them. Thanks.
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I just set up an Exo-terra Large-XTall enclosure for my girl. I got a large bag of pre-washed aquarium rocks (like the "river rock" you can use which is larger and smoother than regular gravel) and put down a layer of that. I ran a long piece of aquarium air line tubing under the rocks for drainage. (I will explain that part, later.) And then I got some nylon screen (dirt retention layer that won't rust out) from the Walmart hardware section. Cut a piece to cover the rock, then added an ORGANIC top soil mixture and planted my golden pothos plants directly in it. The plants are thriving, because they love the water. Now, here is the purpose of the air tubing. I'm going to get my hands on the biggest syringe I can (I used to work in EMS, so I have connections) and when I need to remove excess water, I'm just going to connect the syringe and suck! I'm waiting for my cleaner crew to come in the mail so they can keep the tank clean. And there is one more important thing that i have on the cage. That's a mini-fan. Like the little ones you sometimes see on people's desks. I have it sitting on top of the cage blowing directly upwards. 2 reasons for this: 1- it helps to bring in fesh air through the vents at the bottom of the cage. 2- it keeps the humidity and temp. from going crazy high. Emma's cage temps and humidity have been very much improved and she's much happier since she got her new cage. Even on these super hot days we have been having, her temps have been staying steady. P.s. I live near Erie, PA. (y)
 
Angelwolf said:
I just set up an Exo-terra Large-XTall enclosure for my girl. I got a large bag of pre-washed aquarium rocks (like the "river rock" you can use which is larger and smoother than regular gravel) and put down a layer of that. I ran a long piece of aquarium air line tubing under the rocks for drainage. (I will explain that part, later.) And then I got some nylon screen (dirt retention layer that won't rust out) from the Walmart hardware section. Cut a piece to cover the rock, then added an ORGANIC top soil mixture and planted my golden pothos plants directly in it. The plants are thriving, because they love the water. Now, here is the purpose of the air tubing. I'm going to get my hands on the biggest syringe I can (I used to work in EMS, so I have connections) and when I need to remove excess water, I'm just going to connect the syringe and suck! I'm waiting for my cleaner crew to come in the mail so they can keep the tank clean. And there is one more important thing that i have on the cage. That's a mini-fan. Like the little ones you sometimes see on people's desks. I have it sitting on top of the cage blowing directly upwards. 2 reasons for this: 1- it helps to bring in fesh air through the vents at the bottom of the cage. 2- it keeps the humidity and temp. from going crazy high. Emma's cage temps and humidity have been very much improved and she's much happier since she got her new cage. Even on these super hot days we have been having, her temps have been staying steady. P.s. I live near Erie, PA. (y)
Click to expand...
Glad to hear it’s working well so far. Only I wouldn’t recommend using the river rock as a drainage layer. Yes it works, but it’s really heavy. You are adding a lot of weight to an already heavy enclosure. If you aren’t moving it, you’ll be fine, but if you do, good luck.
 
Goose502 said:
Glad to hear it’s working well so far. Only I wouldn’t recommend using the river rock as a drainage layer. Yes it works, but it’s really heavy. You are adding a lot of weight to an already heavy enclosure. If you aren’t moving it, you’ll be fine, but if you do, good luck.
Click to expand...
Ya. It's not moving! And neither are we. We just bought our new house, so it's not moving for, at least the next 30 years!!
 
Well, it seems Dragonstrand couldn't ship my cage until October due to being backlogged. So I decided not to get one. However, when I went to my pet store for the glass terrarium, they talked me out of it. Instead of trying to push me to buy the product, they told me that since I already have a screen cage I should buy (cut) acrylic sheets and mount those onto it to make the solid walls.

So I'm going to try it. A little DIY. If it goes horribly wrong then I'll go back to this topic :LOL:
 
Well, I did it! I have a solid back and right side.
qtvPvtt.jpg

I am happy with it. I did get impatient (darn!) so the acrylic sheets are attached on the outside... because the sheets were already 2'x2'x4' and I had neither the tools or know-how of cutting acrylic. Being on the outside they do have small gaps where the ends of screws kept them from full contact with the frame. I'm going to fill the gaps with more epoxy.

Spent $65 for this. So I saved about $400!
So I am buying a new UV lamp, a drainage tray, a substrate tray, and a MistKing.

Sorry the topic kind of fell away, but now I'll have what I was looking for :)
 
My local store tried to talk me out of getting mine, but there are MANY keepers who have success with these type of cages. You just need to adapt your keeping skills to the environment you live in. For me, I struggle to maintain humidity in the winter, especially. Also, drafts are a big problem, so the glass will cut the drafts to nearly nothing. During the summer time, I have a lower watt heat bulb to maintain the perfect temp gradient, and i have a small fan on top to move fresh air in and stagnant air out. And as for drainage, I haven't even had to use my drainage system and it's been set up for 3 weeks now. I just got a shipment of isopods and springtails to keep it clean, and healthy. So, personally, i highly recommend them, when the correct adaptations are made. Takes a little forward planning on your part, but all glass cages can be done successfully. Hope this helps!
 
BJ Vynz said:
Well, I did it! I have a solid back and right side.
qtvPvtt.jpg

I am happy with it. I did get impatient (darn!) so the acrylic sheets are attached on the outside... because the sheets were already 2'x2'x4' and I had neither the tools or know-how of cutting acrylic. Being on the outside they do have small gaps where the ends of screws kept them from full contact with the frame. I'm going to fill the gaps with more epoxy.

Spent $65 for this. So I saved about $400!
So I am buying a new UV lamp, a drainage tray, a substrate tray, and a MistKing.

Sorry the topic kind of fell away, but now I'll have what I was looking for :)
Click to expand...
It looks nice, but it needs many more times and foliage in the top half of the cage. And I'm assuming you just haven't put the lights back in top yet?
 
BJ Vynz said:
My question is simply this. Can plants in substrate within a glass terrarium alone do enough to remove water from its floor? This is assuming that little misting is done, and I'm always monitoring the substrate to avoid pooling.
Or is it necessary to have all kinds of "drainage layers" I've read a bit about here? Is that the only way to go when not drilling glass?

Goes without saying, I don't know of the subject.


I have a screen cage but it got damaged and want to replace it. It's just a big hole in the screen and I know I can patch that but want a new enclosure anyway.
I was going to go with a dragonstrand breeder cage and the easy-drip pan system but those with the shipping reaches $400 and for that pricing I can just walk into my local pet store and buy a 2'x2'x4' glass one with the screen top and large screen door. My cham's been doing good since it was a hatchling (now 2+ years) and I'm not too worried to try a few new things, and am always happy to read resources if you can point me to them.
Click to expand...
Hope this diy drainage system I put together might help, I'd patch the torn screen. It's inexpensive and easy. Anyway, this is my drain system. It works great! I'm upgrading cages soon and I already have a similar drainage system for that cage I will be posting soon.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/drainage-system-for-your-med-reptibreeze.159918/
 
Angelwolf said:
It looks nice, but it needs many more times and foliage in the top half of the cage. And I'm assuming you just haven't put the lights back in top yet?
Click to expand...
There will be a lot of pothos vines on top. I haven't really set anything back up because I'm waiting for the epoxy to fully cure before I add any stress against or on the acrylic.

Panthro413 said:
Hope this diy drainage system I put together might help, I'd patch the torn screen. It's inexpensive and easy. Anyway, this is my drain system. It works great! I'm upgrading cages soon and I already have a similar drainage system for that cage I will be posting soon.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/drainage-system-for-your-med-reptibreeze.159918/
Click to expand...
That's great! I did think about sinks before, but I'd have to find a big one for a large cage since it's the only cage I have.
 
So I added the branches, plants, and UVB:
3HgEruv.jpg

Can/Should I get a clean-up crew for the planted substrate container? It's not the 2'x2' but it's also not that small.
I don't know, I was thinking because of chameleon droppings. Of course I plan to look for them myself and pick them up when I see them.
 
Just sweep the droppings/dead leaves with a small brush and dust pan weekly. They dry out fast, so it should be easy, as long as you don't over water.
 
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