PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
That.. is awesome. I actually laughed out loud at that, but it’s genuinely a solid name
thanks for the near heart attack, Dino
Pretty sure I’m already failing miserably!
- Thread starter PlanetRemulak
- Start date
thanks for the near heart attack, Dino
Flick boy
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi . I see no one has actually went through you husbandry. If you get a little dripper an iv kit can be beneficial to better control drip rate @Lindasjackson was it yourself that recommended a certain type? Did you mention what size of enclosure? Your little guy could as you mentioned be dark due to stress imo there is not enough foliage cover making him feel exposed and unsafe. As I only have an arcadia jungle dawn (for plants) is your t5 daylight and Sansi both needed ?
PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
Thanks for this!
I think @Lindasjackson had a great idea using an IV dripper. I haven’t been able to locate one just yet, but definitely a good idea. Currently I‘m just using a small porcelain pot for plants with a drain hole - I put ice cubes in it and let it drip down.
He has a bit more foliage in his cage at the moment - 3 pothos (two at the top, one midway down on the right side), tradescantia zebrina and a spider plant, a small pot of tradescantia pallida long the back and a decent sized money tree at the bottom that he sleeps in. Ill have to switch it out for something sturdier as he gets bigger, assuming he’ll continue to sleep in that same spot.
I decided to use the t5 with the Arcadia 6% since it already came with the fixture (its a dual fixture, t5 daylight in one tube and Arcadia in the other). I was told that one t5 day light likely wouldn’t be enough for the plants, so that’s why I decided to use the Sansi LED’s as well. The Sansi makes it so I don’t currently have to use a basking bulb (although I do expect that to change when the weather cools down). Even lifted up off the screen on a wire basket, it generates a lot of heat and cranks temps at the basking area up to 87 F. I’m looking into getting a hook/stand to hang it from and also got a box fan to hopefully help with the excess heat. In addition to that, I will be moving my cham’s cage to a larger room which should help with air flow.
Humidity and temps in CA summer weather has been tricky, but I actively monitor it and am working on making corrections where they’re needed. I had some setbacks installing the MistKing, but it’s FINALLY up. I’ve only had him for a week, but so far my cham has not hissed or gaped. He doesn’t appear bothered by my presence. We’re both doing quite a bit better than we were last week and I could not be happier with him.
Thank you for enduring the panic attack with me
Attachments
Highway61
Chameleon Enthusiast
I concur and maybe just dumb luck on my part but I've never had a problem with keeping my chams hydrated with just the right amount of misting.
PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
In regards to the dark colors after shipping, that definitely makes sense.
I know that NOW but, at the time of my original post, I did sort of default to “nope, I’m killing him.” Once again I’d like to apologize and thank you/everyone else here for replying and bearing with me on that one.
I’m so very thankful Beau didn’t stay dark and stressed for several weeks like you described. Moving from one state to another with a totally different climate - and traveling there in a dark box - would be hard on any of us I think, so I’ll have to keep this in mind the next time I get a chameleon (because there will be a next time. I just haven’t told my fiancé that yet lol). Fortunately for me, my little dude came out of his shell pretty fast. I’m quickly learning to differentiate his darker basking colors from his darker stress colors, as well as his bright stress colors from his resting teel/blue. I’m noticing that when he’s relaxed, his lateral line stays brownish grey.
Beau gets misted at 7 AM, again at 7 PM and one more time at midnight, I’m still a little concerned about hydration during the day. The ultrasonic coolmist humidifier paired with ice packs definitely works to bring humidity up and temps down (I’ve tried it once already on one particularly hot /dry night), but I’m nervous about continuing to do this. Don’t want to potentially cause a RI.
That all being said, I think fogging and misting will definitely be what works for me as well.
Last edited:
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
The iv tubing I use is sold on Amazon but all you get is the tubing and the flow controller and some parts you don’t need. I connected mine to a Lil Dripper but the tubing was a little small to fit on the spout. I did manage to force it on but to be honest I stopped using this set up and went to just a plastic cup with a tiny hole in the bottom and I fill it every afternoon and it drips for a few hours. That’s all you need.Thanks for this!
I think @Lindasjackson had a great idea using an IV dripper. I haven’t been able to locate one just yet, but definitely a good idea. Currently I‘m just using a small porcelain pot for plants with a drain hole - I put ice cubes in it and let it drip down.
He has a bit more foliage in his cage at the moment - 3 pothos (two at the top, one midway down on the right side), tradescantia zebrina and a spider plant, a small pot of tradescantia pallida long the back and a decent sized money tree at the bottom that he sleeps in. Ill have to switch it out for something sturdier as he gets bigger, assuming he’ll continue to sleep in that same spot.
I decided to use the t5 with the Arcadia 6% since it already came with the fixture (its a dual fixture, t5 daylight in one tube and Arcadia in the other). I was told that one t5 day light likely wouldn’t be enough for the plants, so that’s why I decided to use the Sansi LED’s as well. The Sansi makes it so I don’t currently have to use a basking bulb (although I do expect that to change when the weather cools down). Even lifted up off the screen on a wire basket, it generates a lot of heat and cranks temps at the basking area up to 87 F. I’m looking into getting a hook/stand to hang it from and also got a box fan to hopefully help with the excess heat. In addition to that, I will be moving my cham’s cage to a larger room which should help with air flow.
Humidity and temps in CA summer weather has been tricky, but I actively monitor it and am working on making corrections where they’re needed. I had some setbacks installing the MistKing, but it’s FINALLY up. I’ve only had him for a week, but so far my cham has not hissed or gaped. He doesn’t appear bothered by my presence. We’re both doing quite a bit better than we were last week and I could not be happier with him.
Thank you for enduring the panic attack with me
PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
Stupid question, but how do you keep the water that drips out from pooling at the top of the screen? The issue I’ve been running into with the dripper set up is that the water doesn’t want to drip through the screen.. it just wants to form a little pond. I hate to poke holes through the screen BUT..
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
No, don’t poke holes in your screen! Why it does that is there’s nothing to break the surface tension of the water. If you hold the cup above the screen and it drips it goes right through so what I did was take a dollar store little plastic bin that’s about 6”x4” and I turned it upside down and trace the bottom of the cup on it. I then cut it out with an exacto knife. I pushed the cup into the hole just part way so it’s still an inch or so above whatever it’s sitting on. I partially fill the cup with water then set the thing on top of the cage and let it drip and it goes right through the screen. Here’s a picture of it on top of my enclosure.
Attachments
PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
Thank you so much for this!
Klyde O'Scope
Chameleon Enthusiast
PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
I’m thinking that will be the next Mist King accessory I invest in.
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
It's cheaper to make a hole in the bottom of a red solo cup, flip it upside down, and add a nozzle. It's what I use as a DIY rain dome, and it works amazingly!
PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
Just to be sure, you mean you just use extra MistKing nozzles in plastic cups flipped upside down?
That is genius.
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
i Don’t get it. Do you mean that is how you make a dripper?
PlanetRemulak
Avid Member
Yeah, only a little fancieri Don’t get it. Do you mean that is how you make a dripper?
MistKing offers this product on their site: Adjustable Rain Nozzle
$20 for one, though. And then you have to consider shipping from Canada. @ERKleRose just runs extra MistKing nozzles through solo cups flipped upside down. They work the same way and cost a lot less. I think the makeshift dripper option works just fine, but I like the idea of this as it seems to replicate rain droplets a little better.
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
I think I’ll stick with my cup in its holder. It drips just fine and I think I paid $2.00 for the set up.
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
It mists and holds water, so after (and while) it gets done misting, it turns into a dripper until the water runs outi Don’t get it. Do you mean that is how you make a dripper?
Similar threads
