Water water everywhere.. Including the floor

[Hippie992]

I upgraded my little dude to his 2x2x4 screen enclosure a few weeks ago. I love it, DIY cages does a great job. And because now he's next to my desk he's becoming more and more tolerant of me

BUT. The Mistking system is getting water EVERYWHERE. It's not that it's spraying outside of the cage, it drips off the plants and down the screen.. and onto the floor.

I rent. I can't **** up these floors. I don't even think I can have a cham in here actually lol. Anyone else encounter this and come up with some clever ideas to keep the water IN the cage? Right now I have a towel just kinda.. sitting on the floor collecting the water as it drips.

 

[laurie]

I have so been where you are. First did you drill a few holes in the floor of the cage and put a 5 gallon bucket under it? Next you need to wrap 3 sides of the cage with plastic. I buy cheap shower curtains at the dollar store. Point the mister midway of the back of the cage. Put a second shower curtain under the cage until you are sure there is no run out. Lay a towel on the plastic. We need to make life easy.

If you have problems let me know and we will work on it.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

Excellent advice from Laurie, as always, but I have another method to offer as well.

I have a 2x2x4 Reptibreeze with no bottom drainage and it is sitting on my lounge carpet.

Instead, when setting everything up, I went to my local DIY store and bought a two foot by two foot plastic box, with sides that are about half a foot in height. I sit this into the bottom of the cage, with the plant in pots inside. Any water that drips off the plants as a result of misting or from the dripper collects into the bottom of the plastic box. I have 4 large highly absorbent sponges in the bottom and each evening I squeeze these out into a bucket to get rid of the excess water that has collected over the course of the day.

As a result, no water leakage whatsoever! My carpets are bone dry and have been every since I set this up.

 

[NosyBe15]

I also believe LLL Reptile sells 2x2 drainage sets for the bottom of the cage. I dont recall if thats the right company, but there are drainage options to set the cage on.

 

[Scoobthenoob]

The excess water

Keeps my colonies of escaped bugs hydrated under my stand.

 

[SycoSquirl]

I have so been where you are. First did you drill a few holes in the floor of the cage and put a 5 gallon bucket under it? Next you need to wrap 3 sides of the cage with plastic. I buy cheap shower curtains at the dollar store. Point the mister midway of the back of the cage. Put a second shower curtain under the cage until you are sure there is no run out. Lay a towel on the plastic. We need to make life easy.

If you have problems let me know and we will work on it.

this is perfectly what you need. I at first had a drain tray (horrible mistake) so i had a bunch of holes on my floor slab so the water now need 2 trays because it leaks everywhere and I have carpet and rent so i cant have mold. In January im buying my adult 24x24x48 cage then and plan on only putting drain holes in the center with a heavy pot to bring the water down to the spot and then I will only need 1 drain bucket instead of 2 which will cut down the water on my floor and the struggle to get everything in with my space issues haha but I only wrapped the bottom half of my 3 walls with shower curtain liner so the top is clear and he can see clearly out the cage and window he is nearby and he can watch me so he is used to me, surves the same purpose as all 3 sides fully covered but it looks aesthetically more pleasing and does just as good a job.
If your cage has the bottom up swing door also like mine you can cut the same shower curtain leftovers so the bottom front is still covered from the spray issue =D

 

[laurie]

this is perfectly what you need. I at first had a drain tray (horrible mistake) so i had a bunch of holes on my floor slab so the water now need 2 trays because it leaks everywhere and I have carpet and rent so i cant have mold. In January im buying my adult 24x24x48 cage then and plan on only putting drain holes in the center with a heavy pot to bring the water down to the spot and then I will only need 1 drain bucket instead of 2 which will cut down the water on my floor and the struggle to get everything in with my space issues haha but I only wrapped the bottom half of my 3 walls with shower curtain liner so the top is clear and he can see clearly out the cage and window he is nearby and he can watch me so he is used to me, surves the same purpose as all 3 sides fully covered but it looks aesthetically more pleasing and does just as good a job.
If your cage has the bottom up swing door also like mine you can cut the same shower curtain leftovers so the bottom front is still covered from the spray issue =D

The only thing I can add is to put something under the plant. It will cover the holes and you will have water again. I cut slices of a 3" PVC tube and raise my plant for drainage. I do like the idea of covering the cages only half way up. That won't work for me as my mistking is at the top, and I have cages in a row and do not want them to see each other.

 

[junglefries]

Worst case scenario and if funds are available: you can place or build some kind of bin or pan under your setup. Get a basement type sump pump (only comes on when water is present) and hook it up. Will pump out any water to a sink, bucket, etc... (you can build a 'pool' using 2x4's and black rubber liner from any hardware store) To keep water from spraying out the sides, you can use coroplast (optional: attached to cage using window screen clips).

 

[Carlton]

If you have a larger sized cage that doesn't happen to fit the typical 2x2 box, here are some other ideas:

Appliance drip pans (washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerator or freezer, air conditioners).

Cement mixing trays

Hydroponics flood tables (these are great as you can often get a drain or plug already installed).

If you don't want to hang plastic on the cage, you could also tack lightweight plastic sheeting on the close sections of walls or put a piece of tarp or vinyl flooring under your cage stand. Run a bead of caulk around the edges to keep water from running off of it.

 

[Hippie992]

Thanks for all the responses, everyone! I think the best option for me is a drainage bin. I also realize I should get some hydro balls in there so the coco fiber isn't sopping wet... Can anyone link me to a drainage bin that fits the 2'x2' DIYcage bottom? Thanks so much guys

 

[fluxlizard]

Keeps my colonies of escaped bugs hydrated under my stand.

LOL I've seen that too.