Watering Systems ?

[CheekyChameleon]

Anyone have any good ideas on some water systems ? I would like to hook up a good system in my Veileds Cage, As someone said she looks like she's not getting enough water... but i'm misting 5-6 times a day if not more...

If anyone has step by step directions on how to go about making one and pictures please post them!

 

[sandrachameleon]

What makes you think she is dehydrated?

Try adding a dripper, in addition to the misting.
Get a food-safe plastic container.
Go to a pet store, one with aquarium supplies, get a short length of air hose and a valve.
Get a nail that is slightly smaller in diametre than the air hose/valve
using the nail, Poke a hole in the side, at the bottom, of the plastic container.
Put a tiny length (1cm) of air host on one end of valve, and a longer length on the other end of the valve.
Push valve with small length of hose into the hole in the plastic container.
Fill container with water.
Open valve.
water should flow through hose. Adjust to a fast drip.
Use longer length of hose, now dripping water, to aim the water drips on to a leaf or other area the chameleon may find attractive.
Fill dripper each morning, and additionally as desired/needed.
If dripper leaks at the hole, could be its too large for the valve and hose - use aquarium safe silicon to seal.
Wash plastic container frequently, especially if it doesnt drain fully, as bacteria etc could grow in it otherwise.

If you want pictures, let me know.

 

[opihiman]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-old-do-you-17442/

There is the post that he was talking about.

I was curious if you have seen your cham drinking?
How long are your misting sessions?

In trying to get your chams hydration up you could also try different feeders such as silkies and I think Horned worms. Both have a high moisture content. Also if you cham likes fruits and veggies these are also a good source of water.

Having water readily available for them with dripper system will be great help as will having a misting system...

Misting sessions should run 5 min on the short side.

Hope that helps

OPI

 

[Screameleons]

Misting Systems

Here are a couple misting options based on budget:

Entry-Level: The Zoomed Habbamister
Pros - Inexpensive and does the job. It runs on a timer and can be set to go off in seconds, which is very important to prevent flooding. Effective for a single-cage.
Cons - Not really a mist, but more of a spray. May be a little noisy for some. Can only handle one cage. No replacement parts.

Mid-Level: Rainmaker Jr. (http://www.cloudtops.com)
Pros - Very fine mist. Replacement parts can be purchased. Can mist up to 20 cages.
Cons - May be noisy for some people. The pump cannot run dry. The timer that comes with the system has a minimum 1 minute duration. You can ask him to swap out the timer for one that sprays in seconds.

I won't bother with the high-end systems since they tend to be overkill for most keepers.

Vince.

 

[Chameleons Canada]

Hi There,

Just in case you were curiuous, I'll make a my comment on the MistKing, pricey, yes, but when you have more than one cham and a busy schedule this could be a great help. I really saw a difference in my chams mood, they used to be darker when the cage became dry, and you can see the colour change once they are sprayed. By having more control of misting, I can regulate the humidity easier, short mists (50 secs), every 3 hrs. keeps my chams well hydratated, plants hold enough water for the chams to drink and humidity is constantly on the range I want.
It's an investment, but if you are a breeder or planning to be, it will pay off for it self. I see you are located in Canada, they ship from Canada so no extra tax payments, shipping usually takes no more than a couple of days and the quality of the product it's superior. My 2¢

 

[CheekyChameleon]

Thanks everyone for your replys on the misting systems... i will be attending a reptile expo this weekend, so i will have a look around for what i can find!

In my other post " how old do you think my cham is " Someone posted saying that her eyes looked a little sunken in, which worrys me alot! With my longer Misting session today, She puffed out and put her face to the glass and looked like she was drinking.... I also found out.. my cage leaks! which is really no biggie, but it's just a mess to clean up in the end

I've been giving her Horned Worms, which i can only get at the expos, I will be able "HOPEFULLY" to get silk worms too there... Her diet is of crickets and superworms with their heads cut off... She does look alot bigger and fuller since the day i got her, where her ribs were really noticeable & Showing

I'll take another picture later today and see what you guys think on the whole sunken eyes thing... personally i didn't see it today, her eyes looked good!

But i will give a look around Sunday for a misting system...

Thanks Again Guys

 

[CheekyChameleon]

I was curious if you have seen your cham drinking? Yes a few times i have seen her drinking

How long are your misting sessions? Around and close to 4 mins

In trying to get your chams hydration up you could also try different feeders such as silkies and I think Horned worms. Both have a high moisture content. Also if you cham likes fruits and veggies these are also a good source of water.


I haven't tryed any fruits or veggies with her yet... i have Hissing cockroaches here too... I also have carrots, romaine, Spring mix and Bok Choy
Here also

 

[summoner12]

Here are a couple misting options based on budget:

Entry-Level: The Zoomed Habbamister
Pros - Inexpensive and does the job. It runs on a timer and can be set to go off in seconds, which is very important to prevent flooding. Effective for a single-cage.
Cons - Not really a mist, but more of a spray. May be a little noisy for some. Can only handle one cage. No replacement parts.

Mid-Level: Rainmaker Jr. (http://www.cloudtops.com)
Pros - Very fine mist. Replacement parts can be purchased. Can mist up to 20 cages.
Cons - May be noisy for some people. The pump cannot run dry. The timer that comes with the system has a minimum 1 minute duration. You can ask him to swap out the timer for one that sprays in seconds.

I won't bother with the high-end systems since they tend to be overkill for most keepers.

Vince.

I would say having a 'high-end' system is worth having if you have some money. Chameleons aren't cheap to care for. The pros to a high-end system is that you could expand it (add nozles for more cages) quite a bit before upgrading it with a new pump. The cons are that they cost a lot of money ($140-200) to start.

The two listed above I have heard nothing but horrible revues. I have heard that the Rainmaker, if allowed to run dry can over heat and could burn your house down. There is a story on the forum of someone having their pump start to damage things around it from the heat. I have heard that the Habbamist will just spit water and makes more noise than mist. People on the forum that have had a Habbamist offer them up for the taking, for free, just to get the thing out of their house.

I have my own system that I built. It will cost just about as much to build, maybe a little less than buying a herpmist or mistking system(if kept simple). Mine looks like a mess of tubes and wires but I am still not done with it.

Here is the main part of the system. I have two 'systems' running on one pump. I use valves to direct water to my Melleri and Jackson and another valve that controls water to my veileds and panther. It is all automatic and all I do is refill the water tank in the morning before work.

This is the tank. It is covered in a trash bag because the cage next to it spatters dirty water and gets the tank dirty.

I get the water from the bathroom hot water line.

I do not have a Habbamist or Rainmaker to show you pics of comparison. This is a 'cream' nozzle from Herpmist. This is the mist provided for my free range Melleri.

I also made a 'poor mans' adjustable mist nozzle. That is a solid strand of 12 or 14 gauge copper wire.

 

[Screameleons]

How do you like those HerpMist nozzles? Do they continue to drip after the pump shuts off? I'm looking into some alternatives to the nozzles we are currently using.

Thanks.

Vince
Screameleons

 

[Chameleon Nation]

Misting nozzles

We have about 70 of the Mist King nozzles all hooked up to one pump. Once the pump shuts off they drip for a second or two and that is it. A bit pricey but so worth it in the long run.

 

[summoner12]

How do you like those HerpMist nozzles? Do they continue to drip after the pump shuts off? I'm looking into some alternatives to the nozzles we are currently using.

Thanks.

Vince
Screameleons

Yes they do drip a bit. Because that nozzle hangs from the ceiling and is about 7 feet above the pump it doesn't drip a whole lot. However they do drip a lot if you have a lot of them in line. But the output over the red nozzle is nice if you have to mist a larger area. The overall flow is higher too I think.

What nozzles do you use currently?

 

[Screameleons]

We are using some Anti-Drip nozzles. They are brass and contain a spring and rubber ball on the inside. The idea is that once the pump shuts off, the spring would apply pressure to prevent any extra water from dripping. They were not cheap, and some don't work too well. I'm looking into some alternatives now.

Vince
Screameleons

 

[Marty]

Good post, I'm just working on addressing the issue now. Even with checkvalved nozzles there will be some dripping though great deal less then on nozzles with no check valve. Pressure drops quickly in the lines, but few drops may still be squeezed out. These few drops have always been driving me nuts! I should have systems that will have zero drip within the next few weeks. Once the misting is done, it will go from misting to absolute nothing - not a single drop.

 

[summoner12]

In order to eliminate constant pressure in my system even with the system off, I turn the pump off one minute before the valves so the accumulator can drain. When I get another few valves I will hook up a return line. This will remove any chance of drips because gravity will pull water back to the tank.

 

[mrvoodoo]

Good post, I'm just working on addressing the issue now. Even with checkvalved nozzles there will be some dripping though great deal less then on nozzles with no check valve. Pressure drops quickly in the lines, but few drops may still be squeezed out. These few drops have always been driving me nuts! I should have systems that will have zero drip within the next few weeks. Once the misting is done, it will go from misting to absolute nothing - not a single drop.

Perhaps for the waterline to go up before going into the nozzle? having the "starting point" for the nozzle be about a half inch higher than the hose itself. Once the pump shuts off this should negate the pressure instantantly - leaving only the little bit of water in the nozzle itself to work its way out (vs any in the line)

 

[LaserGecko]

The reason nozzles drip after the pump shuts off is because the line pressure is no longer high enough to give enough pressure to mist, but there's still enough pressure to force some water out of the nozzles. The pressure dies off gradually instead of instantly going to 0psi. The drip reduced nozzles have a check valve in them that requires about 30psi to open, so once the pressure drops enough, they close and block the water flow. The regular nozzles don't have this, so they will drip significantly more.

The problem is that transition from 100+ to 30psi. You can always hookup a dump solenoid to the system that opens the second the pump power stops (and thus "vents" the pressure), but that's not exactly cheap.

I have some samples on the way of a sort of reverse check valve for the entire system that will dramatically shorten (and hopefully virtually eliminate) that transition time. Hopefully, they'll be here this weekend!

 

[summoner12]

The reason nozzles drip after the pump shuts off is because the line pressure is no longer high enough to give enough pressure to mist, but there's still enough pressure to force some water out of the nozzles. The pressure dies off gradually instead of instantly going to 0psi. The drip reduced nozzles have a check valve in them that requires about 30psi to open, so once the pressure drops enough, they close and block the water flow. The regular nozzles don't have this, so they will drip significantly more.

The problem is that transition from 100+ to 30psi. You can always hookup a dump solenoid to the system that opens the second the pump power stops (and thus "vents" the pressure), but that's not exactly cheap.

I have some samples on the way of a sort of reverse check valve for the entire system that will dramatically shorten (and hopefully virtually eliminate) that transition time. Hopefully, they'll be here this weekend!

Will you post pics on this thread or start a new one?

 

[summoner12]

ooops sorry double post

 

[LaserGecko]

I will start a new one since it's beyond the scope of this discussion (and to avoid hijacking).

 

[summoner12]

I will start a new one since it's beyond the scope of this discussion (and to avoid hijacking).

Can you link us at least?