Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I want to have a fountain in the Chameleon cage; I was thinking of routing the water through one of those aquarium UV sterilizers to keep the water free of bacteria. Has anyone tried this?
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

The money would be better to go towards putting in a good automatic misting system in my opinion than dabbling with controversial the waterfalls.

Also, as far as I have seen, all consumer UV sterilizers need to be completely submerged (ie. inside a fish tank) to work.
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CANADIAN SILKWORMS

The fountain is already purchased.
I concur about a good misting system. I ordered a Habba mist but after further research, perhaps a larger system might be better.
I am not sure whether it is OK to discuss the relative merits of different misters here? If so, I'd like suggestions here, if not, please email me.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

Some people like Habba misters and others hate them. I've heard comments that they are noisy, need refilling a lot with the amount of misting a cham cage needs, and that they aren't all that efficient at raising humidity in larger enclosures. I haven't used them so I can't judge. The fountain won't raise humidity much and chams don't tend to drink from them. Once in a while a cham will, but rarely. The fountain will end up being a visual thing for you, not the cham. So, if you really want to clean the thing out every day or so that's up to you. If you use it you should not free range any feeders as they will constantly fall in and create a bacteria soup. Many keepers use a combination of ultrasonic fogging (using a room humidifier), hand spraying, and/or a dripper. The fogging helps maintain relative humidity between hand spraying, hand spraying or a dripper provides heavier droplets for direct drinking. Depending on the climate where you live and season (hot summers with house AC, cold winters with forced air heat, etc) the cage may dry out faster than you realize, so fogging or spraying alone may not be enough. Get a decent electronic humidity gauge to help you set up how often your spraying and fogging cycles need to run. Does this help?

Carlton, it both helps and raises further questions. An electronic humidity gauge, can I get that at a hardware store?

I live in the humidity center of the world it seems sometimes, the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Still with AC, it is a good idea to monitor humidity.

Thanks for an excellent answer.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

Look for indoor humidity gauges at home improvement stores usually kept near dehumidifiers, humidifiers and air filters. Also check at electronics stores like Radio Shack or a large pharmacy. Don't trust the little analog gauges sold at pet shops...they are not very reliable.

I strongly dislike the Habbamist. Waste of money. Again, put it into either building or buying a misting setup.
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CANADIAN SILKWORMS

>>I strongly dislike the Habbamist. Waste of money. Again, put it into either building or buying a misting setup.
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>>CANADIAN SILKWORMS

Well, I already got the Habba but it can be the mister until I get a bigger system.

I had someone elsewhere tell me recently that I should study websites rather than ask questions. I have to say that I'm spending hours reading all sorts of stuff but each of you is a treasure trove of information. Thank you.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

It's true most of what we are saying can be found on some websites, but there is also a lot of bad info out there that a newbie won't be able to filter out. The best websites on cham care I've found are www.adcham.com, www.chameleonnews.com, www.chameleonjournals.com, the Kammerflage Kreations website, and the Melleri Discovery site.

I agree with Will, money is way better spent on a misting system.

The cham may drink from it since the water is moving and it may catch its attention, but it would also be on the ground and the cham probably wont feel comfortable having to go down to the ground level (where there are potential predators) to drink. So mist system is best. Ask any cham keeper who is been in the hobby for around a few years and I can almost promise you that none have waterfalls in their setups.

-roo

>>I agree with Will, money is way better spent on a misting system.
>>
>>The cham may drink from it since the water is moving and it may catch its attention, but it would also be on the ground and the cham probably wont feel comfortable having to go down to the ground level (where there are potential predators) to drink. So mist system is best. Ask any cham keeper who is been in the hobby for around a few years and I can almost promise you that none have waterfalls in their setups.
>>
>>-roo
I am setting up a drip system but want a mist system as well. Roo, what mister do you use?
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

My mist system is a custom setup in which I got the parts separately. If you want a kit, which I suggest, then the gang at pro-products has a very nice kit (PM-60) and I know several keepers who have it and love it. I’m also in the market for a backup pump to have on hand and I plan getting the pump from them.

Here is the link: http://www.pro-products.com/promistproducts.html

-roo

>>My mist system is a custom setup in which I got the parts separately. If you want a kit, which I suggest, then the gang at pro-products has a very nice kit (PM-60) and I know several keepers who have it and love it. I’m also in the market for a backup pump to have on hand and I plan getting the pump from them.
>>
>>Here is the link: http://www.pro-products.com/promistproducts.html
>>
>>-roo

Roo, thanks I'll take a look. I'd love pix of your setup if you have them.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

If you are a technical idiot like I am, another good option is one of the RainMaker misting systems made by Ecologic Technologies. They've been around for years and offer misting systems in complete packages...everything you need (reservoir, pump, pressure hose, misting nozzles, connectors, and a programmable repeat cycle timer), just assemble it to fit your cage. I've had one for almost 10 years. They are very helpful and offer many separate parts too. The smallest system will mist one large cage completely and you can expand the system to mist multiple cages up to 30 feet away from the pump. In coastal TX you may have some trouble getting your night time temps down low enough for your cham without running your AC more, so be aware of that.

>>If you are a technical idiot like I am, another good option is one of the RainMaker misting systems made by Ecologic Technologies. They've been around for years and offer misting systems in complete packages...everything you need (reservoir, pump, pressure hose, misting nozzles, connectors, and a programmable repeat cycle timer), just assemble it to fit your cage. I've had one for almost 10 years. They are very helpful and offer many separate parts too. The smallest system will mist one large cage completely and you can expand the system to mist multiple cages up to 30 feet away from the pump. In coastal TX you may have some trouble getting your night time temps down low enough for your cham without running your AC more, so be aware of that.

Carlton, I actually was going to case out some of the systems and see if I have what's needed, I have various pumps and so on out in the garage. But if it looks too daunting I'll look at the link Roo provided as well as the Rainmaker and see what they have.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

>>My mist system is a custom setup in which I got the parts separately. If you want a kit, which I suggest, then the gang at pro-products has a very nice kit (PM-60) and I know several keepers who have it and love it. I’m also in the market for a backup pump to have on hand and I plan getting the pump from them.
>>
>>Here is the link: http://www.pro-products.com/promistproducts.html
>>
>>-roo

OK, I looked at the kit and I have some questions: Does one put the pump on a shelf outside and above the cage to prevent water entry to the pump during a power failure (during the summer months it seems like the local power company has a failure, however brief, fairly frequently). How often does one have to fill the reservoir in a system like that?
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

I looked at a lot of systems last night and seriously thought about several of them.

Because I have only 1 chameleon, I settled on the Rainmaker Jr. It should be here in a few days. I appreciate all the suggestions I got.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

>>I looked at a lot of systems last night and seriously thought about several of them.
>>
>>Because I have only 1 chameleon, I settled on the Rainmaker Jr. It should be here in a few days. I appreciate all the suggestions I got.
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>>Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

I just upgraded to the original rainmaker after considering the longer spray times it has.
That's all I can buy for a while, but I'm getting him the best environment I can and learning all I can.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

I dont think it matters where you put the pump, as long as it isnt IN the cage I guess. Mine sits under the cage (cage is on a rack).

How often you fill the bucket depends on the mist schedule, how many nozzles you have and how big the bucket is -really cant give you a definitive answer on that.

-roo

I forgot to mention that critters in general (not just chams) like to poop in water dishes/water falls since (and this theory) it will carry their poop away from them and in return hide any traces of them from predators.

-roo

The only time I have used a fountain with any success was for an injured and dehydrated female jax in a temporary setup. She spent most of her time perched right on the rim of the bowl barely above the water level and licked the splash drops falling on her face. She was hand fed so there were no feeders in the cage, and I changed the water every day. It just happened to work for her, but I would not want to maintain this long term. She was rescued from a pet shop (good folks who were really worried about her and got my name from a vet) and just about dead. I remember her lying on her side with eyes shut in my bathroom sink while I set up her cage. She was so weak she could not lift her head, but just kept licking warm water droplets off the porcelain. Tough little thing who recovered after a month of hand feeding crushed insects, watering with Pedialyte and water by eye dropper. She didn't open her eyes for about 3 weeks.

>>The only time I have used a fountain with any success was for an injured and dehydrated female jax in a temporary setup. She spent most of her time perched right on the rim of the bowl barely above the water level and licked the splash drops falling on her face. She was hand fed so there were no feeders in the cage, and I changed the water every day. It just happened to work for her, but I would not want to maintain this long term. She was rescued from a pet shop (good folks who were really worried about her and got my name from a vet) and just about dead. I remember her lying on her side with eyes shut in my bathroom sink while I set up her cage. She was so weak she could not lift her head, but just kept licking warm water droplets off the porcelain. Tough little thing who recovered after a month of hand feeding crushed insects, watering with Pedialyte and water by eye dropper. She didn't open her eyes for about 3 weeks.

Carlton I love how you took the time to save this sick little cham, it sounds like it was a lot to go through.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

Well, she was my first "save" and I'm always amazed she survived. She lived another year and was quite a sweet girl. I'll never forget her. I learned so much from her; patience, careful daily observation, meticulous care, how to squish insects, how to force feed safely, when to handle and when to leave off.

>>Well, she was my first "save" and I'm always amazed she survived. She lived another year and was quite a sweet girl. I'll never forget her. I learned so much from her; patience, careful daily observation, meticulous care, how to squish insects, how to force feed safely, when to handle and when to leave off.

It sounds like you learned a lot from the experience, and she was able to live because of you.

I hope though that I don't have to learn how to squish insects. I had no idea there is a technique involved and I think I'm not gonna learn it unless I really need to.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur

Ah, I'll give you something to look forward to...take a nice fat gutloaded cricket (mature females with eggs are great) or superworm and squeeze the soft abdomen contents into the cham's mouth or into a dish and mix with Pedialyte, any meds, and a bit of supplement dust. You basically want to create a liquid that can be given by dropper more safely. I have also added a tiny bit of Nutrical gel. Some list members have used a product called Repta Aid (?) that I have never been able to get here. There is actually a "bug juice" recipe on www.adcham.com

If you have a cham who will gape and bite voluntarily you can often get them to eat just by putting the insect on the back of their tongue.

>>Ah, I'll give you something to look forward to...take a nice fat gutloaded cricket (mature females with eggs are great) or superworm and squeeze the soft abdomen contents into the cham's mouth ...

Bleahhh.
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Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que l' esprits prepares. Louis Pasteur