Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was thinking I got a drip system going for the time being but i was thinking a mini fountain would look a lot nicer in my setup for my cham. I know all about the bacteria potentials and how you have to clean them very often. What I am asking is are fountains a good water source (if there is not a large capacity for water to stand at the bottom)? If anyone uses them how often do you clean them? And should I buy an exo terra one or just buy a regular mini fountain that looks nice? Thanks Again

You mention you know about the bacteria potential and how you have to be festidious about cleaning the fountains, yet you ask if fountains are a good water source.
Personally, I wouldn't want to drink out of a potential contaminated water source. I don't think you really want your cham to be drinking from this source either.
Just my thoughts.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

yeah well if you clean it a few times a week is there a problem??
I know people that use this source for their chameleon and it works fine if you have enough ambition to clean it a lot.

I think the biggest issues you have with fountains is that chameleon feces can and probably will get in there and contaminate the water also the actual cham might fall in. I personally think that although it would be asthetically pleasing it would be cheaper and easier to mist and drip. Also when old enough you should also shower him at least once a week.

Yeah about showering I was giving my chameleon a shower last night and he seemed to have a disturbance in his eye. I was shower him then all of a sudden he stuck his eye shut and didnt want to open it for quite awhile. The i misted him later and that same eye would stick shut for quite some time(the other eye was open). Is this a problem or not? And about the feces in the fountain, he really only does poo in one single area that he likes. I just lay a towel on my floor and he only ever does his business on it. So i might try a fountain for a little while until i get a good drip system going. Cleaning 3 or more times a week. Do you know how to clean these fountains? I would think to run a water and a small bleach solution through it for a little while then let dry thoroughly.
Thanks a lot for the feedback

Setting aside all the issues about bacteria, looks, ease of cleaning, the biggest concern is whether the cham will learn or prefer to drink from the fountain or not. Most probably won't until they are desperate enough to come down out of their secure area of foliage to find water. This isn't natural for an arboreal species that has instinctive behaviors geared to water being "delivered" right in front of it. If there is no other source of drinking water and the cham is seriously dehydrated, it will roam the cage looking for a drink. Under these conditions it might drink from a dish or fountain...chams in pet shop displays sometimes do. It may drink a minimal amount but be anxious to get back up where it feels comfortable. I would not count on it. And why should a cham be put at risk and forced to get that thirsty in the first place? Sure, a cham may learn it but there is no guarrantee. I had a verrucosus who would lick water out of my cupped hand but it had to be just the right situation. It was nice, but not normal or frequent enough to be safe in my book. Besides, I've never seen a fountain I liked the look of, it's more clutter in a cage already full of pots and foliage, one more thing to leak or spill, and clean out every day too.

Yeah the thing about it is that I have a free range chameleon so he is not in a cage he is out in the open.
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i will still be mistin i am planning on setting up a fountain next to the taller ficus tree see what you think when you see the photos

I would go with Carlton on this one. Most likely your cham will not take to drinking water from a fountain unless under alot of stress, as Carlton stated. For my freerange chams, I just place them in my sink, where I have some decent size ficus trees and several branches, and give them about a 20 minute misting or so. Using a drip system in a free range in your home could get pretty messy, so I just mist my chams in my "Hydration Pen". Although I have to take my chams out of their freeranges every day, they don't seem to mind since I never directly handle them, they are pretty good about walking onto branches for me so I can move them without holding them. And the sink is only several feet from their free ranges, so there is virtually no stress. So again, I would go with Carlton and stick with the misting and try to stay away from the fountain as it may cause more problems than it will solve. There are many other less stressful/ more effective ways to hydrate your cham This is just my opion in this issue. Good luck.

Anthony

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I have a buddy whos mom has had chameleons forever and they use the waterfall and regular misting in their cage. She says that it works good but if I get no good feedback then Ill scrap that Idea but I want water to be readily available and a drip system might be a little messy in my case. I dont have any deep sinks so that method probably wont work. Right now I am just misting and showering occasionally. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to setup a free range drinking system.?

Thanks

Aside from my mister, I have a "little driper" that I have hanging from a plant arm. One of those things that you put on a wall and it comes out about a foot so you can hang something and not have it hit the wall or worry about setting it on top of the cage. And it dripps into the cage and onto a medium plastic aquarium plant that looks like a fern, I have that plastic plant hanging upside down from the top of the cage so you can control where the water drips, and It drips into a large potho plant that I have on the bottom of the cage. I never water that potho plant and it's on the same side as the basking light, so the warm light helps keep the plant dry and helps keep the humidity level up. I do this for my baby as well because she is still not used to the mister.
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Chloe
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 boyfriend- Trent species unknown

I am going to be placing a fountain half way up the tree root. Then I will be buying the little dripper and hanging it from my suspended sealing I just dont know If i am goin to use a catch basin because I am using a free range setup. I have all my plants and everythin in a kiddy pool so it will catch the access water and I will have to clean it outy a couple times a week or more. Thanks a lot to everyone