Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello fellow cham enthusiasts! I am thinking about expanding my cham collection from one lovely veiled to add a couple quadricornis possibly. I would like to set up a small system of cages (3-4) with some sort of water drainage at the bottom. I've looked into past forums on this topic and found that some use a slanted tray under the cage with a tube draining the water into a bucket. Anyone have any input on how well this works?

I currently have a reptarium on a custom built stand that has a little home-made tray about 1/2 inch below the cage to catch water from the dripper. This is working very well for me... but I don't think it would be quite as effective in a cage system (a bucket would be MUCH easier to remove water).

My other question is about misters. I am considering getting either a manual or automatic misting system (upgrade from my spray bottle)... but have a problem. How do I keep the water from getting on my walls and carpet and growing mold?? Do you guys only use these in special reptile rooms?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

You could fairly easily connect your cage trays to a common bucket by attaching flexible hose to drains in the trays and run the hose lengths into the bucket.

As for water overspray, I usually hang clear vinyl shower curtains on the backs of my cages (with a bit of overlap on the sides) against walls to protect them. If you have your cages in a row you could hang one larger piece of sheeting across the whole row.

Here is my set up. Feel free to ask specific questions.

Cages have the interior dimensions of 16"x24"x48" for the first two (Female Panther chameleons) and the last cage on the far right is 24"x24"x48".

They are raised above the floor about 40" and below them are large rubber maid bins. They have screen bottoms.

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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS

Very helpful information.... thanks!
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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

Hey,

We make our cages with a hard plastic bottom. If you make it out of screen, not only will either supporting plants in the cage or escaping crickets be abundant, but cleaning the cage will be fairly difficult as well. However, with a plastic bottom, just wipe it with chlorhexadine. I used to try to have screen bottoms too, and tryed many different types. They won't work(easily). But, the problem with a hard floor is that the water has no place to drain, right? Wrong. Simply elevate the back of the cage up, tilting the front of it forward. Then just drill a hole in the front (or several) for the water to drain out of. Then, if you have a bunch of cages, make some sort of gutter system to catch the water, and irrigate it into buckets. This idea works rather good, adn is what we use.

As for the misting system, there are many different types and nozzle styles you can get. My female cages are 18"x24"x24", and we use a Pro-product misting system. But this is the best one on the market, and is very expensive as well. You will probably be better off going with the Mr. Moisture misting system, by WetWorks. They cost about $100 bucks, and will mist up to 8 nozzles I believe(or something like that). Most misting system nozzles will not spray over a 12" diameter, including the Mr. Moisture.

Be sure to take all aspects of a chameleons habitat into account when creating a habitat for them. I believe that you can over water a chameleon. If there is too much water, more bacteria is going to form, ect. Also, if you leave the misting system on too much, even if you have a drainage system, would about the plants? They have special care requirements as well, and over watering is definetly a possibility.

I attached a pic of some of our cages. The white thing running along in front in the top pic is the gutter which catches the water(hard to see). If you choose to use pvc pipes cut in half like we did, you are going to have quite a bit of hack sawing to do! I was lucky enough to get my shop teacher to cut them perfectly for me. Since this probably isn't easy for you to do, you might want to buy a gutter, or something similar that is easy to clean on a daily basis. The next two pics are just closer pics of the cages. Have a good day!

Ank-Inc.
Adam.

Wow, thanks for the excellent information! I really like your method of a caging system. I was wondering how you drained your plastic bottoms! I think I'll use your method, it seems the easiest to work woth.

I was wondering how you are running your misting nozzles through the top of your cages. Basically how do you seal the hole in the cage ceiling to keep cricket escapes down?

Thanks!

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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

Hi,

When I was designing the cages, I wanted to make them all so that I can move them outside on hot days, or in the shower when dehydrated, ect. individually. The lighting was simple enough (just hung it from above), but the misting nozzles arised a whole new problem.

The misting system I got has a very fine spray, which is why I got it; so that is doesn't over-saturate the cage. But if I put those on top of the cages, the water would not go through the fine screening. Luckily, Pro-Products has a quick connect fitting on each nozzle. So I just made a hole in the top of each cage large enough for the 1/4" tubing to go through, and them from the inside of the cage, the nozzle slips onto the tubing. When I want to take it out, I can just push on the quick connect fitting and it slides right off once again. However, I do not know of any other misting system that has this. But, if you are not going to be moving the cages, then you can just use two washers in between the nozzle and the fitting(hard to explain, easy to do), to "sandwich" the screening in between them, so that no insects can get out. It is rather simple to do.

Also, even though I have a drainage system, for most people it isn't necessary. The isting system does not have to be on for too long each day. However, with mountain chameleons, as you said, it is definetly a plus. Have a good day.

Ank-Inc.
Adam.

Thanks for the wonderful information... you have been most helpful. Also, I think your chams are GORGEOUS!! Have a fantastic day!

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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)