Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Have any of you tried recycling your mist/spray/dripper water? I am having a cage built and have ordered a misting unit from Big Apple Herp. I have modified it to fit a 5 gallon bucket and intend to heat the mist water with a submersible aquarium heater. I would like to gravity drain the waste water through a filter basket (coarse filter media, biological filter media, foam, chemi-pure aquarium filtration media and fiberfill). Waste water would drip through this media and then re-enter the heated water in the bottom of the bucket. Technically the media should filter out solids and aerobic bacteria should purify the water as it travels through the various media and back into the spray water. I will start with filtered water. I don't want to kill my panther chameleon. DM
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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago

I would still be worried about harmful bacteria and etc passing through. Personally of course.
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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS

Hey,

It might be possible; I am not sure. I have never tried it. However, if you only have one of two chams, I don't see why it is necessary. As you said, you are using a 5 gallon bucket. 5 gallons of water every couple weeks isn;t that much water. It probably isn;t necessary.

Ank-Inc.
Adam.

Depending on your filters, there may be microbes small enough to get through. Why not just use this "grey water" on houseplants or your garden if water recycling is an issue for you?

It's not really that grey water is an issue. I try to set-up all of my herps so that when I go away a couple of times a year for short vacations they won't be a burden on family who help out. Obviously, if I can cut down on routine maintenance I can spend more time actually enjoying them, also. If the recycling works, I will only have a single 5 gallon bucket which fits underneath the cage stand and is behind doors. It will also cut down on filling and emptying the water supply and drippers.

Will Hayward responded also, with about the same answer, and I respect both of your opinions very much and do not want to kill Thraxxis, so I found a Katadyn gravity fed Syphon filter (ceramic .02 micron) which will filter out bacteria and protozoa and result in potable water. It is used in 3rd World countries to produce drinking water in areas without potable water systems. I'll still run the grey water through my home-made 5 stage filter and then run that water through the ceramic filter and out into the fresh water tank.

I hope that this will help keep Thraxxis well-hydrated and give me some extra time to enjoy him. He has developed a personality and has decided to attack me everytime I remove him from his environment. He has a much larger mouth than I realized. I think I'd better up his cricket size. I tried to give him a shower this weekend and I thought he was going to come unglued. He jumped off the plant twice (I caught him) and I gave up and put the poor little guy back in his cage. He gets thoroughly doused twice daily when I mist him so I guess I won't try the shower again.
diane
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dianedfisher@yahoo.com

My 3 CWD-Avanyu, Tripod and Drago

A Katadyn filter would sure do the trick. I use them for my outdoor excursions all the time. It just seemed like a lot of apparatus and setup to maintain just to re-use some water. The other simple way to have re-fill water easily at hand for your petsitters is to store it in jugs right near the cage.

He may eventually like showers, but as chams are not the sharpest knife in the drawer it may take time. You can slowly ease him into it by first getting him used to sitting on a big plant in the shower without the water for short periods until he "recognizes" the new plant. Then start turning on the water aiming the spray away from the plant so only a bit of reflected mist hits it for a short time. Then increase the time. Eventually he'll realize it is no threat and might enjoy it. Just in case he does jump you can put something soft like upholstery foam in the tub to cushion falls.