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What you will need...
With a small investment, you can set up a water drip system ideally suited
to the way that your chameleons prefer to drink.
Water Drip System
Water Drip System
Water Drip System
Chameleon Water Drip System
Visiting your local
pet store, go to the
fish tank air tubing
aisle. There you will
find a host of
products. The
system that I'm using
includes 3 Top Fin
products: a gang
valve, airline
connector kit, and
airline tubing. This
costs under $15.
How to Set up the System
This system uses gravity to pull water
from a gallon jug into your chameleon
enclosures. After deciding where your
elevated gallon of water will be,
choose a place to locate your gang
valve. (1) Measure, cut, and connect
the airline tubing. You will want to
have the tubing reaching into the
bottom of the gallon jug as the
pressure of the water will push it into
the tubing. (2) Measure and cut tubing
that will extend from the gang valve to
each individual cage. At the point of
contact with the enclosure, you will
have to make a hole in each of the
enclosures to accommodate the
dripper and may want to put tape
around the hole to prevent chameleon
injuries and feeder cricket escapees.
(3) Connect tubing to the drippers and
their respective gang valve openings.
(4) Place the source end of the tubing
into the elevated gallon of water and
open the valves. Be sure to have the
drippers nearly completely closed or
water will stream through the tubing
into the cages. (5) Adjust the drippers
and valves so that they drip about
once or twice per second. (6) Make
sure that you have some type of basin,
or better yet a plant, to drip into which
you must later empty. I keep a large
bucket near the cages to dump the
water into for removal.
Keep in mind that the water will be
under more pressure with a full gallon
than with a quater gallon jug. I usually
leave it on for one or two hours daily.
My chameleons have gotten
accustomed to the drip system and
often drink directly from it, but some
won't. Others prefer to drink from the
leaves that the water drips onto. Yet
other chameleons may drink water
from your collection basin, so make
sure that you empty it as waste
inevitably gets excreted into the basin
as well.
While tap water will due for
your chameleons, I prefer to
use distilled or spring water
which I purchase at a whole
sale retailer such as BJs
where 6 gallons of water run
only about $5. With this
drip system, you can control
the water flow thus reducing
the amount of waste water
that results.
Crickets