See the messy bucket to the left?  That's my drainage system for my Chameleons at present.  I've had my new cages since September 2002 but by March 2003 I finally became sick of messy buckets, drippers and mopping up spills.  I finally decided to take some drastic action.  My Chameleon room is located right beside our laundry room.  I hired a plumber to come in and open up the wall.  He installed hot and cold taps and a drain right in the wall all tied into the laundry water system.  After that we had the wall repaired and repainted and ended up with a very nice installation.  I did the same thing under my other two cages but ran the pipes through the floor into the basement drain system.

All parts came from Home Depot

• Step 1 - Cut a hole in your wall and hook up hot, cold and a drain using a Main Floor Washing Machine kit (or hire a plumber).

• Step 2 - Hook your drainage tube from your cage into the drain hole.

I had a horrible time making a nice secure drain hole in my basin.  First I drilled a hole through the container and shelf.  Next I found a part at Home Depot that was designed to cover up an unused tap hole in your sink.  I drilled a hole down the middle to make the perfect drain.  Sorry the picture has a bit of saw dust in it and looks a bit dirty - I cleaned up later.

 I added some tub and tile sealant under the cap of the drain to make sure it didn't leak.  After screwing the nut on the bottom, the drain was secure.  I added some plastic pipe, an elbow and a T joint and finally ran the tube into the drain hole.

• Step 3 - Attach a Y connector to the Hot and Cold Taps

• Step 4 - Hook an in-line timer (Watermaster by Orbit) to your Y connector

• Step 5 - Thread on an Apollo 8 manifold Dripmaster by Orbit to the timer.

Until you are certain your project doesn't leak you may wish to place it in a bucket.  To hide the tubes and pipes I am going to make some shelving and cabinet doors.  This will also provide some much needed storage under the cages.

• Step 6 - Design your rainforest

At this point you are all set for some fun.  You can design your own watering system.  All you need is a handy Drip Master 1/4" assortment kit from Orbit (Model 61800) and a length of DripMaster 1/4" distribution tubing (Model 61070) - available at Home Depot.

I found the multi-stream dripper, in-line multi-stream dripper and the Mist Sprayer worked best.  Just run your 1/4" line from one of the ports on the 8 port manifold up through the side of the cage.  Hook up your combination of misters and drippers.

IMPORTANT:  Make sure to run your system for at least 5 or 10 min as a test before the Chameleons go in.  Look for leaks, check proper drainage, adjust the stream on each dripper and CHECK THE TEMPERATURE of the water.  It should be luke warm - NOT hot and NOT cold.

The total cost of this project was very high and certainly not something your typical Chameleon owner would probably undertake but to me the project was worth while.  My elderly mother will be taking care of my Chameleons while our family is out of town.  Now she won't have to climb on a chair to fill drippers or carry heavy buckets.  Once the system has been well tested and proven reliable, I should be able to load up the cages with crickets and head off to the lake for the weekend without finding a sitter.  And most important of all - the Chameleons will get more frequent watering and should enjoy the system very much.