Take Oxygen (O) and Iron (Fe) and You Get?

The answer is rust. And I just noticed I have something of a problem... At first I was pretty ticked with the terrarium for rusting out so much, but it's not technically a defect in the product, per se.

This is the damage. What happened is that one of my Monsoon's suction cups came loose, tilting it's angle way up, but not enough for me to really notice. It was also spraying under the canopy, which is don't move too much as Rocza likes to use its cover as his shelter. Well, I moved it last night, and found this. Not happy. There was still water droplets on it, with rusty water and all. Very unhappy, but mostly at myself.

I read up on this, obviously, found that it's not just me who's had this problem (again, obviously). And although to be fair to Exo-Terra, although their terrariums are listed as tropical, this level of moisture on this particular surface isn't really what one would normally have. This entire paragraph to say "I'm not angry at you, Exo-Terra, just disappointed". I've seen other companies paint their mesh with a sealing coat of paint, so I wonder why Exo-Terra couldn't also do this, even if these pieces are out-sourced.

So some solutions I found range from temporary and simple to complex.
The most basic, which I have begrudgingly done for the time, is to slide a sheet of plastic-wrap between the tank and the lid to create a waterproof barrier. This will also raise the humidity and heat levels, since over half of the relatively open top is now shut off. I'm not disappointed about that though, in fact it's a plus.
The second solution, which I also utilized, was to order a new lid. I ordered through Stacey's rather than to do it independently, since they know the proper channels. I know I probably could have whined to Hagen or Exo-Terra and got a free lid, but I don't really care. This is my bad, I will pay for my own mistakes. I always have. It will take some time, so that's why I also went with the temporary solution.
Solution number three; spray your lid with hydrofuge paint. Simple enough, and I will definitely do that with my new lid, and all subsequent lids from now on.
Now, the fourth solution is kind of cool. I found a thread (where is it now... Oh yes, right here) posted on Reptile Forums UK by KJ Exotics on how to convert the Exo-Terra tops into glass tops with sliding doors. Pretty cool stuff, and easily adapted to my situation. I think once my new lid arrives, I will repair my damaged lid in this way, since I know a bunch of people in the glazing business. Props for working for general contractors!

So for now, it's the El Cheapo method whilst I wait patiently for Emily to get back to me about my lid! Once I get some of the products, I'll be sure to post exactly what I'm using. Which I should probably do sooner than later, as I ahve not updated my list of products in ages...

Side bar here; anyone in the Cornwall region who has questions regarding reptile care, go see Emily. She knows stuff! But that's just, like, my opinion, man.

Product Review 1: Monsoon RS 400

The posts got a little delayed due to me not feeling super great for a bit, but here they are! Bright, shiny and smelling like spring.

Also, I received my bag of Repashy today! Hooray!

***

Product Review 1: Monsoon RS 400 by Exo-Terra

As you might guess, this is a product  I've been interested in from the very begining. Not only did the concept of a rainfall system seem way too cool to me, the idea of not having to worry about misting every morning, day and night really appealed to my lazy/forgetful side.

As such, I feel my expectations may have been pretty high from the get go. So, keeping that in mind, I'm pretty happy to say that the RS 400 met almost all my expectations!

Overall Rating: 8/10


Pros:
The pros are pretty much as I though; easy to use, easy to assemble, easy to fill, effective, and so on and so forth. I really feel as though I could leave for a couple days and not have to worry about watering... just feeding. But feeding has nothing to do with this system, so I can't fault it for that.
Aside from what I already expected, I have to say that the nozzles don't stick out quite as much as I was afraid they would. I kind of hid them away in the leaves, which you can see below in the pictures.


Cons:
Though the system is made to take advantage of the Exo-Terra terrarium's cable and tube conduits on the lid, I feel like the two systems weren't designed in tandem, especially with a foam backboard installed. The way I have it installed now, I feel as though there is way too much pressure on the tubing because there just isn't the right amount of room back there. To be fair, that's good in a sense. I don't want Rocza or his food slipping in back of anything. On the down side, should the tight squeeze puncture the tubing, that's a fine jet of water spraying all around my nice shiny electronic toys. I really wish I had a better place to put it... but till then, I'm keeping an eye on it, and I've reshuffled the room a bit to accommodate.
Also in reference to the space issue is the fact that the lid to the terrarium is now twice as hard to put back on, and it was tricky from the start.
Also, yeah, the nozzles aren't super obvious, but they're still very much present. I also find that though they do articulate, it's never quite the way I want them to be. Not a big issue though.


Comments:
Neither pro nor con, I noticed that too much hose means a crappy spray. What I though might have been a clogged nozzle actually turned out to be a lack of pressure due to the small hole and the length of tube. Once I trimmed the punctured part off, it worked just fine. Not bad for second hand, really.
The cycle light is also super bright. My computer has some nice lighting on it and... I mean it's almost on par with this one little light. Nothing a piece of tape or a sock can't fix...

NOTE: I've recently bumped this down to an 8, as from time to time, the nozzles start to spray pretty harshly. So far, I've been able to fix this by jiggling the tubing, but it's still annoying. Also, after reviewing the rest of the cons, it just didn't add up to a 9.


Images:

Left-hand nozzle coming out of the amapallo plant.

Right-hand nozzle coming out of the croton plant

My new canopy section, complete with feeding ledge.

Links:
Monsoon RS 400 Rainfall System - product page

Product Research 1: Monsoon RS400 by Exo-Terra

Over the past couple days, I've really pondered on how many products I bought without knowing if they're truly necessary or if I should even be using them at all, such as the UV lamp and the calcium enriched Cricket Quencher. So I've decided to try doing a little more research into various products that I may one day purchase. For now, I'll just see what others have to say and weather or not I think this is a product I could use. If I decided to buy it later on, I'll definitely put it up to personal review.

***

Monsoon RS400 High Pressure Rainfall System
(Research Phase)

For my first product, I'm cheating a little. This is a product I've definitely already done some research on, but it won't hurt to gather up said research and list it here. It might just help someone.

Having tried my hand at keep my terrarium humid, I can definitely understand the need for something a little bigger than a hand mister, and so far, the Monsoon RS400 by Exo-Terra looks like a pretty stellar candidate, at least for my needs.

Check it out here in a video put up by PetSolutions on YouTube.

Why I need it:
-I need to make sure the substrate is moistened every day to ensure proper humidity levels, which in turn help with shedding and overall health.
-Geckos often drink their water off of leaves or even the tank walls, since this is most likely their natural behaviour, so daily mists are essential.
-Rainfall occurs on a fairly daily basis in tropical rainforest (you think?), and I'd like to try to emulate that as much as possible.

Why this product:
For one, this product is designed specifically for the tank I use, namely Exo-Terra's own brand of terrarium. The tube-work fits into the provided inlets along the top of the terrarium and the nozzles are held in place via suction cup. If you're the Handyman Hobbyist Herpetoculturalist, you can probably rig up something of your own design. I chose not to. At least, not at this stage of my "career".

The system is also pretty programmable, from what I've read, which is pretty neat. One could set it to spray off a couple seconds, twice a day.

You can also plug up to six nozzles into this system, which includes two right out of the box, so one could theoretically hook up two to three vivariums.

What compares to it:
After reading a couple chat rooms and watching some YouTube, I've noticed that in place of a direct mist system, some folks go with a fogging system, which might serve one better for various reasons. The reason I came across that seemed most sensible is pooling. If you don't have an absorbent substrate, you might want to consider a fogger.

I, for one, prefer the mister. It seems more like rain and it gives the whole terrarium a nice moistening, which would be great for an all-natural vivi. Not to knock the fogger though. Foggers totally add that "rainforest feel".

I cam across a couple humidifying options:
-The option that kind of seemed strange to me was the Ultrasonic 360 Humidifier from Safety 1st, which is actually used to humidify nurseries. Then again, if you have a big enough enclosure, or you keep the entire room at the right humidity level, this might work. But for me, this isn't even an option. I like my humidity to be direct and discrete.
- Foggers, as mentionned above, might be better for the person who wishes to avoid pooling or over-watering their enclosure. Both Exo-Terra and Zoo Med boast a fogging system in their respective catalogs. ExoT's fogger, however, is more of an add-on to their waterfall systems. Cute, but it could be kind of cumbersome to have an entire waterfall in your habitat just to add a little fog. On the other hand, Zoo Med's Repti Fogger doesn't really seem to have a decent way of incorporating into your vivarium. The kid I found on YouTube actually cut a hole in the screen top of his enclosure. Definitely not something I would consider. I think in this case, I would either simply place it on the screen and let the fog seep through the ever-so-permeable screen top, or rig up a funneling system to put on top of the tank.
In my opinion, both present very viable methods of humidification. It just depends on how much room you have to spare in your set-up.
-My personal favorite, the Monsoon RS400.
-My current option; using a small, hand-held spray bottle. It's cheap, it's simple, it works, but it's more labourious, less measured and so on and so forth.

Useful links and videos

Product links:
Exo-Terra's Monsoon RS400 Rainfall System
Exo-Terra's Fogger and Waterfall 
Zoo Med's Repti Fogger

Videos:

Monsoon RS 400 in action
Video put up by (name) on YouTube.

Here's an example of the Monsoon RS400 being used to mist a dart frog set-up. All frog-related cuteness asside, this is a really nice terrarium. It's also a great showcase for the rainfall system.

Repti Fogger setup and function
Video put up by (name) on YouTube.

This video is put up by HerpCare101. It's a kid named Steve showing off the system and how it works with his tree frog set-up. You can see what I mean about the system being hard to incorporate into your habitat without remodeling your lid.


Some other useful vid links include:
-A video from joshsfrogsvideos showing the installation of the Exo-Terra Monsoon (video)
-A link to the YouTube channel for HerpCare101. I haven't explored it much, but it seems like a great place to peruse. (channel)

Prepping my Terrarium (part 3)

Step 3: Lighting, Heating and Humidifying

So now that I have all my branches and bushes exactly how I want them, I'll turn my focus to the mechanic aspects.

It's important to note that I have been keeping my heating and lighting in mind as I place my decorations in order to create the desired hot and cool spots.

Heating:
After doing a bit of research, I find again that there aren't concrete rules for these guys.
Taking into account everything I've read so far, I would have to say that cresties need a day-time temperature of about 80 to 82°F (27 to 28°C) in the hot spots and somewhere in the mid 70s in the cool spots (about 24°C), unless you plan on breeding them. Though the brochure provided by PetSmart indicates a maximum hot-spot temperature of 85°F (30°C), some of my other sources (namely Crested Gecko Canada) state that temperatures above 83°F (28°C) can increase your gecko's stress, and temperatures any higher than 85°F can in fact be fatal. So none of that.

Also, I mentioned that breeding would require different temperatures. Since I don't have immediate plans on breeding, I haven't looked into it with much detail, but again, Crested Gecko Canada has some good knowledge on it.

To help control these varying temperatures, I bought an extra thermometer (product of All Living Things) to go with the thermometer and hygrometer provided in the Exo-Terra starter kit. The first I place up in the basking zone of the terrarium to make sure I never get into those deadly ranges. The second (which I may have botched), I stuck lower to the ground near the cool spot, just to make sure things stay cool but not cold.

To be fair though, this might be overkill, as I have read that cresties can take temperatures in the mid 60s (about 16 to 17°C), but I don't really want to push my luck, as these guys need heat to grow and to help them digest.

Lighting:
In terms of heat lamps, I was advised to get a 60W Neodymium daylight bulb (Sun Glo 60W by Exo-Terra). The literature I found online backs up my choice, indicating that a low wattage heating bulb is all that is necessary. Cresties are nocturnal after all. I have even been told that an infra-red bulb way serve too, as I could leave that on day-round since it sheds no light, but I prefer it this way... so far.

I also run a Repti Glo 5.0 UVB 26W bulb by Exo-Terra in the lamp that was included in the starter kit to provide my cresty with necessary uv levels. This bulb has a high uv output, which may affect my choice of cricket calcium powder in the future (since my current powder is fortified with vitamin D3, a possibly redundant additive in light of... the light).
This bulb would be very necessary if I were running a natural terrarium, however, given that plants require this light to grow as well.

The effect is as follows:

This image shows my terrarium bathed in uv light alone,

















while this image shows both the uv light and the heat lamp in full glow.















Also visible on the second image is the placement of my thermo/hygrometers; at the top and bottom.

Humidity:
Last factor to consider is humitidy. This is a tricky one, since a hot humid environment is a breeding ground for moulds and mildews, some of which can be kind of nasty for both myself and the cresty. This means regular cleaning is essential.

But I digress; humidity! Recommended to be between 50% and 80% by the people at PetSmart, 60% to 80% by Crested Gecko Canada. I'm thinking somewhere in the low 70s is where I'll be. This is so far the only factor I haven't tried to control in my environment since I don't want to add the coconut husk substrate till about a day before I get the gecko to avoid wasting it. Considering that no animal wastes will be contaminating it, however, I'll probably get around to setting it up over the course of next week.

Coconut husk seems like the right choice, since it's gentle on the animal, it holds moisture and has a very pleasing natural look, to boot. Added to this is the Exo-Terra Rainforest Heat Wave I have affixed to the bottom of my terrarium. I've had mine plugged in since I set up and I must say; it's not very hot. Weather or not this is normal, it will in any event help release the moisture in the substrate, giving me my humidity.

To keep the substrate moist, misting is required. Once again, I've found about three different solutions. To average them out, I'm going to mist about once or twice a day, or as required to hit that humidity g-spot.

In terms of misting to provide the cresty with water (rather than a dish, as they lick dew off themselves and their surroundings), I'll probably continue to provide a water source, unless I see that the gecko isn't using it at all.

Also, I plan on treating the water with a cleanser, even though I will be using distilled water. I'm taking no chances of poisoning my gecko with chlorinated water, afterall.