clean water for chameleon?

[xaviert]

Hi guys, this is my first post in this forum and I'll be getting a panther chameleon in a few weeks. Had ordered all the necessary supplies from LLLreptile, just wondering if it is necessary to add in a water conditioner for their daily water drippings and misting?

 

[mcleodschams]

i myself use i tbut if you use distilled or boil yuour water thats fine too.

 

[Elizadolots]

It really depends on your water. If it's loaded with salts or has fluoride, you would be better off using purified or distilled water. Boiling water doesn't remove fluoride.

 

[xaviert]

wah thats a quick reply~ will it be harmful for their health if i let them drink tap water? i have a filter for safe drinking water, will it work too?

 

[xaviert]

Hmm.. I think theres no fluoride in the water at the area that i stay.. but what will fluoride cause ?

 

[Elizadolots]

Too much can cause symptoms that look a lot like MBD. Shakiness, weakness....generally not a good thing. Your local water authority should have a website. You should be able to go there and see whether or not the water is fluoridated.

Fluoride is not the only issue. If your area has hard water, that means there's a lot of extra calcium carbonate getting into his diet. While that's something he needs, it's something you want to control by dusting.

 

[absolutbill]

I have well water, and used that for quite some time, however the natural minerals kept clogging the mister heads. I've switched to buying bottles of purified water (about 70 cents a gallon down here), and haven't had a problem since.

Another idea is to install a R/O (reverse osmosis) filter under your sink, or by your well equipment, depending on the size you buy. That will also work - we had one, but the switch knocked itself on and we had a 100 gallon flood in the house, on our hardwood floors. So, no more filter, and bottled water only

Michelle

 

[Carlton]

wah thats a quick reply~ will it be harmful for their health if i let them drink tap water? i have a filter for safe drinking water, will it work too?

Remember, distilled water has NOTHING in it...no minerals or other safe organic ingredients that you might want. There's really no need to go this far.

I think I'd do a test on your tap water so you know just what's in it. That way you can decide whether you want to filter it, treat it, use bottled water, or do nothing. Remember, municipal tap water must be safe for human consumption, but it may be treated so it meets health standards for your area and based on what the source is. It can still have additives you don't really want your cham to get (chlorine or chloramines, heavy metals, salts from a water softener, etc). Chlorine can be removed by letting tap water age in an open bucket overnight. Chloramines can't...you would need a herp or aquarium water conditioner to get rid of these. Mineral salts aren't horrible, but you'll have trouble with misting nozzles and messy coatings on your plants. Do you get white mineral deposits on your dishes, shower, or other surfaces? If so your water is high in minerals (hard). Most municipal water utilities can do a basic test for you or at least suggest where you can get a kit to get your own test done by an independent lab. Once you know what's in it you can decide how far you want to go to treat it.

FWIW, I prefer filtering my tap water rather than add a bunch of conditioning chemicals to it. I have super hard well water, a house water softener, and use a small capacity under sink RO filter. It is fantastic and I'll always install one no matter where I live. All my pets get this water and it tastes fantastic.

 

[xaviert]

Ya i have a filter under sink.. But i don't think its a RO. Hmm.. Think its better to use a water conditioner then.. But some of the water conditioner i see doesn't state that it removes fluoride. What brand should i get?