Water?

CaliChameleon

CaliChameleon

Member
I was wondering about water for my dipper I know tap water isnt that good but can I use bottled water or is it better to use distilled water for my Cham to drink? And for the mistking I haven't got it yet but I use distilled water for that too right?
 
camimom said:
I use tap water.

if i can drink the water, my chams can too.
Click to expand...

That's not really true. Large mammals and small reptiles react differently to things. Whether the tap water is safe depends on what's in it. The only way to find that out is to contact your local water authority. I stopped giving my chameleons tap water when San Diego started fluoridating its water.

http://www.chameleonnews.com/02NovDonoghue.html

Fluoridated water contains 0.5 to 1.0 ppm fluoride, usually as the sodium salt. Fluoride has a narrow safety range. In mammals, deficiency is associated with dental caries and with osteoporosis in the aged. Fluoride toxicity (fluorosis), due to accumulation from long-term consumption of high levels, is associated with deformed bones and soft, mottled, and irregularly worn teeth. Animals fed diets deficient in protein, calcium, and vitamin C are more susceptible to fluorosis. Water sources containing high levels of fluoride are found in parts of Arkansas, California, South Carolina, and Texas and may be a risk for fluorosis. In reptiles, fluorosis can mimic the signs of metabolic bone disease (MBD)
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So, check your water supply, don't just assume that what's safe for you is safe for them.

**edited to add**

If you decide against using tap water, then purified or distilled is probably the way to go. Some purchase a reverse osmosis system for their homes.
 
CaliChameleon said:
I was wondering about water for my dipper I know tap water isnt that good but can I use bottled water or is it better to use distilled water for my Cham to drink? And for the mistking I haven't got it yet but I use distilled water for that too right?
Click to expand...

You'll need to get your tap water tested for fluorides, chlorine and chloramines, hardness, calcium etc. before we can answer this. Everyone's water differs depending on where you live. "Bottled" water can contain all sorts of organics and minerals depending on the source. It might be safe for human consumption but it might be hard which will eventually clog your misters. For example, water with higher levels of some minerals tends to taste better to most people but it won't make your misting system happy. Distilled water has NOTHING in it but pure H20 and that won't be best for your chams to drink. They do need some of the mineral and organic content's micronutrients.

Short answer (well, it really isn't, sorry!)...if you test your tap water first, you can then decide if you need to buy bottled water, treat, or filter it for specific things. If you don't want to bother with testing, you can either buy water if you know what it contains (fluoride, chlorines, hardness) or install an RO filter feeding to one house faucet and not worry much about the ingredients. You could buy distilled water, but you'll need to replace the nutrients it lacks by supplements.
 
I echo what someone said about flouride in the tap water. HOWEVER, my fridge has a water filtration thingie on the outside that works perfectly fine - just make sure to check the filter every now and then so that it's actually working. a lot of better fridges now offered the filtered water from the fridge water thingie on the door. Given, it's always cold water, but by the time it gets to Kukui, it's room temp. No worries. :D

Random: is there an actual term for the fridge water thingie? Besides fridge water thingie?
 
Wow thanks guys well I will look into my tap water and so distilled water seems to be the best for the mistking so it doesn't get clogged right?
 
Does it actually remove fluoride? I ask because a lot of cities deliberately add fluoride and if your household appliance is going to remove it, that should be a fairly big deal (people need to know, particularly parents...if the kids aren't drinking fluoridated water their doctors will probably prescribe supplements).
 
Elizadolots said:
Does it actually remove fluoride? I ask because a lot of cities deliberately add fluoride and if your household appliance is going to remove it, that should be a fairly big deal (people need to know, particularly parents...if the kids aren't drinking fluoridated water their doctors will probably prescribe supplements).
Click to expand...

Activated alumina (had to correct the typo, thanks autocorrect lol) filters remove flouride. You can buy them especially for your fridge, but they are wicked expensive.

edited to add: we got ours as an add-on. When my roommates bought the fridge, they could opt for a regular water filter or the activated alumina filter. They opted for activated alumina. It cost a pretty penny extra.
 
Last edited:
Good to know. I don't have one of them there fancy 'fridgerators.....mine just keeps the food cold, you know....but that's great information for the big knowledge pool.
 
i use tap water but i put away my mistking recently becuase i need to set up his large cage and its taking awhile so i rinsed it once with distilled so that it doesnt clog
 
I'm lucky and have very good tap water, so I use that in my drippers.
I do need to use distilled water in my MistKing (as instructed by the manufacturer) and my 3 humidifiers.

I am already going through 2 gal a day of distilled, so I try to cut back using it only if really needed.
 
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