not cleaning water bowl

[sparkon16]

just wondering what would happen to the snake if you did not clen the water bowl everyday? eg. regurge, not eat...etc.

Deuce

[Zoe]

I don't clean my snake's water dishes every day - I clean it weekly or so, and also when they defacate in the water.

Zoe

[reptilez]

Same, it never seems dirty enough for me to clean it. I aways go into other pets stores and they are filthy. Mine is always clean:D:D

[Colonel SB]

Same here they get cleaned every week unless they dirty it.

[CyberGhost]

Same here I don't know what would happen. My iguana used to poop in the water like everyday so I got tired of changing it stoped cleaning it for like three days then finally cleaned it. Don't think I'm horrible evil man, I did it to teach him not to poop in it all the time and it worked, he now only poops there like once a month on accident I think but I go and clean it as soon as I see it.

[sparkon16]

lol just wondering though just to restate the questions what could happen to the animal if you didn't for a while then other than just plain death explain!!!

Deuce

[eyespy]

Respiratory or gastrointestinal infection from bacteria breeding in the water dish is possible. If the snake has parasites an old water dish is a great place to get re-infested.

[eyespy]

Originally posted by CyberGhost
Same here I don't know what would happen. My iguana used to poop in the water like everyday so I got tired of changing it stoped cleaning it for like three days then finally cleaned it. Don't think I'm horrible evil man, I did it to teach him not to poop in it all the time and it worked, he now only poops there like once a month on accident I think but I go and clean it as soon as I see it.

Why in heaven's name would you want to do that, CyberGhost? That's called potty training and is a very desirable trait in igs!

It's much easier to wash out a potty than to scrub poo paintings off the cage floor and walls if they walk through their poop and then climb around the cage.

[CyberGhost]

Oh, I didt know that

[CyberGhost]

Okay well I can retrain it then, I was changing it to a new cage today when it jumped from inside and ran under my bed. I canot catch it I hate it when she does this.

[Lisa]

let us know how your retraining efforts go.


We clean once a week and spot clean through out the week. Snakes on (news) paper get changed weekly regardless, cypress gets changed as needed.

[jncoclub]

We usually clean/refill water weekly while the snakes are in other containers eating, or sooner if it’s needed.

I used to volunteer my time at an exotic reptile shop in FL for a while. The owners were great, but one of their “partners” kept some of his own pets at the shop. He was an imbecile. We would continuously harp on him to change and clean the water bowls of his pets (i.e. venomous snakes, monitors, etc.) he said that putting fresh water in their bowls was not as necessary as we thought. After we pointed out the large amount of feces in the water he still had the same attitude. His response was that their poop was not “dirty”- his animals were captive-born, healthy and therefore their poop wouldn’t contain bacteria of parasites of anything threatening. Even if the animals were healthy, it’s just not right to not offer then clean water in a clean bowl and live/sleep in a clean environment. My thoughts anyhow.

[stevesemerko]

We clean the water dishes every week on cleaning day and give them new water every other day or when needed. We also clean the bowls whenever the snakes deficate in them but ours do not do that too much. I am not exactly sure what would happen if you didn't clean it for a long time but if you left the feces in there it would most likely make them sick.

Steve

[fateamber]

I clean the water bowls every three days. When you clean the vivs do you clean the hides?

[mykee]

Question, how would you like to drink week-old water? Your snake(s) are in captivity, not the wild, and even in the wild, snakes rarely drink from stagnant water sources. Sice you can't have a flowing stream in your tank or Rubbermaid, I feel if is best to change the water for my BP's every second or third day, and I notice within an hour or two of changing the water, my snakes drink. I fyou are going to err, err on the side of the snake.

[jncoclub]

I've noticed in my tanks that if I didn't change the water after a week, if looked at in a glare, there is a thin layer of just week old ick on the top of the water. With my water bowls I also have heat lamps over them to increase humidity. My water would probably be evaporated after 2-3 weeks.

[Alicewave]

We've got a lot of weird minerals and stuff in our water. Even after filtration a film builds up on the water dishes. I make sure to change the water every other day and I scrub out all the mineral crap one a week.

[jncoclub]

CLR cleans off the minerals pretty well- just make sure to rinse the bowls extremely well!

[V.hb]

every 3rd day.
still water goes stale, and who knows how many crickets have climbed through the water etc. Maybe I dont need to do it as often, but i feel better knowing theres always a fresh clean supply of water available.

[Edwin]

I change my water every 2-3 days, but I do check it everyday in case it is dirty (poo, substrate etc.).

To clean, I just use diluted dishwashing liquid.

[silkie]

I find that the safest thing to use is vinegar, it is natural and easy to rince off... you dont even have to dilute it because all you need is a small ammount. For a nice boquet use red wine vinegar, hehe...

[Grant vg]

I agree with mykee...
i like to change my water bowls often as i always notice most of my snakes will drink pretty much right after the water change.
every 2-3 days seems to be the general concensus.

[Alicewave]

CLR is some toxic stuff. Ever notice the bottle says to use gloves when you use it? I wouldn't clean anything with that if it's gonna be in contact with my animals no matter how well it's rinsed. I'm paranoid about the fumes I guess.

[Linds]

I agree with Alicewave, I wouldn't use anything like CLR on my herp enclosures, especially in something they drink out of. Like Silkie said, vinegar works great! It takes off the heaviest mineral scale in no time at all, is very safe (hey we eat the stuff!), and also kills bacteria. To super clean enclosures, I use a spray bottle of vinegar and follow over top with a spray bottle of peroxide. Both very safe ingredients, and when used in this matter kill more bacteria than bleach! :eek:

[tightsqueeze]

i clean everything onve a week unless they deficate in there water or on the floor
, but i don't see how not changing the water bowl everyday is going hurt them ...noone changes the water in the wild ...lol

[Linds]

Originally posted by tightsqueeze
, but i don't see how not changing the water bowl everyday is going hurt them ...noone changes the water in the wild ...lol

But as I believe someone already stated in this thread, in the water, the water is running, it isn't sitting stagnant in a bowl collecting bacteria ;)

[sparkon16]

wow lots of opinions that great!!! thnx a lot guys, and gals of course!!lol ya i try to clean the water bowl out every second day if possible but i think i will use vinegar now which will help!

Deuce

[V.hb]

Tightsqueeze.. Of course the water isn't physically changed by a human being in the wild, however there is usually a constant fresh supply, or at least fresh water when needed. Think about it, it does rain in the wild, rivers have currents that move any filth and theres morning dew on leaves, grass etc for smaller ground dwellers.

[jncoclub]

I guess I didn't type enough: We've only used CLR once (at a vet's reccomendation) becasue we had a big mineral build up and it just wasn't coming clean. It was VERY diluted, about a capful to a good gallon of water. We were cleaning ceramic bowls and made sure that they were rinsed thorougly. We may have even put them in the dishwasher to just make sure, but I don;t recall anymore. Ok, I'll turn- stick to vinegar. (but it was just that one time)

[ScreamingMisfit]

every other day no matter what

[djc3674]

hmmm??? changing the water every other day seems excessive to me. Especially when my snakes will hide for days on end. Plus, the days I work, I am gone for like 15 hours, so I dont have the time to tend to my snakes every other day. Thats the beauty of keeping reptiles, you dont have to give them daily attention and they wont even feel unloved. :)
Besides, I dont think if your reptile drinks water that is 4 or 5 days old, it will say to itself "damn this water tastes like crap, I wish my owner would give me fresh water everyday." But hey, if some of you are that concerned that you feel the need to change the water every other day, then more power to ya!!

[Soul_Reaper]

Well i clean mine every 3 days or so, unless it gets dirty before it, then i usually clean right away.

[JasonBrennan]

Damn, now I am starting to feel like one of those over protective parents or something. I change all the animals water daily. The bowls get a rinse and filled with fresh water. I scrub the bowls out weekly unless I find them actually dirty (poop or what not), then they get scrubbed upon discovery.

I don't agree with the statement that repitles don't need daily care. I feel they do need to be looked in on every day at the very least. I also work long and irregular hours (I am a warrant officer for the police department) and I have a pretty good sized collection (currently 66 reptiles, not to mention a few hundred mice and rats, the dogs, the cat, the hamsters, the rabbit...don't ask about the damn rabbit!...) I also have 4 kids and yet I still find the time to spend a couple of hours a day to tend to my animals....it is part of having pets!!! (this is just a pet peeve of mine, sorry for the mini-rant)

[Tim and Julie B]

I spend at least 2 hours a day in our reptile room. That doesn't include the time spent feeding them all. I work full time, but know that they need daily care too. I would never leave dirty water in any dish. I check lights and heat sources daily to make sure everything is working right as well. They get ever bit as much attention as any other per we own, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Julie

[reptile171]

i clean all of my herps water bowls every day, but of you didnt they may get a inifection of some sort due to the fact that most of them defecat in the water...the water would get pretty nasty.

[Mr.Lizard]

I pretty much need to clean the water bowl daily because my water monitor poops in it just about every day,sometimes more often than that.
In which case it gets cleaned when it needs it,even if it means being late for work...it's just gotta be done. And I'm not talking about just dumping and refilling,I'm saying washed with hot soapy water.
Even captive born and raised critters have bacteria in their stools which shouldn't be ingested.
I wouldn't allow my dog to drink from the toilet bowl either,even though it has been flushed.

[reverendsterlin]

clean weekly or if pooped in, refill daily as needed