tap water?

[LISA127]

ok, with all this talk about crypto, i would like to know, should i not be using tap water? and if not, what type of water should i be using? thanks!

[Siretsap]

I used tap water, but if you want to go all the way, you can boil your water and cool it in the fridge after.

[Neo]

i would say no. when we first moved into our house i saw what they use to filter the water. it's a series of sand and minerals. in my opinion there's a higher chance of parasites and stuff.. i would use water filtered out from one of those brita things or something.

[LISA127]

I don't have a filter, nor will I be getting one. What about bottled water? Filtered bottled water or spring water?

[eyespy]

Ever read the reports of the stuff they find in bottled water? It's not guaranteed to be any safer than tap! Boiling is your best bet if you don't want to get a silver nitrate filter.

[LISA127]

so boiling will kill crypto?

[Wuntu Menny]

You may want to boil your crickets while you're at it. Your animals stand a greater chance of contracting cryptosporidiosis from eating them than they do from your local water treatment facility.

WM

[LISA127]

So your point is what? that i really can't prevent it? just hope for the best? or that the tap water is relatively safe?

[Hamster of Borg]

There was a test done on 60 Minutes not long ago. They took large samples from like 15 brands of bottled water, and then tested them all against city tap water from 15 different cities across the US. The only bottled water that tested 'cleaner' and 'healthier' than tap water from all of the city water supplies was Ozarka. I'm sure that test is not the be-all and end-all of water tests, but it does say pretty soundly that just because its in a bottle and you pay more for it, doesn't mean it is any better. :)

Myself, I use tap water - I pour it out into five gallon buckets as needed and let it sit overnight to dechlorinate. I have pretty hard water here, ends up with spots on my aquarium glass - but other than that its never given me a problem.

Rav

[Wuntu Menny]

Well, all of the above I guess. Take reasonable precautions where you can and yes, your tap water is relatively safe. Listen to the Hamster.

The biggest danger I pose to my animals is by visiting pet stores and coming home without going through decontamination first.

WM

[Neo]

boiling water may kill the crypto but i heard it still harms the gecko by being in it. not sure if it's true...

[LISA127]

well, i guess ill just take good care of my leo's, chill out, and not worry so much. and i won't buy the bottled water!

[Wuntu Menny]

Sounds like a good plan. I'm gonna do the same. Hamster's got the right idea, let it sit overnight to get rid of the chlorine and that's about it.

[Dragon_Slave]

I do the same as Hamster... I just let it sit overnight. We have hard water where I live and so that's what I deal with, lol.

[Alicewave]

Who has crypto in their water? Where is this coming from? I wouldn't think a filter would do a damn thing against crypto but what do I know. You'd probably have to boil the water for a really long time for that too work too. Plus boiling for that long is going to give you a higher concentration of all the minerals, possibly lead in your water. Crypto is one tough parasite to kill. Are you sick? Do you drink your own water? If you're not sick from your own water I doubt you have crypto in it. Also there are more than one type of crypto. A human form, a reptile form and possibly others.

[MartinW]

Is there anything wrong with using a dechlorinator used for fish?

Martin

[eyespy]

I've never actually encountered a case of a reptile with crypto that got it from tap water so I think the risk tends to be somewhat overstated. There are only 2 strains of crypto known to affect herps, C. serpentis and C. baileyii. These strains are specific to reptiles and ratittes such as turkeys and are not commonly found in public water supplies.

The form of crypto that's usually found in public water is C. parvum which can only survive in warm-blooded animals' systems and is most common to cattle, dogs, and humans.

Most crypto cases that have been tracked to the source are found to originate in animals shipped from overseas, particularly Central America and Indonesia. Most of the US and Canada doesn't have a large enough wild herp population to see the water table contaminated with enough fecal matter to cause an infestation of the reptile-affecting subspecies of crypto. We people are at a much greater risk because of agricultural runoff than our herps will ever be.

[Tim and Julie B]

Okay, so the computer was down for two days and I'm having ssnakess withdrawls, but I haven't read everyones responses to this thread. So, if I repeat what has been siad, sorry in advance.

My take on this is why not use bottled water? It's inexpensive and readily available, so why not? I prefer not taking any chances! Boiling may be okay, but Tim got crypto from boiled water, so I don't trust that 100%!!!! I have definately noticed a huge improvement in the health of my leos and pictus. That's just my 2 cents:D

[eyespy]

Bottled water is not required to be filtered or otherwise treated and there have been plenty of studies which found crypto, coliform bacteria, agricultural chemicals, petroleum products like motor oil, and all sorts of other "non-goodies" in bottled water. Tap water in municipalities in the US and Canada have much stricter controls and testing than bottled water does.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Bottled water? Did you not SEE the show they just had on TV about it? They tested like 12 different brands of bottled water and only 1 brand (Ozarka) was found to have LESS conataminants than the city's water (New York, I think).

Give me tap water any day.

[Tim and Julie B]

If you buy water purified by reverse osmosis you are getting pure, safe water. I keep forgetting just how specific I need be so that people don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Living in the Okanagan I often forget that my need for good water is higher than most others. Just try to drink the tap water here. Believe me, it's disgusting! Especially with all the fires around here, pollutants are very high in our city water supplies. I will never use anything but water purified by reverse osmosis!

Julie B....

[Jeff_Favelle]

You're crazy. I would NEVER drink purified water. It will suck the life right out of you. Buh-bye salts, electroytes, beneficial trace elements, iron in your blood, etc etc etc....

Purified water is for chemists, and that's it!

http://watershed.net/purified.htm

[Tim and Julie B]

Reverse osmosis produces 100% pure water. Nothing more, nothing less. Go ahead and drink Okanagan water. I'll send you some if you want!!!!!!!! And as for that article, if your geckos are drinking so much water that they would be harmed by water purified by reverse osmosis then they are probably sick in the first place! Leos should only drink after eating or a few times per week. They require little water if their food items are clean, healthy and properly gut loaded.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Did you NOT read he article? People/animals were not meant to drink PURE water (2 parts hydrogen, 1 part oxygen). Please read it before you comment. Pure water has a greater osmotic potential than many of our cells, organs, cytosols, etc etc etc. Therefore, it LEACHES necessary and VITAL trace elements from our body (ie. Ca, K, Na, Mg, Fe, bla bla bla....). Why is that hard to understand? Or are you choosing not to for sake of arguement? Either way, drink what you want. It has no bearing on me.

[Tim and Julie B]

Yes I DID read the article. I made that fairly clear I believe. Umm...thanks for the info:confused: if that's what you need to hear. If you insist that it has no bearing on you then why does it bother you so much that I and my reptiles drink purified water? I'm healthy, my animals are all healthy so.........what's the deal? I think that time and time again we've all made it pretty clear that we cannot agree all of the time on these threads, so why get so bent out of shape over it? No point in singling out someone just because they don't agree with you. And again, liek the article said, it's safe if you drink it in short periods. And as I stated above if your leos are consuming so much of it that it would be hazardous to their health then they are most likely sick in the first place.

[Siretsap]

Right there with you Jeff. I think we learn that when we are in high school no?
And latley with the program on bottled water, I am sticking with my tap water.
My neighbor gives purified water to his cat that is 14 or 15 years old cause the vet prescribed it to the cat (he can't absord the proteins and fibers through his body because of malfunctioning organs). So to show you that purified water will absorb everything you need.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Right there with you Jeff. I think we learn that when we are in high school no?
And latley with the program on bottled water, I am sticking with my tap water.
My neighbor gives purified water to his cat that is 14 or 15 years old cause the vet prescribed it to the cat (he can't absord the proteins and fibers through his body because of malfunctioning organs). So to show you that purified water will absorb everything you need.

I hear ya sirestap. Its a great de-toxifier, for sure. But after that, it just becomes toxic itself. I'm sure it accelerates osteoporosis, anemia, and other baddies. But its nothing new. I learned about in Grade 10 when we were learning about osmotic potential.

Know what else gets rid of toxins though? Activated carbon/charcoal! People burn wood, eat the ashes (sort of) and it takes free radicals and other nasties right out of your body!! Crazy eh?