Tap water once in a while....good or bad?

[Mikoh4792]

Is it okay for snakes to drink tap water(I'm assuming that it's not too good because of the chemicals/minerals) once in a while you soak them in a bath?

I don't normally bathe my snakes but my GTP hasn't made a bowel movement in a long time so I thought I'd give it a go. She took a pretty long drink, and was wondering if it's okay for her.

[DeesBalls]

mines been drinking tap for about 4 years, no harm done... some people may thnk different though.

[bigsnakegirl785]

My ball python has been drinking tap water for 7 years, my boa constrictor for 2, and my garter snake is drinking tap water. Another words, the entire time I've had them all. I haven't had any problems with it all.

[poison123]

Other tthen my amphibians, all my animals drink tap as well.

[Mikoh4792]

Is tap from the bathroom faucet/bathtub the same as the one that comes out of your kitchen sink?(don't know much about plumbing).

[Hannibalcanibal]

Yes. And i've used it for the last five years, no issue. It's fish you should be worried about with tap water.

[knox]

Tap for the last 20 years. Yes, all the water in your house comes from the same place.

Fish and Amphibians are the only ones you need to worry about. And remember, Chlorine evaporates pretty quickly out of the water - so relax and enjoy the simplicity of that indoor plumbing :-)

[mistersprinkles]

Originally Posted by knox

Tap for the last 20 years. Yes, all the water in your house comes from the same place.

Fish and Amphibians are the only ones you need to worry about. And remember, Chlorine evaporates pretty quickly out of the water - so relax and enjoy the simplicity of that indoor plumbing :-)

Chloramine doesn't evaporate particularly quickly at all though. Some municipalities use chlorine, others use chloramine, which is a combination of ammonia and chlorine. The ammonia "locks up" the chlorine so that it is more difficult for the chlorine to leave the water. I'm not saying that the low dose of chlorine is going to hurt the snake, but if you're on a chloramine water system, the snake is likley going to ingest some chlorine.

I don't know anything about chlorine affecting amphibians, but I do know that there are dechlorinators on the market which work the same way as (fish) aquarium dechlorinators, and are marketed for use with amphibians.

[Zoo Nanny]

Tap water is different in each town or well so it is really dependent on the quality of water. In my town the water is very hard and I've had problems with animals drinking it. A simple filter pitcher does the trick though. I use Brita and the animals have been fine since.

[knox]

Originally Posted by Zoo Nanny

Tap water is different in each town or well so it is really dependent on the quality of water. In my town the water is very hard and I've had problems with animals drinking it. A simple filter pitcher does the trick though. I use Brita and the animals have been fine since.

Wise words. I hadn't thought about that aspect of it.

[MDT]

cesspool jungle puddle with bacteria, protozoa, parasites, dirt, etc compared to city water meant to be ingested by vertebrates with an impermeable integument....

hard choices

[Terranaut]

As long as there is no fluoride in the water and you can't taste chlorine in it , tap is fine.

[alessia55]

Tap water is the only source of water my snakes get and they're doing fine.

[swolek]

I use tap water for all my snakes and always have. Amphibians, on the other hand, shouldn't be given tap water IMO, it's too risky.

[Mikoh4792]

Thanks for clearing that up guys, however I am confused. How can it be okay to ingest tap water(reptiles), but not absorb it through the skin(amphibians)?