Tap or Dechlorinated water

Happy New Year everyone!! Need to see if anyone can tell me if Tap water is safe for my snake or if she needs to have dechlorinated water...ie bottled or something. I have read in different places different things, some say it dont matter others say it needs to be dechlorinated...

Thanks all!!!

Tap water is fine. :)

Thanks for the response! It is so hard to know what to do when there are so many different things out there. Not sure who or what to trust. Is there any single source of information that is reliable that any one would recommend? Seems like the best place is a place like this where people really care about the animals and have EXPERIENCE with them. The willingness of everyone on here to offer advice and help is great!!:banana:

Thanks everyone who has helped me out on here. I have learned a lot and appreciate the help!!

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Originally Posted by jason4173

Thanks for the response! It is so hard to know what to do when there are so many different things out there. Not sure who or what to trust. Is there any single source of information that is reliable that any one would recommend? Seems like the best place is a place like this where people really care about the animals and have EXPERIENCE with them. The willingness of everyone on here to offer advice and help is great!!:banana:

Thanks everyone who has helped me out on here. I have learned a lot and appreciate the help!!

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To answer the highlighted question....no. LOL Seriously...there are simply SO many different ways of doing things, and no one of them is any more wrong or right than another. (So long as we're being reasonable here and not talking about things that actually endanger the animals) Therefore...you get some people insisting that the way they do things is the "best" way because it works for them....while other people may insist on something completely different.

Some common issues that are often hotly debated, but actually have no single "best" answer:

Live feeding or Pre-killed
Feeding in enclosure or Separate
Tap water or "Purified"
Glass tanks or Tubs
Overhead heat or UTH
How often to handle
How often to feed
How big to feed

And I could go on and on. The thing every keeper has to be willing to do is to work things out on their own. YES...come here and ask your questions...carefully listen to the answers and weigh the source of the answers and the merits you believe each one has...decide which options you'd like to try and see if they work for you. If something doesn't seem to be working, be willing to try something else.

Hope this has helped! ;)

Oops...meant to add one more thing. Although I believe there is no single source for perfect answers....there ARE certainly good sources out there to look into. This site, I believe, is probably one of the very best sites for learning how to care for ball pythons in particular and other herps in general. And as far as ball pythons go...I highly recommend any book by Kevin McCurley of NERD or Dave & Tracy Barker of VPI....just to name a couple.

Well, I must say that so far this is by far the most helpful place that I have found for information. Everyone here is very helpful and all seem to be very well versed in herps. I have gotten a couple of small books, nothing real expensive or elaberate...but something to start on...Ball Python Care by Colette Sutherland and The Guide to Owning a Ball Python by John Coborn. Even in these I have found a couple things that are contridictory to eachother. I figure it best to come to a place like this where people with far more experience than I have, and I am sure with a combined experience of everyone one here of several years, can offer up some advice on what they are doing and what they have found and proven to work and not. This is a great thing that you all have going on here and I am very glad to have found you all! I have not been here long, but do already consider each of you an important part of my learning and my BP building family!

Thanks everyone for all your help!!:gj:

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Originally Posted by jason4173

Happy New Year everyone!! Need to see if anyone can tell me if Tap water is safe for my snake or if she needs to have dechlorinated water...ie bottled or something. I have read in different places different things, some say it dont matter others say it needs to be dechlorinated...

Thanks all!!!

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It depends on what your local water company is putting in your tap water........

If it's just chlorine, letting the water sit will allow any added chlorine to evaporate. Unfortunately, chloramine may also be added and does not evaporate as quickly as chlorine and is also less reactive.

All drinking water suppliers using surface water are required by the EPA to use disinfectants to eliminate organisms in drinking water supplies. Utilities must maintain a residual disinfectant throughout the drinking water distribution system to control bacterial growth. In other words, odds are that chloramine is being added to your water supply.

Chloramine and chlorine have been consider safe for all non-aquatic reptiles. However, our vet claims that she has seen animals relocated from well based water supply systems to areas that are treated with these chemicals come down with digestive and renal issues.

If you are concerned, there are products that are specifically made for removing chlorine and chloramine from drinking water. Reptisafe is one such product. It is relatively inexpensive and a little goes a long way.

I use a PUR water filter on my sink. I'm not sure how much (if any) chlorine it removes from the tap, but it certainly tastes a heck of alot better and I don't notice that chlorinated aftertaste of regular tap water.

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Originally Posted by ladywhipple02

I have used both. Here's my experience: When I used city water or well water to spritz the cages---I used this for my geckos, too---there was a nice film of minerals left on the side of the glass/plastic when it dried (this stuff was NO fun to clean off, either). When I bought a gallon of distilled water to use, the sides stayed cleaner.

I prefer to use distilled water. It's cheap, it's clean, and I feel better knowing that my critters aren't ingesting that stuff that got stuck to the sides of their cages. But that's me :)

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Quoted from the other water thread :P

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Originally Posted by jason4173

Happy New Year everyone!! Need to see if anyone can tell me if Tap water is safe for my snake or if she needs to have dechlorinated water...ie bottled or something. I have read in different places different things, some say it dont matter others say it needs to be dechlorinated...

Thanks all!!!

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Yes the tap water is fine :gj:

Thanks everyone! I know that there are things besides chlorine added to the water. My brother works for the city and works with the water distribution system...waste/storm and water supply both. There are things like Floride as well that are often added to public water systems...

Thanks again!

I know tapwater is fine but I’ve been using bottled water mostly but when I originally setting up my new Roxies home I bought a bottle of Exo Terra Aquatize that I just started using. Kind of a dumb question but this is a fine product for BP’s right?

i live where there movie “Dark Waters” takes place - there is no way in hell myself or any of snakes are drinking this - i use distilled water for misting/humidity and soaking bowls - i use spring water for their drinking water such as Fiji, Evian, VOSS, Solán de Cabras, etc - i also have been mixing in a little bit of non-flavored pedialyte to boost their electrolytes every so often

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Originally Posted by YungRasputin

i live where there movie “Dark Waters” takes place - there is no way in hell myself or any of snakes are drinking this - i use distilled water for misting/humidity and soaking bowls - i use spring water for their drinking water such as Fiji, Evian, VOSS, Solán de Cabras, etc - i also have been mixing in a little bit of non-flavored pedialyte to boost their electrolytes every so often

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Interesting. I’ve been avoiding distilled water just because there is no signs of minerals and nutrients. But up to this point she’s been getting high quality bottled water. I just started her on the treated water, I haven’t heard anyone say no to it but it makes sense to neutralize the water from the chemical elements that our tap have water has.

And I have not heard of anyone using Pedialyte unless it’s a medical/shed issue that needs to be used

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Originally Posted by D-.No

...I’ve been avoiding distilled water...

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:gj: It's not good for them to drink- it's only good for misting (so as to avoid hard water spots that are miserable to clean off).


I mostly use tap water here- it's pretty good- but sometimes add Reptisafe.

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Originally Posted by D-.No

Interesting. I’ve been avoiding distilled water just because there is no signs of minerals and nutrients. But up to this point she’s been getting high quality bottled water. I just started her on the treated water, I haven’t heard anyone say no to it but it makes sense to neutralize the water from the chemical elements that our tap have water has.

And I have not heard of anyone using Pedialyte unless it’s a medical/shed issue that needs to be used

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i have been putting a little pedialyte into their soaking bowls just in case they’ve been drinking from this - i plan to switch to spring water for that here soon tho - i also see it being the same as you or i having a Gatorade - it’s good for us once in awhile (also good for medical reasons too)

as Bogs mentioned the big reason i use distilled water for misting is it eliminates the hard water spots that accumulate over time which can’t be removed with simple cleaning - it can be removed, it’s just a tremendous pain tbh and i have a lot of jungle species (Burms, red tail, etc) which need an elevated humidity range and thus a lot of misting and so on

but what i have also noticed is that my Burms, coastals, etc will drink the droplets that remain on the sides of the enclosure so i wanted something real pure and uncontaminated for that reason too

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Originally Posted by YungRasputin

... what i have also noticed is that my Burms, coastals, etc will drink the droplets that remain on the sides of the enclosure so i wanted something real pure and uncontaminated for that reason too

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Most snakes will drink water droplets. I think it's pretty cute, but in the wild it's a necessity to drink off leaves etc. They'll also drink water drops off their own coils- :D -it's like, whatever works.

I don’t know if my girl is drinking droplets but she definitely goes around licking them. That’s great advice guys on the misting with distilled water especially when I invest in a fancy cage.

Is it common practice to use Pedialyte in the drinking water?

Seems like it would be a good idea if you said take a short vacation and left your snake alone for a while when you come home. And no I don’t have any plans of leaving my baby VP home alone.

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Originally Posted by D-.No

I don’t know if my girl is drinking droplets but she definitely goes around licking them. That’s great advice guys on the misting with distilled water especially when I invest in a fancy cage.

Is it common practice to use Pedialyte in the drinking water?

Seems like it would be a good idea if you said take a short vacation and left your snake alone for a while when you come home. And no I don’t have any plans of leaving my baby VP home alone.

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idk if it is common practice but it is just something i have been doing - picked it up while researching snake medical stuff

I'm a bit concerned about a snake getting unfiltered tap water. yeah there's the chlorine but there's also pretty often trace pesticide residue in water (nasty!) and i know fish are very sensitive to it (the EPA tracks it pretty carefully) so much that it can ruin their development. I imagine a snake would be similarly sensitive. Baically I want the absolute best water filter avilble and i know a lot of them really cant filter as well as they say. I've been researching. Like "berkey" says they can do everything but if you actually look into it they apparently are really questionable if their filter works that well at all. I'm looking for real proof that a water filter really gets the chemicals out. I'm leaning towards the clearlyfiltered model here. I'd fill the waterer up with it every morning, I think it would be convenient enough. Long story short, do you guys think that one would be good? what filter do you all like? Thank you so much

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Originally Posted by spellspell

trace pesticide residue in water (nasty!) and i know fish are very sensitive to it (the EPA tracks it pretty carefully) so much that it can ruin their development. I imagine a snake would be similarly sensitive.

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Aquatic animals are distinctly sensitive to chemical pollution, and especially pesticides. Reptiles are not, generally.

Compared toxicity of chemicals to reptiles and other vertebrates

If tap water is safe for human consumption, it is safe for snake consumption. I use RO water usually, simply because that's what I use for a lot of purposes in the reptile room. The 'no minerals' issue isn't much of a concern for snakes, since unlike humans snakes drink very little water (and also unlike most humans snakes have a pretty decent diet) and so don't depend on water for a mineral source.

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Originally Posted by D-.No

...Is it common practice to use Pedialyte in the drinking water? ...

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I've never heard of anyone else doing that- :confusd: And personally I've only added some form of electrolytes (& unflavored Pedialyte is a viable option) when snakes are dehydrated, ill or heat stressed (as with rescues taken in). IMO-That would be a good question to ask an experienced herp vet as to their recommendation.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I've never heard of anyone else doing that- :confusd: And personally I've only added some form of electrolytes (& unflavored Pedialyte is a viable option) when snakes are dehydrated, ill or heat stressed (as with rescues taken in). IMO-That would be a good question to ask an experienced herp vet as to their recommendation.

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From what I have learned at my internship, while I don't necessarily think using pedialyte is harming your snake, I don't thing theres any benefit to it either. Unless it isn't eating and is getting dehydrated because it isn't ingesting moisture from its food, it really isn't doing much. Generally, you don't wasn't to add any medications or supplements except for things like regular vitamins and calcium, wound care ointments/supplies, and pedialyte when dehydration is obvious unless it is approved by a vet. It can be very easy to use OTC livestock/pet meds or supplements which result in worsening a condition, or simply act as a "bandaid" to a bigger problem. Again, I don't think the pedialyte is causing any issues at all. I'm more referring to the "My snake has a really bad and really noticeable URI that is worsening and causing quality of life issues, but I'm still going to approach it with only at home remedies without any veterinary interference." sort of situations.

This is just my two cents on this topic, and since at this point I am basically a veterinary assistant in training, my advice here shouldn't be placed above that given by your actual herp vet. So just take it with a grain of salt :)

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Originally Posted by Animallover3541

Generally, you don't wasn't to add any medications or supplements except for things like regular vitamins and calcium, wound care ointments/supplies, and pedialyte when dehydration is obvious unless it is approved by a vet.

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Supplementing vitamins and calcium for (rodent eating) snakes is demonstrably a bad idea. Rodent prey already has ideal or borderline excessive (in the case of Vitamin A) levels of all nutrients, and there is no reason for routine addition of more (and plenty of reason against, including messing up the near perfect calcium/phosphorus balance of whole rodent prey).

Supplementation needs are (a) taxon specific (the reptile family/genus/even species in some cases) , (b) diet specific (e.g. rodents vs fish vs insects vs other reptiles), and product specific (i.e. whether a product is formulated for daily dosing -- such as Repashy Calcium Plus -- or occasional/PRN use -- such as Repashy Vitamin A).

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Originally Posted by YungRasputin

idk if it is common practice but it is just something i have been doing - picked it up while researching snake medical stuff

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I'd be interested in links to data/research/recommendations on this. Since snakes don't perspire, and don't lose electrolytes in liquid wastes like most mammals do, the reasoning behind routine addition of salt and sugar to snakes' diets sounds like it might be interesting.

Ugh, can't believe I forget to mention this part again. Bad habits really don't like to go away, lol. I meant reptiles as a whole, obviously DO NOT give random supplements to your reptile if it isn't a general practice for the species or isn't being recommended by a vet. Sorry about that!

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Originally Posted by Animallover3541

From what I have learned at my internship, while I don't necessarily think using pedialyte is harming your snake, I don't thing theres any benefit to it either.....

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I agree, it's likely to be just a waste of Pedialyte, though at some point it could be excessive & put some things out of balance. Since it's formulated for humans, not snakes, I'd be very cautious.

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

...I'd be interested in links to data/research/recommendations on this. Since snakes don't perspire, and don't lose electrolytes in liquid wastes like most mammals do, the reasoning behind routine addition of salt and sugar to snakes' diets sounds like it might be interesting.

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I tend to think that a little goes a long way- the rare times I've added any electrolytes, it was very little anyway. I'd never do so "routinely".

What about zero water filtration https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3a8f892fa1.jpg


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'Zerowater' is a combination carbon and ion exchange filter -- basically an expensive Brita (or a cheap Berkey, to put a positive spin on it). A waste of money for reptiles, though probably useful for certain water sources to improve water palatability for human consumption.