Water Treatment Good Or Bad Drinking Water

[Dragon666]

Hi i have a question on drinking water i have some dechlorinator to treat tropical fish would this type of treated water be alright for corn snakes

 

[themichaelchoi]

I think using tap water is fine. I use water from my sink.

 

[bitsy]

I'm in the UK as well, and I've used tap water for mine all their lives without adding anything to it or treating it in any way. My 21 year old seems fine with it! Generally, if tap water is safe for human consumption, then it's fine for Corns.

There are folks who live in areas where the domestic supplies aren't entirely safe or have been heavily chemically treated for domestic use, but that doesn't happen in the UK as far as I'm aware.

 

[RosieReal]

if your concerned about chlorine, just let the water sit out for about 15-20min before you put it in. I would NOT reccomend aquarium water treatment for tropical fish. Most of thoes products contain other chemicals designed to promote a healthy 'stress coat' which is usually referring to the layer of slime fish have over their scales. This isnt good for people to drink...and i dont think it would be doing what you would like it to for the snake. the water treatments for aquariums are designed to turn water into a living envrionment, not water for drinking.

 

[RosieReal]

I would NOT reccomend aquarium water treatment for tropical fish.

by this i ment "i would not reccomend aquarium water treatment for tropical fish used for anything other than that."

 

[Dragon666]

Hi your right about it also been used for a stress coat for fish however it takes upto 24 hours for chlorine to disperse in the air my area treats with chlorine as does most of uk however some areas in the uk do treat with chloramine which is more difficult to get rid off. of what i have read about it this type can take about a week to disperse i think what i will be doing is i have got 5 gallon water butts just let them stand for a few days to be on the safe side the water in them should last for months

 

[bitsy]

i have got 5 gallon water butts just let them stand for a few days to be on the safe side the water in them should last for months

Unfortunately, water that's been left to stand for a few months, isn't "fresh". The likelihood is that bacterial or algal growth will kick in after a couple of weeks.

I think you're over-complicating things and possibly by trying to mitigate a very small risk, you may be introducing an even greater one. Straight tap water is fine for Corns here in the UK. I've never heard it quoted as a root cause of ill health in Corns anywhere in the world (can anyone remember any examples?). I'm thinking if there was any risk from tap water, the jungle drums would've sounded on forums like this, years ago.

 

[Kevin S.]

With respect to the others who have weighed in on this issue, I think it is worthwhile to try and treat tap water before making it available to snakes. If this means "bacterial or algal growth," I don't see the problem. Too often keepers try to maintain completely sterile collections as if their animals have no immune systems. My field experience tells me that snakes are very rarely found in proximity to water we would consider safe for humans to drink.

Just because chlorine and chloramines are regarded as safe for human consumption, doesn't mean the same would hold true for snakes, especially when you consider the relatively more concentrated dose they're getting due to their size. I don't have any hard data, but I've seen this topic come up several times over the years and I recall a few breeders reporting increased fertility and hatch rates when treating their tap water.

As far as which products/methods would be best for this treatment, I can't really say although I assume leaving it exposed to evaporation for a day or so would be the safest route. Personally I treat most of the water my snakes get with an aquarium dechlorinator. Occasionally they still get tap water though, and their rodents are thawed in tap water as well. Just because tap water is available to them without treatment doesn't mean they'll drink it immediately though. My guess is that it sits exposed and allows the removal/degradation of some chemicals before they get to it in most cases.

 

[Dragon666]

just a point i would like to pick up on ''The likelihood is that bacterial or algal growth will kick in after a couple of weeks.'' i would agree with this but looking through the threads ect i have seen some people say for snakes under a year old bottled water has to be used but how long is this kept in the shops before used it must be opened to bacterial or algal growth as well? also in the wild standing water in the wild

 

[bitsy]

bottled water has to be used but how long is this kept in the shops before used it must be opened to bacterial or algal growth as well?

Water is bottled under sterile conditions and won't be open to contaminants until you open the lid. It's then usually used within a few days. I think you'll find most water bottle labels say something along the lines of "Once opened, store in a refrigerator and use within 7 days" for this reason.

I do think that's it's worth being mroe careful in captivity - standing water is OK in the wild, but I do tend towards the more cautious view that umpteenth generation captive-bred Corns will have less immunity to naturally-present bacteria or fungi.

Just because chlorine and chloramines are regarded as safe for human consumption, doesn't mean the same would hold true for snakes, especially when you consider the relatively more concentrated dose they're getting due to their size. I don't have any hard data, but I've seen this topic come up several times over the years and I recall a few breeders reporting increased fertility and hatch rates when treating their tap water.

All I can quote is personal experience. My 21 year old and 17 year olds seem very healthy and had a normal level of fertility in their younger days (I think the 21 year old would still give it a try if I let him!). I've not seen that info on fertility from breeders but then I don't read every thread here or every other forum, so I could just have missed it. I won't be changing my tap water only regime though.

 

[jld333]

Depending on how many snakes you own, bottled water would work fine. If you are concerned about chlorine in the tap water. Just my 2 cents.

 

[requin]

As far as which products/methods would be best for this treatment, I can't really say although I assume leaving it exposed to evaporation for a day or so would be the safest route. Personally I treat most of the water my snakes get with an aquarium dechlorinator. Occasionally they still get tap water though, and their rodents are thawed in tap water as well. Just because tap water is available to them without treatment doesn't mean they'll drink it immediately though. My guess is that it sits exposed and allows the removal/degradation of some chemicals before they get to it in most cases.

This is basically what I do. I keep a cup of "snake water" around and let it stand for at least a day before I use it to fill up my snake's bowl. If it doesn't get used up within a few days I get rid of it and start a new cup of water. I actually have some dechlorinator for my betta, but it's stress coat and obviously my snake doesn't need those extra chemicals meant for building up the slime coat on the fish.

 

[Dragon666]

I think what i am going to do is let it stand for 24hrs and use the water for around 2 weeks i have been keeping and breeding tropical fish for over 20 years and to use untreated water as regards to fish it causes stress which can result in problems like whitespot and fin rot but it wont kill them however i see it is difference in different types of animals like dogs and cats ect i i am just getting as much info before i get the snakes so it will reduce any problems with them they may get i have always done this with any type of animals i keep i have no personal experience with keeping snakes so i will prob be asking a few more questions on here in the future i am picking my first 2 amel motlys in about 2 weeks once i have set everthing up thanks for all replys