# Water and Chlorine Question



## Liquidpoop (Dec 17, 2008)

Hi i have recently become the owner of my first tortoise, 




bertie the horsfield. everythings been goin well with feeding and he seems to have settled in pretty well.. still a bit nervy when ya go near him but anyway.... problem being ive been using tap water in his drinking dish and being in the UK i think there is quite alot of chlorine in our water, i read on another site that this needs to be purified before it can be used. If there is a problem using tap water can anyone recommend the best source for water or a method of purification that will make a difference to the chlorine content, i cant see how boiling and cooling will remove chemicals. any advice is muchly appreciated. 

Also if the chlorine in the water does cause damage *what does it do* and *what should i do now!* i dont want to make him sick unfortunatley the vet ive used with previous animals dont deal with reptiles so im still to find one just to give him a check over and make sure he's tip top 

thanks guys 

Lp


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## Meg90 (Dec 17, 2008)

I use a brita water pitcher for all my reptiles...the kind with the built in filter that the water runs through before it drains down into the bottom of the pitcher. I would switch as soon as you can find one. the excess minerals and whatnot of tap water are not good for tortoises.


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## Liquidpoop (Dec 17, 2008)

so that just filters ordinary tap water. Thanks for the speedy response ill get one this weekend. do you think some bottled water will be ok till then? volvic or spring water or something??


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## Meg90 (Dec 17, 2008)

that should be alright....just check to make sure there is no added sodium (sometimes bottlers do that for taste)

good luck


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## Yvonne G (Dec 17, 2008)

Actually, all the minerals in the water are beneficial to plants and animals. If you are worried about the chlorine, you can buy a product similar to these:

https://www.thefind.com/pets/info-zoo-med-conditioner

Yvonne


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## Liquidpoop (Dec 17, 2008)

i would have thought some minerals are benificial they would get that in the wild, i dont know the chlorine content in our water but im sure there is probably alot and we just get used to the taste. ill get some bottled for now and ill look into one of those filters on the weekend, do the filters definatley remove the chlorine tho, i dont want to rinse the water of everything that is good for the little guy.

thanks alot guys im glad i found this site now


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## Crazy1 (Dec 17, 2008)

I do not suggest using filters even the Britta filters. They extract minirals and even the places that sell bottled or filtered water state not to use with plants or pets. 
Just like aquariums you can let the water stand 48 hours and this should release the chlorine. Or you can use ReptiSafe Instant Drinking Water Conditioner from Zoomed. I have done both and they seem to work equally well. I have extreamly chlorinated and nitrated water. 

This is what is said about reptisafe: When used in habitat water or drinking water, ReptiSafe water conditioner instantly removes chlorine, chloramines, and ammonia; adds essential electrolytes, stimulates the protective slime coat development and reduces pH. Instantly makes water safer for all types of snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises, amphibians, hermit crabs and arachnids. ReptiSafe is the only terrarium water conditioner on the market. For use in reptile bowls, chameleon drip water systems, or aquatic turtle tanks. Contains no harsh chemicals.

Ingredients: Purified water, herbal extracts, organic colloids, organic chelating agents, electolytes, essential vitamins and minerals.


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## Meg90 (Dec 17, 2008)

oh sheesh! WOW. I didn't even know that! And here I was giving bad advice....

I'm going to get a bottle of that zoomed stuff then.

Filtered is still better than tap though isn't it?


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## Liquidpoop (Dec 17, 2008)

i would have thought filtered with barely any minerals is better than water thats full of chemicals, definatley. nice one tho mate, saved me a few quid there as if its as easy as that tho. ill buy a bucket instead then

thanks loads

Lp


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## ferlyn388 (Nov 19, 2009)

Crazy1 said:


> I do not suggest using filters even the Britta filters. They extract minirals and even the places that sell bottled or filtered water state not to use with plants or pets.
> Just like aquariums you can let the water stand 48 hours and this should release the chlorine. Or you can use ReptiSafe Instant Drinking Water Conditioner from Zoomed. I have done both and they seem to work equally well. I have extreamly chlorinated and nitrated water.
> 
> This is what is said about reptisafe: When used in habitat water or drinking water, ReptiSafe water conditioner instantly removes chlorine, chloramines, and ammonia; adds essential electrolytes, stimulates the protective slime coat development and reduces pH. Instantly makes water safer for all types of snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises, amphibians, hermit crabs and arachnids. ReptiSafe is the only terrarium water conditioner on the market. For use in reptile bowls, chameleon drip water systems, or aquatic turtle tanks. Contains no harsh chemicals.
> ...





Brita products include water jugs, kettles and tap attachments, all of which use silver-impregnated activated carbon and ion-exchange resin disposable filters, as their primary filtering mechanism. The activated carbon used in Brita filters is produced from coconut shells. Then, why is that it extract minerals and even the places that sell bottled or filtered water state not to use with plants or pets? I think, you are wrong.





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