calcium rich water

[LolaMyLove]

My yard water is all well water which has a high amount of calcium in it. You can see a white residue on the leaves of most plants. This is also the water used in my RT's enclosure. My question is do you think this is harmful to my tort? His bath and drinking water is from the indoor plumbing (city water) but his plants are watered with well water. What are your thoughts?

 

[Yvonne G]

We have pretty hard water here too. Mineral deposits are left behind anyplace water stands. I never thought too much about it being harmful to tortoises. Lived here for about 60 years and in that time animals have died, but never from something that might have been attributed to too many minerals on their fodder or drinking water.

 

[LolaMyLove]

I thought maybe if anything it would be beneficial to him, but my husband thought differently. What do I know, I'm still a novice.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Hi,

How do you know the 'hardness' is caused by calcium and not magnesium? Usually both are present but sometimes the magnesium is the more dominant ion type.

Niether are considered harmful for water consumption, but can be a problem for the effectiveness of soap to be able to clean, and all those spots can be ugly.

What source does the 'city' water come from? Is it just another well somewhere else?

Did you have your well water analyzed, is it calcium?

Who ever you pay your water bill to should be able to provide some sort of water quality analysis. Water from wells, open sources (rivers/lakes), and from recycled processes are all evaluated.

If you get a separate water bill, or even if you get a combined bill for sewer, water, and trash removal, tere should be some way to contact the biller for that information.

At least that has been my experience in the places I have lived.

As long as the hardness is based on calcium and or magnesium and not some other more unusual ion, it is OK to drink. But then again, why don't you drink it, and use the 'city' water?

Will

 

[LolaMyLove]

We had the well tested last year. Yes you are correct, there were other minerals as well, but the calcium is what stuck in my mind. The city water is EastBayMUD so I will look into that.
"But then again, why don't you drink it, and use the 'city' water?"
City ordinances would not allow the use of the private well to supply the home (new construction) but yard water is fine. They required city water plumed to the house and the well piping be capped. At least that is we were told when we bought it last year.

 

[Tom]

Without knowing the chemical composition of your water, we really don't have this answer. Heck even if we did know the chemical composition, most of us still would not have the answer.

I would try the "canary in a coal mine" strategy. Will fish survive and grow in your well water long term? If yes, then I'll bet the over spray and mineral deposits on your yard are harmless to the tortoises.

 

[N2TORTS]

Dear OP ….Not to hijack your thread .. But the one over looked thing no one has mentioned is Lead. Most homes contain lead and it varies from State to State…. and of course the age of your house. Homes built around the 40’s and even to the 50’s may have lead pipes. The most overlooked and was/is still used today is lead solder (although stricker bands between States starting taking effect in 1986. If you aren't sure about the pipes in your home have a contractor/plumber check them out .
The reason being….. water standing unused for as little as six hours in pipes joined with lead solder can contain harmful levels of lead.
However lead solder poses a decreasing risk over time. As the years go by, a coating builds up inside pipes and prevents standing water from dissolving lead connections. In most cases, pipes that are more than five years old no longer pose a problem as a coating “builds up” to slow down lead leak between fittings. ( **Ironic they never mentioned that to you when you bought that “BRAND NEW Dream House” eh?
Things ya should try and do …. run the faucet for a bit where you normally take your first drink or fill up your torts water….. This flushes out the water that has been standing in your pipes overnight and will help eliminate any minerals and leads that may have accumulated in the standing water.


JD~

 

[emysbreeder]

All the natural minerals in your well water will not hurt your tortoises.(unless known contamanation pcb's ect.) What you dont want is Chlorine. Some tortoises may not even drink it but constant use will effect the gut floria in a negative way causing all kinds of digestive problems. Fish are your best indicaters of bad water. If the shells of your tortoises are getting a white sheen build up on them it can be cleaned with baking soda and vinager (keep out of eyes) with a brush and you tort/turtles natural bright colors will return. If they eat the leaves of plants with the calcium build up, well, we dust their food with calcium dont we! My dark black Mt.tortoises now have white heads from the build up as we all know you cant scrub their head cause they will just go inside. I just call them "the rare white headed Mt.Tortoises" Vic morgan Owner Defying Destiny Mt.Tort. Reserve.