Water?

I recently moved to a place where my only water option is well water. I'm afraid to give it to the chins because you never know what is in that well. What kind of water should I give them? I've been using distilled water just because I had it on hand for my lizards but are they getting the nutrients they need out of that?

I use bottled water reverse osmosis. Some people on here use distilled so that it fine.

I found that some chins won't drink distilled water. Have you ever drank it? The lack of everything in it tastes like poop.

I would go with filtered water. The Pur2 (it is two, right?) filter does filter out giardia.

I use distilled water as this is pure h2o. I also use water purified with one of the best water purifier on the market. The system is aquasana.
www.aquasana.com

Many people use bottled or spring water that is nothing more than bottled tap water.

Have the water tested, I use well water with no problems, and I use it in opposition to municipal water. To filter or not to filter, tap, well, or bottled water, it's all a matter of what is is your water.

I use well water. The chinchillas have been on it 8 years, my cavies, dogs, birds, etc were all on it as well.

Heck certian brand of bottled water is we have here Allentown City Water..... Gotta laugh when I see people buying the bottled water, bragging about how good it is...but they never read the label.......

I used to use bottled water for my chins but recently I've bought a Brita jug and filter and I use that now instead. Does anyone else use the Brita filtering system by chance and do you think it's a good alternative to bottled water? I just hate clogging up the recycling bin with so much plastic and that's why I switched.

I used well water for about 4 or 5 years until my area switched to city water and so now I only use bottled water.

When you test your water you want to do it at several different times a year as heavy rains in the spring or lack of rain in the summer can do a lot to change the quality of your water. Most any non filtered or distilled water including different city waters will be effected by this also as they originate in wells, rivers and lakes themselves. Heavy rain or big snow melts sometimes will wash more nutrients, chemicals and bacteria into the water supply. We are on well water but I use a 0.1 micron filter along with a special light to kill and filter out most any objectionable matter. For years I have tested the water at least twice a year.

I agree with Jags, you should get your well tested if there is any question to the quality. I had mine tested last year and ended up having to drill a new one due to the water quality.

Where I am at in LA the quality fluctuates every time we get a good heavy rain, vs. WA where the water never changed.

I used to give my chins whatever I got out of the tap, but here the iron is so bad it clogs the lines and turns everyone orange, so I filter it.

So how do I test my water?

Google water testing for your area. Many universities do it, they will require you to collect a sample, usually half a gallon, put it on ice and take it in to their lab immediately after collection.

If you can't find anything on Google, talk to the nearest city water district, they'll have a lab they send samples to.

Here the water is tested by a lab that tests nothing but water and they have special bottles that you pick up and fill along with some paperwork. You then get it back to them the same day you fill the bottles and most times I have results within the week.

Around here water testing cost severl hundreds of dollars

Depending how detailed you get its $25-$100 here. But when I think of whats at stake its worth it. A lot of people take water for granted but after seeing test results from some other areas of the country I do not. I also am of the belief that good water is more important than the type of feed they get.

I sure wish testing here was that cheap - The cheapest here is $350. That why I don't use my well water except for cleaning/showering and such.