Bottled or tap water?

[SRSimpson]

I am curious what everyone uses for their water source. I know a lot of people use bottled water. Thoughts? Is there a reason for using bottled water besides concern of loose stool from possible bacteria in tap water?

 

[Sandi]

All of my animals drink what I drink. Our refrigerator is set up with a PUR water filtered system and the faucet in the finished basement where my chinchillas are kept is set up with a PUR faucet water filter (activated carbon microfilter removes 99% of lead and microbial cysts (including giardia), along with various other contaminants).

 

[cindyv3737]

All of my animals drink bottled water, as do I. I refuse to take a chance on loose stool or bacteria.

 

[SRSimpson]

Is lead or hard water bad for chins? I completely understand using bottled water or a water purifier for bacterial contamination, but I did not know about water hardness.

 

[SRSimpson]

Sorry I mean obviously lead is bad for chins! But what about water hardness?

 

[lightningturtle]

Considering I only have the one chinchilla, it's a total non-issue to just buy a 68 cent gallon of distilled water every month or so. I can see that getting expensive for people with huge herds though.

 

[Cuddlebug]

What makes the water hard is the presence of minerals in the water. You do not want to use distilled water (which is as soft as it gets) because it will actually leach out the minerals from the chinchilla's body. We used to have an RO system that we used for chinchilla water but we don;t have that in our new home so we filter the water through a Pur filter.

 

[michelleideeaz1]

I use reverse osmosis bottled. Never had a problem!

 

[EternallyCynical]

Most bottled stuff is basically tap water that's been shipped really far. Its a horrid industry that I really can't get behind for any reason. I use what I can for the moment, which is a Brita filter, but when I'm living in my own space I'd like to invest in a better one. I'm also leery of RO since its basically a different way to create the same final product as distilled water, which everyone says is bad. If I had an RO or distillation system I'd have to make sure it was one that remineralized the water... but who knows if I'll ever be able to go full RO, haha. ROs apparently waste a lot of water, too, so I dunno. If I can afford it one day that's what I'll do, until then I just filter as much as I can.

 

[ticklechin]

I take my chances and give them what they like, bottled alhambra water. I will deal with whatever comes my way, but I want them to drink as much as they want because it tastes good, not just drink enough to satisfy thirst. Going from RO to alhambra has increased their water consumption in each chin by over a 1/3.

 

[lightningturtle]

Which kind though? I'd figured distilled was best because it was JUST water. But most bottled drinking water is essentially tap water. Are we supposed to use spring or what?

 

[Sandi]

I wouldn't get spring nor distilled water. Readily available everywhere is purified water and R/O water.

 

[Sandi]

Too late for me to edit but this is on a water bottle I have in front of me…
"Aquafina® is purified water. It originates from public waters sources and is then purified through a rigorous, seven-step purification process called HydRO-7™. This is a state-of-the-art process that removes things like chlorides, salts and other substances that can affect a water's taste."

 

[Azalea2]

I've been giving tap to my chins for years and haven't had any issues.

 

[Minccino]

I bought him a bottle of distilled water. Now I'm bummed reading here that it's bad.. I did my research on this, and most websites recommend bottle water, distilled specifically, unless you were able to provide filtered water.

It's hard to know what is best when there are so many different opinions. :/

 

[EmilyLiliLove]

i use from the tap but i have a water bottle with a filter in it. it takes a LONG time but its worth it to keep them from getting sick.

 

[Chin_Pig]

When I moved from Iowa to Missouri I brought jugs of Iowa water with me to slowly transition them to Missouri water. I know different cities and states have different water treatment techniques so I mixed water till they were on Missouri tap water. If we ever move to where we have well water I probably would filter it as I would for myself.

 

[riotheoleo]

My chinchilla has drank tap water straight from the tap all his life. The breeder who bred him has had chinchillas live up to 20 and haven't got ill with giardia or other tap water related illnesses. She said the tap water in the UK is safe for chins.

 

[Aleksandra]

Well I personally drink water straight from the tap but I used to boil and cool tap water for my chins. That was until my mum came over to visit and pointed out that our tap water smells of chlorine (something I have never noticed) so I went full on paranoid and I buy my chins glaceau smart water which iswater purified by distillation and then has minerals added to it. Distilled water on its own is not safe choice because it flushes out all the minerals and electrolytes. It is not good for drinking by humans as well as chins

 

[LGarl]

I got my chin from someone who owned him for about 5 years and we live in the same city, quite near each other. She gave him tap water and I've been doing the same but now I wonder. He's doing fine, had his last vet check-up 2 weeks ago. There is chlorine in my tap water as well as fluoride. Should I change his water?