Drinking Water

[BlahBlah]

I wanted to know do you give distilled water or normal tap water to chinchillas?

And the water bottle do you need to clean it? If so then how and with what?

Thank you for the help :clap1:

 

[CJR]

I don't give either of those. My house has a well and the water tastes bad, so I don't drink it and neither do they. I did use distilled water for awhile, but I was told that it can have a negative effect in the long run due to the loss of minerals that are normally present in water.

I use a PUR Stage 3 filter and it works just fine. It was twenty bucks at Target.

You should definitely wash the water bottle. Would you drink out of a bottle that hadn't been washed in months? Anyway, you can clean it with a bottle brush (you can find one in the infant section at any store, or there are ones at pet stores, too), a drop or two of dish soap, and the hottest water you can stand. Scrub for a bit, and rinse very, VERY well - I rinse until there are no more bubbles.

If you have glass water bottles, you can always pop them in the dishwasher, too.

 

[proudmom25]

I use Brita filtered water for my chins. And yes, the chins water bottles get cleaned out every 1-2 days with soap and HOT water. As mentioned by the previous poster...make sure it gets rinsed out thoroughly.

 

[Idgie]

I buy a gallon of purified water for less than a buck and it lasts Idgie months. She only drinks a couple ounces per day. It is just easier for me to let her have her own bottle and the gallon jug is easy to pour when I change her water--which most people do daily.

I clean her water bottle every week. I don't have a dishwasher, so I just use dish soap with hot water like I clean my own dishes. A bottle brush helps for getting inside. And definitely rinse a lot.

 

[BlahBlah]

Thanks, its just that the breeder I got my chinchilla from gave him tap water so I thought it was okay for him (I also drink tap water).

 

[mishellyshel]

i have a filter on my faucet and then then i fill a large container and keep it in the fridge for easy pouring.

i have on occasion used bottled spring water.......but i am not too sure on the specs for springs in the states.

 

[Jenn]

I used filtered water from my tap. We have well water that is almost 200 feet deep, and the filter just adds more security.

 

[StevieP]

Just wanted to add -- Brita pitchers do not claim to filter out microbial cysts (Giardia). Brita faucet filters do. All Pur filters do. Also remember to only use cold water in these filters; warm water will reduce their effectiveness.

 

[Laurie]

I get reverse osmosis water from Walmart for my chins

 

[proudmom25]

Glad I have the Brita tap filter. Thanks for the heads up. I didn't know this.

Just wanted to add -- Brita pitchers do not claim to filter out microbial cysts (Giardia). Brita faucet filters do. All Pur filters do. Also remember to only use cold water in these filters; warm water will reduce their effectiveness.

 

[caiti]

So would washing the bottle in tap water kind of defeat the purpose of not giving them tap water? Or is it because the small amount that's on the bottle when you rinse it is improbable to have enough bad stuff on it to harm the chin? I always wondered this.

I use reverse osmosis wal mart water too, it's so cheap. I clean it out almost everyday (I do have my days where I forget) and wash it out with soap at least every other time I rinse it. I use hot water on full blast (I usually plug the drain so I can use the hot water to soak the dishes in so I don't feel so wasteful heh)

 

[fbodgrl]

Just curious why they can't have tap water

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

The chemicals, chlorine, possible Giardia spores, E. Coli, and many other water born pathogens that may be present and may make the chins sick. I know for sure I have a high chlorine count and some other mettalurgic anomalies in my tap water so I feed filtered or reverse osmosis water to my chins.

 

[starleomach]

I use bottled water

 

[ticklechin]

I buy gallons of reverse osmosis water at the grocery store.

 

[caiti]

But do you guys clean the bottles with tap water?

 

[AZChins]

I do, but I rinse them with the RO water for a good final rinse. In the lab at school I remember being required to rinse everything with the distilled water to avoid any contamination...so I rinse with the RO before I fill the bottle back up after cleaning.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

I do the same thing. Our water is so nasty here that I even use the filter to wash dishes and the water bottles. I have a special filter on my dishwasher also so I stick them in there once or twice a week to get them really clean and sanitized.

 

[caiti]

Oh, ok, thanks.

 

[kathiva]

I don't give either of those. My house has a well and the water tastes bad, so I don't drink it and neither do they. I did use distilled water for awhile, but I was told that it can have a negative effect in the long run due to the loss of minerals that are normally present in water.

I use a PUR Stage 3 filter and it works just fine. It was twenty bucks at Target.

You should definitely wash the water bottle. Would you drink out of a bottle that hadn't been washed in months? Anyway, you can clean it with a bottle brush (you can find one in the infant section at any store, or there are ones at pet stores, too), a drop or two of dish soap, and the hottest water you can stand. Scrub for a bit, and rinse very, VERY well - I rinse until there are no more bubbles.

If you have glass water bottles, you can always pop them in the dishwasher, too.

Wow, I thought that distilled water was better than tap water, so that's why I had been giving that to my chins, would you guys recommend giving the chins spring water then? I like buying the distilled water in the big 4 liter jugs

I also have a Brita jug, but I have never tried using it, but I just read that is not so good either, so won't even try there