Geckos and water conditioners.

[Silly-atus]

(I wasn't sure where to post this, the closest I can get is 'husbandry equipment' assuming that 'supplies' works here too? If this isn't the right forum, please move it. Thanks)

I was at a fish specialist pet store yesterday and overheard a discussion between a customer and store employee about the merits of Brand X water conditioner vs. Brand Y and the reasons the one claiming to do the most will be better for the gecko who'll be subjected to drinking that gook. The products being considered were fish based water conditioners, the label doesn't mention geckos (nor any other reptiles). One of my pet peeves is reptile keepers who buy the conditioner that promises to deliver the most but they don't realize the product is intended for fish..... helloooooo.... geckos aren't fish.....

I know a lot of gecko keepers think they have to remove chlorine and chloramine from the drinking and misting water they use for geckos. It's not necessary but probably won't hurt - fewer nasty chemicals in their diet can't be all bad. Fish and amphibians can be affected by these chemicals but reptiles can safely drink and bathe in it. What gets me though is that care sheets recommend the use of aquarium water conditioners. Why not recommend plain old dechlorinators (or those which neutralize chloramine if needed) instead?

If you read the label on a typical water conditioner, you'll see it's meant for fish. A list of some of the claims and benefits as per the labels and advertisements:

removes chlorine and neutralizes heavy metals This would be useful if you feel it necessary.

Helps replace the natural slime coating fish need in times of stress Why would geckos need to drink a 'slime coat replacer'? Who knows what those ingredients are, but it's not likely to harm nor benefit the geckos. However, if we're trying to remove unneeded chemicals, why add a completely useless 'fish tailored' one? If my geckos suddenly started sporting a slime coat, they'd be off to the vet A.S.A.P. Why would I want to include a 'slime coat enhancer' in their drinking water?

Contains Aloe Vera, nature's liquid bandage to prevent loss of essential electrolytes and speed tissue growth Again, probably not dangerous, just adding things they don't really need. If given the choice, they probably wouldn't want to drink a liquid bandage on a daily basis. The healing part might work if the gecko is injured but I'm inclined to think it works best if you're swimming in it constantly so it can bathe your injuries with good medicine, not drinking and digesting it.

Provides essential ions Works for fish living in the water but not likely to do a thing for geckos living above the water line.

reduces and removes ammonia components It's got to be a very unsafe water supply if there's ammonia buildup in it. Chances are the city wouldn't let water like that flow through the pipes. If the city water supply is safe and it's only your tap water that's got ammonia, it's time to redo the pipes and check the well if you've got your own supply (a good sniff should tell if there's a decaying rat floating about in there). Again, another non-gecko ingredient.

Helps condition water by buffering tap water Not needed for geckos.

Provides a protective coat and beneficial organic herbs and vitamins Beneficial herbs and vitamins? I see this as a stretch even for fish but definitely not good for geckos. We keep close watch on the vitamin supplements, no need to add unknown quantities of mystery vitamins via drinking water. (Personally, I'd love to see how they provide these organic herbs - are they floating bits of plants or ground fine, almost invisible, waiting to be trapped and removed by the filters, but that's a fish topic )

There are more claims, but this is a good enough sample to show that not all 'water conditioners' are worth using on our geckos. If you want to remove chlorine and chloramine, get a plain old chlorine remover that also works for chloramine. There are several that don't add anything, just remove nasty chemicals. Or you could run the water through charcoal -- a Brita Filter works nicely.

[mike]

That is definitely not something they should have as a "must" on a care sheet, you should definitely take that up with them. I buy reverse osmosis water for my animals, I use it on my reef aquarium as well so I always have 5 gallon jugs full of it around the house and I fill my mister up with it and mist down all of my cages. The main reason I do it is so I don't get hard water stains all over my glass enclosures.

I know Zoo-Med makes a reptile safe water treatment additive but I have never used it personally and I don't know how it differs from those intended for aquarium use or if it even differs at all for that matter. I used to use tap water a while back with all of my other reptiles but once I got into Geckos I went with RO water because personally I thought it would be better for them and as I mentioned I wanted to avoid hard water stains, it makes cleaning a lot easier.

[Smashtoad]

I buy purified water at Target for $1/gal and it works great. I'm assuming it's RO...no lime deposits! I HATE LIME DEPOSITS!

[Brian]

What's always bugged me is I don't know how the stuff works. Does it nuetralize? What happens if some is left over. I just use the same bottled water I buy for myself.

I have hard "salty-ish" water from the tap BTW.

[mike]

Dechlorinators work like this:

These all include Sodium Thiosulfate, which reacts with the chlorine (or the chlorine portion of the chloramine) to form harmless chloride ions. The chlorine is completely and totally removed. This reaction happens instantly. The tap water doesn't need to be mixed with the dechlorinator for any amount of time before adding it to the tank. It's safe to just add the dechlorinator as you add the water into the tank.

[Gecko Ranch]

Man, those fish folks should put down their pipe for a minute! I have been told throughout the years by the veterinary wizards over at UC Davis not to use distilled water because the geckos could use the minerals in tap water.

[gecco]

Yeah, RO water is missing its mineral content. That is good for preventing water spots, not good from a dietary stand point. Water conditioners (Start Right) do not remove the chlorine but bond to it rendering it noncorosive I believe. Those that help the slime coat in fish do it with aloe & sodium &???
If water spots are your peve then R/O is the cure. If chlorine is the concern the just age the Tap water in a open bucket over night to allow the chlorine to dissipate. Vinegar cures the water spots and lightly sanitizes. my 1.5 cents

[Brian]

Originally Posted by mike

Dechlorinators work like this:

Doesn't that increase the salinity then. Also what if extra Sodium Thiosulfate is left. I guess it's in solution, but still.

Even the bottled water here is "hard". Leaves spots, but I don't really care about spots.

[peterUK]

I use normal tap water which in London is very hard, I ALWAYS leave the water for 24 hours (with an bubbling air stone ) so that the chlorine and other chemicals can disperse. I have done this for more years than I can remember with no ill effects to any of my reptiles, inverts and amphibs