Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Should I use bottled water or is tap water ok? Also, should I provide a "hut" where he can go to be in a dark place?

The water muct be clean and free from clorin (I think thats the name?). I think you can buy Declorinator from any pet shop. I belive it is used for fish too. As for the hut, I don't have anything like that. Just provide soil, for example Bed-A-Beast so the frog can burrow itself.

Good Luck With Your Frog!
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CokeOfMan

really don't need a hut; horned frogs prefer to bury themselves, so provide enough substrate (coco fiber or clean soil) for him to do so. Water from your tap may either be too hard or too chlorinated, so if you want to be on the safe side, bottled water is fine. I just use mine from the tap, but it is well water.
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*~Ginevive~*

I dont know how much this holds water but I was told by my friend, who has owned various rep's and amp's including pac's over like a thirty year time period and is very knowledgable, that it is better to keep the frogs in normal tap water than purifed or dechlorinated water. He said the little amount of chlorine that they put in the water is not enough to hurt them and it is actually better for them becuase it helps protect them against bacteria,infection, etc. I have used tap water and it hasn't bothered mine but I guess there may be places where the chlorine count can be extremely high and could affect them. Check your water for chlorine odor/taste, if you notice it then it is probably too high.

I think if you're tasting chlorine in your tap water, then you've got bigger problems than what kind of water to give your frog

Haha I agree. I use bottled water for my frog when I'm out of boiled water. I boil water once in a while and leave it in bottles, so I am basically prepared.
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We all know our pets will eat us if we were small enough.

Boiling water does nothing but heats and disperses water molecules into the air, as well as killing any living organism thereof. The chemistry of the water remains the same. When you boil your water, the only thing you are doing to the chlorine is heating it up, nothing more, nothing less. Do a little research before you subject any other animals to poor husbandry skills, please.
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Randy

So leaving water out does nothing at all? I read at a whole bunch of places that leaving water out for a week or two makes it ok. I guess my frog's been suffering this whole time, already got some declorinator.
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We all know our pets will eat us if we were small enough.

I called up the local herper, and leaving water out does not help remove the ammonia. Looks like I proved myself wrong.
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We all know our pets will eat us if we were small enough.

I have actually been to places while traveling that you can taste the chlorine, I mean its not like drinking a bottle of clorox or poolwater or anything like that but there can be a "subtle" taste and smell of chlorine in the water depending on where you live.

I think this is the typical case of someone who wants to believe that they know it all, but they don't have anything to base their claims on. I just cannot believe what people are willing to subject their animals to. Dechlorinated water for amphibians is an industry and professional standard, which I believe most people would consider absolutely essential for the health of their animals. Ask your friend if he has any literature to base this upon, because I would be extremely interested in reading it. If he can offer none, then his statements are the product of his own warped sense of biology. Soaking in a chlorine bath has never been used as a medical treatment for any pathological, or preventative condition for amphibians. There must be a reason for this. Chlorine is extremely toxic, that is why it is used to kill bacteria and drinking water. Chlorine specifically hinders the ability for the animal to deliver oxygen to its cells. Most municipal water supplies now use chloramines, which uses not one but two extremely toxic compounds put together. They absolutely must be removed or be rendered harmless by a dechlorinator. I highly recommend a combination of Amquel, and NovAqua, made by the same company. Although chlorinated water will not necessarily kill an amphibian outright, it definitely decreases the level of stress the animal is able to cope with.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

The guy I know is a pretty well respected reptile hobbyist around here. He's raised many herps that I know of, currently he's mainly focusing on sulcattas and blue tongues. He doesnt breed them or anything, he just keeps them as his hobby. He seems to have excellent knowledge about general distribution,habitats, etc. of all Texas herps, which is where we live, and even nationally. He has stacks and stacks of care guides and various herp books that he reads all the time, herps are his passion. He may be full of it but he seems to know what he is doing. I was using startright dechlorinater until he told me I should stop using it. I guess I should start using it again.

I use tap water. But where I live it is very little chlorin in the water. My frog seems fine. But if you live where the water contains lots of chlorin I would probably say that you should use bottle water instead. I know this has been said, I just wanted to say it aswell
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CokeOfMan

I haven't seen any literature, aquarium or otherwise, that the amount of chlorine in the water makes a difference in dechlorinating it. How do you know they use very little? Are you going by smell? If so, that is NOT the way to determine the levels of chlorine/chloramines. Why take chances with live animals? Throw some dechlorinator in the water!!
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

Is the water ok boiled and left out for a few days? Because if it isn't... I've been using it for a while.
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We all know our pets will eat us if we were small enough.

Why even bother with bottled water or boiling water? Dechlor cost like $1-$5 a bottle depending on the brand. One bottle should last forever if is only being used for frog water. Why take chances. For those who have no problems with untreated tap water, how do you know if nothing is wrong? It may take years fro problems to develop or there could be problems that you can't see. Are you a vet? Probably not. Why be cheap and take a chance. Just because it seems ok now, does not mean there are not going to be future problems. I have over 15 tanks of frogs and change their water dishes every day. I keep a large bucket of treated water just for frog water. I also treat the water I use for misting.

Blazekid, I would question the guy's methods that you are receiving information from. Chlorine when in contact with amphibians and fish has the tendency of, to put it bluntly, melting off the outer layers of skin and burning them severely. Any person keeping amphibians should know this, just as anyone keeping fish. You know what organisms first start to die whenever trace amounts of toxins or chemicals get in the water? Frogs and fish. Frogs and other amphibians are even used by biologists to ascertain the health of an ecosystem. They are EXTREMELY sensitive to changes in the environment, and thus MUST NOT be subjected, if possible, to chlorine or any comparable chemicals in the water. And FYI, knowing a lot about texas herps doesn't mean jack. I have seen people that participate in rattlesnake roundups that have never kept herps that could tell you anything about their natural history or habits. Same with many people I have met herping in the suburbs. Andy
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Burgundy baby, With your blue eyed soul, You play the hits and I'm on that roll, Capricorn sister, Freddie Mercury, Jupiter Child cry

So what types of declorinator should I use? I mean specifically, what brands do you guys recommend? I don't want any water downed stuff, like this moss I bought that's half dirt...
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We all know our pets will eat us if we were small enough.

Look for AmQuel. A 12 oz bottle cost between $6-10 depending on where you get it. It will last you a very long time. You mix 1 teaspoon of AmQuel per 10 gallons of water. I have 2, 1 gallon water jugs (that I picked up for free at the grocery store in the spring water section) that I just add a sqirt of the AmQuel and fill it from my tap.

You just want to find a conditioner that removes ammonia, chlorine and chloramine.

A 12 oz bottle lasts me about 3 or 4 months since I also use the treated water in my power sprayer as well.
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

Don't forget about the benefits of Novaqua. I don't know why they can't combine the two products! Go to the link below and scroll down to the Water Conditioner section and start reading!
click here for the link

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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

I ran out of AmQuel and the place closest to me didn't carry it. So instead I picked up a product caled "Super TLC" have you heard of it? It is a higher concentrate than AmQuel (one 12 oz bottle treats 1,440 gallons!!! 2 oz per 250 gallons, so I only use just a few drops in my 1 gallon bottles) On the lable it says "Removes Chlorine and Chloramine, Promotes Essential Slime Coat, Detoxifies heavy metals and reduces long term nitrate build up"

I was just wondering if you had heard of it and what you thought about it. (Since I hold your oppinion and knowledge above all )
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

Well, acctually the petstore lady siad that the water in this area contains very little clorin. I know many of you do not trust petstores at all, but she seems to know a bit more than others. The animals she has there I have seen those who noone has bought yet, some of them has been alive there for probably over a year.

Was boiling the water ok? Anyway, I'll try finding dechlorinator .

Thanks for the information
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CokeOfMan

If it does not say that it removes ammonia, then it is probably just as bad as using straight tapwater. If you have a large set up with appropriate filtration including a biological filter, using that product would not be a problem because the system would be able to absorb that little bit of extra ammonia. But when it comes to small water bowls, any ammonia is too much. I don't know what your solution is in the meantime, other than to change the water bowl daily, which I'm sure you already do.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

I was noticing that it didn't say anything on the bottle about amonia, and I was concerned about that. But I do change my water daily. I think I may return this bottle and see if they have something that will remove the amonia, just in case.

Thanks darlin!
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com

I found out water is much cheaper if I buy it bottled at Costco. Not the 16.9 oz, the emergency "when aliens attack" water. Ah, Costco. I bet the answer to everything is in that store somewhere.
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We all know our pets will eat us if we were small enough.

I pick up some declorinator for human use too. Yes, it removes ammonia. Only I bought a jug of it... I hope I can find water to use it on.
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We all know our pets will eat us if we were small enough.

Tap water is okay as long as it has been treated with a declorinator/de-ammonia drops ("water conditioner", purchased in any aquarium store. Please do NOT depend on aging the water as most cities use ammonia as well to kill bacteria and does not disintegrate with time. These chemicals will destroy the amphibian's kidneys. Very toxic.

However, if you choose like me to use a bubble stone in the water, then use strictly bottled water. Because the minerals in tap water will stain the aquarium glass in time, and it is extremely hard to come off.

I also mist all of my frogs all the more reason to use bottled water.

but my pet toad who would care less about misting I add water conditioner with the tap water.

Jade Fox

a diluted solution of vinigar and water, along with a razor blade will easily remove the hard water stains on your aquarium glass. Just wet a clean cloth with the solution and gently amd wipe it over the glass, let it sit a couple mins then scrape it right off with the razor blade. Works REALLY well for me when I am cleaning empty tanks and getting them ready for a new critter.
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Heather
The Gang (1.1.0 agalychnis callidryas, 0.2.0 bufo spinulosus, 4.0.0 osteopilus septentrionalis)

ellasmommie@yahoo.com