Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it better to mist with distilled water or water right from the tap? Or is bottled water even better than distilled and tap? I have just recently started to mist with distilled water and I just want to make sure that I am not causing more harm than good. Thanks to those who reply!

I use water right out of the tap,but I let it sit out for at least two days before I use it. So I would just let the water sit out for a day or so before you use it. Just let it air out and it should be alright. I dont know if one is better then the other one,I would say they are pretty much the same. If you let them air out. Hope this helps you...Scott...P.S. They had a thing on tv not to long ago, and bottle water was not all it was cracked up to be. Meaning it was not as clean as they say it is.

Never..never...NEVER use tap water to give to your Cham or anything he touches, tap water is loaded with parasites and all kinds of harmful chemicals that can be fatal to your Cham if exposed to much. The best water to use is bottled spring water, it gives the best vitamin and mineral contents and it is not dirty like tap water.

First, what is your tap water source (city, well, rainwater cystern, etc)? If the tap water is treated for human consumption it will be "safe" for chams, but it might be hard (full of mineral salts). This can build up on your plants but not hurt the cham. If your house water runs through a softener this will help. Distilled water (basically is condensed steam from boiling) has all minerals and everything taken out, so your cham will not get micronutrients from drinking it. Filtered water will depend totally on what the filter is designed to take out (sulphur, chlorine, rust, heavy metals). Bottled water will again depend totally on the source well, but if it is for human use it is safe. Basically, any water that is safe for human consumption should be safe for chams. Bottled water may taste better than your tap water or not contain chlorine. If you want to find out what's in your tap water either call your city water district or get a home test kit. I wouldn't bother buying distilled water, and if your tap water is chlorinated you might choose to use bottled instead.

I just saw this and thought it might help to mention that you can buy a Reverse Osmosis filter setup for a couple hundred bucks. I use ONLY RO water for my chams and for myself, and I feel that it is one the best filter systems out there at a reasonable cost. It seems expensive when compared to some of the $30 filters...but be realistic those don't work, not good enough anyway. I've tried $20-$160 filter setups and they are all a joke. RO is the only way to go IMHO.

I have rural water where I'm at and it's undrinkable to me (tastes horrible) so I bought one of the best filtration system I could from Home Depot and made little if any difference. So I got a RO filtration system and now the water has virtually no taste (water should have no odor or taste). Plus it leaves no mineral or salt deposits behind when sprayed on glass, like normal tap water does.