Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys,

I was just wondering if any of you use water conditioning treatments on the water you use for your turtles?

Just curious.

Chris
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Chris Law
U.A.P.P.E.A.L. (Uniting a Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League)
Herpetoculture Element Representative

i definitely would if i wasnt on well water and knew i didnt have any problems with heavy metals. they can absorb things out of the water very easily, although they arent as sensitive as fish.

A total waste of money. If your water is safe enough to drink, it's safe enough for turtles. I've kept turtles for over 25 years now and I have Never had a problem with plain old tap water.

i think we have talked about this before. some people dont use it because they havent had problems yet. others, like me, like my turtles way too much to risk it with them just so i can save a few bucks every couple months. they can absorb things from the water just like a fish can, so if you would do it for your fish, you should do it for your turtles. if you want to risk it with your turtles, we cant stop you, but please dont recommend that others copy you in your corner cutting care.

Turtles and fish are totally different. It's not a valid comparison. As I've said, if it's safe enough to drink, it's safe for turtles. In a quarter century of keeping turtles I have never, and I do mean never had a turtle suffer adverse effects from using water straight from the tap. It just doesn't happen. It's an old wives tale. You DO NOT NEED water conditioners. They are a waste of money. Corner cutting care my rear end. If you want to waste your money because you've been brainwashed by large pet corporations who want you to spend hard earned cash on a product you don't need feel free to do so.Just don't recommend it to others.

If you are not going to use water conditions, I would recommend getting your water tested, especially if you are using well water. Well water can contain a lot of chlorine. I work for the the health department. Most people that have their well-water tested (even if they have been using if for 20 years) fail because the water is not totally clean. I am on well water, and even though it is 'safe' to drink, I still use an extra water purifier. For my turtles water, I use something called Biotize to help take care of the waste and a little bit of Repti safe water conditioner. Your best bet to see if your water needs to be treated would be to buy a little kit from Lowes (its like 3 dollars) and measure your ph and chlorine levels.

Hope this helps!
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TurtsandTorts Discussion Group
2 Russians (Harley and Marley)
2 RES (Sunny and Fatty)
2 Gerbils (Sydney and Vienna)
1 Cat (Abby)

Once again I must ask why? Chlorine will evaporate quite rapidly out of the water and if the concentrations are high enough to cause an animal harm they are high enough to cause you damage as well. Drinking water is perfectly safe for turtles. No treatment is neded

some city systems use chloramines that dont ever evaporate out the way chlorine does. so unless you know you only hav echlorine, and you allow it to evaporate, it is better to be safe than sorry. not to mention water quality varies from city to city, requiring more chlorine in some places than in others. i would rather spend a couple bucks every few months and know for sure they are safe, than risk it. you are in charge of their lives, and it is wrong to be in that position and not do the best thing for them. you spend a couple hundred bucks on the setup, but wont spend $3-5 on some dechlorinator?

Well my goodness. I guess for the past 25 years I’ve been torturing my animals. My spotted Turtles are 17 years old now. My European Pond Turtles are 14 years old. My Eastern Painted’s at least 15 years old. I could go on but you get the idea. I’ve raised hatchlings of various species from egg to adulthood and I have never had a problem with good old city tap water. I spend a fair amount on this hobby of mine but I don’t buy things that are useless. In my humble estimation water conditioners fit that bill. The only major problem I’ve ever had with turtles was when trying to acclimatize some wild caught cog wheel turtles and I have to admit I killed the heck out of them, but it wasn’t due to the water. So buy the water conditioner if it makes you feel good. It is a free country. I’ll stick to just tap water.

As I said, I am using well water, which is completely different than city water. Wells have to be 'shocked' every couple of years or so for the water to stay drinkable. There will always be traces of chlorine in the water. Sometimes other chemicals or metals can even get into the well depending on the casing you have and the general geography of the land. In my case, it is better to use the water conditions. Again, testing your water will give you a clear answer about whether or not you need to use them. I would rather be on the safe side.
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TurtsandTorts Discussion Group
2 Russians (Harley and Marley)
2 RES (Sunny and Fatty)
2 Gerbils (Sydney and Vienna)
1 Cat (Abby)

Small traces of Chlorine will do your turtles no harm. If you have metals and other contaminants in your water it would be unsafe to drink and therefore unsafe for turtles. As far as I am aware the water treament products on the market do not eliminate such thing as metal contaminants and other nasties such as E. Coli. But once again I go back to my original premise. If the water is safe for humans to drink, it is safe for turtles to live in. If your water is not safe for human consumption, it's obviously not safe for turtles. The amount of Chlorine and Chloramine in drinkable tapwater posses no risk for your turtle. Therore no water treatment is needed.

Agreed 100%. Most species of turtle are very hardy and such minor traces will do them no harm at all.

Many products on the market will do the animals no harm give them no real benefit either. They just make us feel like we are doing as much as we can for our animals.

Steve

there are at least a couple that detoxify heavy metals. i want to say stress coat and tap water conditioner(i think that is made by API) but im not exactly sure on which ones do.

You are right about that. But once again if the concentrations are high enough to do any real damage the waters not safe to drink and therefore not safe to use for your animals. Water conditioners are simply not needed if you use water that is safe for human use.

i dont really agree with "as long as its humans safe its turtle safe". when we drink water, if it has a certain concentration of something, it is quickly diluted in our very large biomass. a turtle is MUCH smaller and immersed in the solution. this means that whatever they take up will not be diluted in their tissues. it is simple diffusion. the minerals will diffuse into tissues of lower concentration. if the concentration is high enough in water, and im not sure what concentration they have to be at, they could build up enough in the turtle's tissues to become toxic. safe for humans is not equal to safe for turtles.

I can't agree. If the water were unsafe to drink, contaminants would build up in the human body just as easily as in a turtles only it would take slightly longer for the effects to show up.
Anyway, your just splitting hairs here. The trace amounts of minerals, Chlorine and Chloramine found in drinking water are perfectly safe to house turtles in. I've used it for 25 years, my friends in different cities have used it. I have yet to see any credible information published that says otherwise. The only places you ever see anything about tap water and Chlorine are on web pages put up by hobbyists and they aren't that credible. Use it if you want to, it can't hurt but it's not necessary. And what do you think is in the bottle of water conditioner that you use to remove Chlorine and Chloramine. MORE CHEMICALS. I'll take my turtles health for decades as evidence that it's alright to use tap water.

hobbyists on websites arent credible, what are you on this site? you cant lump beneficial chemicals like conditioners into the same category as chlorine and heavy metals, their chemistry and effects are basically opposite. you and your fellow friends/hobbyists that you mentioned that are doing great on untreated city water must be lucky and live in cities with at least relatively good tap water. the minerals we take in can be expelled when in excess amounts. the turtles cant do this since even if they expel it, it goes right back into the water they absorbed it from, so it is still effecting their body tissues.

I’m sorry but you’re dead wrong. Show me any credible literature that says tap water is harmful to turtles. Not fish or amphibians, turtles. Do you have any personal experience where one of your turtles was harmed by using tap water? And I mean water that you were able to drink. If so how? I have kept and bred and raised turtles from egg to hatchling for over two decades with my city tap water. Friends have done the same. If tap water were that bad don’t you think we would have seen something by now? I’m sorry but your argument doesn’t hold water

thats fine, but i have given my argument, and still believe it is better to be safe than sorry. are there any published studies showing no harm to water turtles by untreated tap water? if not, you cant ask me to do the same. and your experience doesnt quailfy as a study, although i will admit it is a strong argument.

I can't agree with you, but I very much enjoyed the debate. All the best to you and your turtles.

thank you, and same to you.

And what are you basing what you are saying on An opinion and nothing more? If trace metals are what you want to remove from your water the only sure fire thing to remove all the trace metals etc. from water is a reverse osmosis water filter. Putting chemicals into water to remove elements is just adding more crap into the water for you turtle to "allegedly" aborb into it's skin.

On another note in all my years of doing rehab on turtles and running a rescue I can honestly say that I have seen it all and let me tell you. RED EARED SLIDER CAN SURVIVE IN SOME PRETTY HORRID CONDITIONS. I have rescued them from living in years of pure sewage filthy waste water that they were swimming around in like it was nothing. If you drank that water you would find yourself in the hospital in a matter minutes with salmonella, Giardia, and God knows what else. So how does your "theory" of absorption ratios really work here?

Frankly -- I would listen to a sucessful hobbiest's husbandry practices before I would listen to someone who just has an opinion that does not seem to be based on anything factual.

This person states that human safe water is safe for turtles. That having been said by someone with 25 years of successful keeping holds much more weight than what you are saying.

Sure unhealthy water that is not safe for human consumption is not the ideal situation for the animal and should be avoided or run through and RO filter, but no one is arguing that point with you. All that is being said is that human safe water is turtle water and that is a fact not an opinion plain and simple.

we have already made our arguments, and my point is that it is better to be safe than sorry, plain and simple. if you have already spent hundreds of dollars on a turtle and setup, $3 or so every few months is worth it to me.

I agree that chlorine and chloromines won't hurt RES, but I believe it can harm the beneficial bacteria in a filter. That's the primary reason I use it.

Anything wrong with using Rain water for turtles?

i wouldnt, no idea what is in it, pH is usually really low(under 6). plus all sorts of chemicals from the air will be in it.

that is a good point, i didnt even think of that. bacteria type pathogens are axactly what the chlorine is put in to prevent/kill.