# Water?



## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

I kind of feel stupid asking this, but.... :lol:  
What kind/type of water should hedgies drink? I mean like: distilled, tap, baby nursery, etc?


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I use tap water, since the tap here is really good. (If it wasn't, I'd get a pitcher filter for him)

I was using distilled/reverse osmosis for a while but I heard on a rat list something about how while the distilled, super clean water was good when you need to flush the system with pure water, it wasn't ideal for drinking all the time. Something about the trace minerals helping carry stuff around and things, I dunno. Sounded legit though so I switched back to tap. :lol:


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

:lol: That's good enough for me! Thanks for the reply LG!


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## hihihishite (Jan 12, 2010)

The chlorine in tap water can be bad or even deadly for some animals. Depending on your town, the chlorine levels vary. Some may be ok, while others have higher concentrations. Also, the chlorine levels will spike every once in a while which may cause problems. I always use filtered or bottled water for my pets and myself. Chlorine aside, tap water can also contain other unwanted contaminants.

Distilled is indeed bad since it lacks essential minerals.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

I have a brita filter on my tap for both Sylvie & my water. (Friendly reminder when traveling to bring your own water for your hog)


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

Ok, so definitely a NO on the distilled and possibly a no on the tap [depending on levels or everything], and bottled/filtered is BEST, did I get that correct?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Ooh. This all makes me feel better about my water choice for Lily...I've been using bottled water since I heard that tap water wasn't the best, and it's easy to take the bottles with me when we travel. I'd been worrying though, about finding a better bottled water that was distilled or something.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

I think it largely depends on where you are & your water quality. Where I'm at is decent. I have a friend who grew up in NH though & when she was a baby (family had just moved there) she broke out in a horrible rash. The neighbors said it was from the water & to drink bottle. Since then that's all they drink in that area.


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

I don't have a clue what our water is like here, so I'm not gonna take any chances with that. So, bottled water it is! Thanks for the help silvercat! :mrgreen:


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## jopenguin (Jun 29, 2009)

I use tap, the water here is pretty good. If I was in back in BryanCollege Station TX, I'd be using bottled. The chlorine in the water there was so high by Brita pitcher would always smell like a swimming pool when I filled it up. It also gave ME tummy problems. 

I figure if I'm ok with the water here, the guys should be fine.

Jodi


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

Thanks for the input! That's awful about your previous water situation, could you have called someone about it, like the city?


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