# Water question!



## SidVicious (Jun 27, 2009)

Hi Hedgehog central forum people!

So hi my name is Frank and im a new owner, my beautiful hedgie is called Sid and he´s 2 months old and i got him for about 48 hours and i don´t know him very well plus this is my first hedgie, he eats well and poops right but his water seems untouched and i was wondering...

How much water does (or should) a hedgie drink each day?

I would love to get many replies thanks owners!


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Welcome to HHC!

Some hedgies get understandably nervous and will go on a eating/drinking strike for a day or two in a new home. Are you offering a bowl or a bottle? If it's a bottle, was Sid drinking from one before you got him? Maybe he doesn't know how to use it. Hedgies usually prefer a water dish and will drink more from one. 

Hedgies range in size and weight, which makes it hard to give an estimate of how much they should drink. As long as a little bit looks gone (and not from evaporation) he knows how to get the water and should be fine.

If he is still not drinking by tomorrow, try to syringe him water and you will probably want to go to the vet to make sure he's okay.


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## SidVicious (Jun 27, 2009)

Wow that was fast! Haha well uhm Sid has a bowl and he reaches the water and everything but i don´t see a big loss of water over night maybe he doesn´t drink that much, he´s still very small but i´ll keep close watch!!  

Hope i can post a pic soon!

Thank you!


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

Did the person you got him from give you any water? Water from different sources can smell differently to animals. In addition, a sudden change in source can cause GI upset, including diarrhea. 

If they didn't give you any water and you don't have access to the same water they used, try using a reverse osmosis water (bottled from Walmart for about .59) and see if he'll drink that. 

Hedgehogs should not have tap water.


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## SidVicious (Jun 27, 2009)

Hey thanks HedgeMom

No previous owner didn´t give me any water so i guess it could be that.
Reverse osmosis water I´ll try that out and report back.

Many thanks!


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## Hope (Jul 21, 2009)

Hi all,

I am also a new momma of a hedgy. I was wondering if filted water could be harmful. My filter may be a little old. He has been throwing up and I was wondering if this could be the reason. I think that I am going to go get some of that reverse osmosis water too. Is it called any thing else? like disstilled water? If he throws up again tomarow I am going to take him to the vet.


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

A sudden change in water doesn't normally cause vomiting.

RO water is not the same as distilled. Look for WalMart brand filtered water and the label will say "reverse osmosis".


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

OK HedgeMom, you should know me better by now! I want my explanation of this reverse osmosis????????????


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

Reverse Osmosis is just a filtration technique. You can buy RO systems for the home or buy the water already filtered from the store. 

In this area, there are local grocery stores that have Reverse Osmosis dispensers. You bring in your gallon jugs and fill them right there with freshly filtered water. I'm not fond of this because I doubt anyone really sterilizes their jugs. I like buying already filtered water. 

A mechanical filter like a Brita uses gravity to drip water through a charcoal filter and usually a secondary mechanical filter. Straining the water, so to speak. Mechanical home filtration systems are very limited in what they can filter out because of the filter media pore size. 

RO water is forced with high pressure through a membrane which traps much smaller particles; the pressure is allowing it to be sent through a finer filter. In addition, there is usually two or more charcoal filters to help improve taste. 

A perfect RO set up has UV light for killing off microbes too small to be filtered but that's usually only seen in a medical setting.


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## Hope (Jul 21, 2009)

Oh, ok. Thats really good to know. I went to walmart and looked at the jugs and the distilled water said reverse osmosis on it. Thank you very much for the information ^_^.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

HedgeMom said:


> Hedgehogs should not have tap water.


Really? I didn't know that. I boil tap water for all my animals do you think this is ok?


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Thank you for the explanation Hedgemom!


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

hedgielover said:


> HedgeMom said:
> 
> 
> > Hedgehogs should not have tap water.
> ...


No, I personally do not think it's ok. Tap water has chemicals that small animals shouldn't have. Boiling can concentrate metals and other particulates in the water.


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## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

You might want to be careful with reverse osmosis water too, though. It can take out beneficial things in water that the hedgie might need. I use a britta filter on my kitchen tap. I can taste the difference so I know it's filtering some things. My hedgehog is hesitant to drink it straight from the tap but gobbles down the britta stuff 

Let's face it - nothing is ever going to be perfect. As long as we do what we can in a reasonable fashion to prevent disease and treat it properly if it does occur, we are being responsible owners.


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## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

Here is a really good resource with pros/cons of the filter types 

http://www.historyofwaterfilters.com/wa ... tment.html

I say stick to a britta or something to that effect. More bang for your buck and while it's not perfect it doesn't strip the water of the good things that are needed, either.


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## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

knitfreak said:


> Here is a really good resource with pros/cons of the filter types
> 
> it's not perfect it doesn't strip the water of the good things that are needed, either.


It also doesn't remove all things harmful. Like the THM's that are carcinogenic and thought to cause miscarriages in women.

My personal opinion is that the only thing that should be in water is H20. A balanced, healthy, varied diet will provide everything else. Trace minerals included.


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## knitfreak (Jul 17, 2009)

Hrm. Actually, THM's are more likely to be put into the blood stream from external use, like showering, inhaling steam, washing hands, etc. Ingestion is not the main source of THM's.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... n14924814/

I think it would be a lot harder to balance an already difficult diet by trace minerals as well as ingredients, protien, fat, cost, taste, bite size, etc etc. Why make food so difficult when water is a simplier answer?

I don't want to continue an endless back and forth as I know it is a matter of personal choice, but I would hate to see filtered water vilified when it is a healthy choice for drinking water.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

knitfreak said:


> Here is a really good resource with pros/cons of the filter types
> 
> http://www.historyofwaterfilters.com/wa ... tment.html
> 
> I say stick to a britta or something to that effect. More bang for your buck and while it's not perfect it doesn't strip the water of the good things that are needed, either.


Thank you for the opinion Knitfreak and hedgemom and that was a very informative link Kintfreak.


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