# Water on extended trips: filtering an option?



## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

I'm going on a trip a few months from now, and I will be taking my hedgie with me. I started making a list tonight of all the stuff I need to take (a huge list already, of course) and the process raised a question. Taking water from home is not an option because it will be an extended trip lasting longer than the few days it would take for water to go stale. I've seen two other options mentioned that seem feasible: switching to bottled water, or getting a filter to filter the water. I was just wondering which would be the better method.

I'm reluctant to switch to bottled water because that will mean a slow switch when we get back to our home water again, and that will mean it will be probably 2-3 months on bottled water both switching to and from. I'll do so if it's the best option, but I wanted to hear a little more about filtering first. An HWS newsletter article (June 2004, "Staying in Hotels With Your Hedgehogs" http://users.nac.net/hedgehogwelfare/newsletters/newsletter_10.pdf p 12) mentioned filtering as an option that a few people have tried before, so I wanted to ask for experiences and thoughts about it. I don't know much about how filtering works, just that it takes out some impurities, so I don't know if it would be completely suitable for a hedgie's digestive system. Will a good filter take out enough "strange" stuff from other places to make the water enough like home that it will be easily accepted? Or will it still be too different and cause tummy issues?

I'm just trying to figure out the best option in advance so I can plan for switching to bottled water if I have to do so. Any thoughts or experiences would be wonderful.


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

I have a Pur water filter pitcher thingy. We use it at home for Satin and us humans. Whenever hedgie has to go to the hedgie-sitter, the filter/pitcher goes with her. The water at home vs at my mom's place (ie, hedgiegrammy) tastes very different. But, when filtered, tastes the same to me. And it's similar enough that hedgie hasn't had issues with it. 

My vote is to just bring along a filter rather buying and recycling bottle after bottle after bottle after bottle of the water. A bonus is that you can have filtered water just like your hedgie if you want


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