Water conditioner

[Mix]

I wonder if someone could confirm for me:

Called a local reptile store to see if they stocked Reptisafe / Aquatize, and he said that they didn't, since you can use regular aquatic water conditioner, which is much cheaper.

Is this totally correct? I thought they would be a similar product, just didn't know if the ingredients were more specifically tailored at all, or if anything in aquarium conditioner would be harmful.

[drache]

any basic water detoxifyer should do fine
I give my snakes filtered drinking water in their bowls, and when I need to bathe one, I use stress coat which is for aquariums

[zooplan]

Why do you want to use it at all?

[drache]

I only use it when I need to soak a reptile in warm water, and am too lazy to heat filtered water
I am not positive that the water from my tap is entirely safe for small animals - for one thing, it's chlorinated

[Mix]

As you said, Rhea, the chemicals / chlorination used for treating our tap water can be left behind in the water. Also, some heavy metals.
Maybe this is a ploy to get you to spend money on Aquatize / Reptisafe, but I'd rather be safe than sorry - and I've been wondering if this could have been a contributing factor in Lily's death? We have quite hard water in our area, which limescales everything up really quickly.

From the Exo Terra site:
"...our tap water can contain heavy metals and is chemically treated. The addition of chlorine kills harmful bacteria and makes the water fit for human consumption, but it kills also the beneficial bacteria. These bacteria aid in the biological breakdown of organic waste in the water, in the digestion of plant matter when ingested and promote competitive exclusion of harmful bacteria. The range of Exo Terra's water conditioners is specially designed to ensure water safety for reptiles and amphibians."

I have been leaving the water to stand to let the chlorine leach out, but I'm short on storage space, so this would be more convenient.

Thank you for the advice!

[gregmonsta]

I've been using 'calcimise' at 20 drops per 2 litres. It's a water conditioner that also takes care of the lack of bones in the fish fillet and young mice. Ebay is always a good place to go if you can't find what you need locally ;). Personally I like to stick to stuff formulated with reptiles in mind.

[Mix]

Noted, thanks!
In the event, I went to a local aquatics centre, they had Reptisafe in, so I went with that - and cheaper than ebay, which is a change! ;) According to the pack, it also adds calcium and electrolytes. Sorted.