Water?

[Holly]

I've now read in a couple of (American) books that hamsters should be given bottled spring water rather than tap water

Does anyone else give bottled water? What is best for hamsters? I'm aware that there are chemicals and fluoride in our water supply - can this be bad for animals as tiny as hams? Or is bottled water bad for them?

Also - how often do you change their water/wash out bottles?

[Basia]

Hi Holly,
I don't use bottled water but we do have nice soft water here. I change the water in the bottles most days and wash the bottles out occasionally.

[souffle]

We use normal tap water and have never had any problems. I have heard that you can get more contamination including harmful bacteria in bottled water than in tap! We change either every day or every second and rinse our the bottles then and rub the spout down. At cage cleaning we use very hot water and a little bottle brush but not detergent in case they don't like the smell.

[Christine Yule]

I never use tap water for my hams and the reason behind it is the chlorine and fluoride in tap (treated) water. The first issue is chlorine. Hamsters are apparently very sensitive to chlorine. That's why we should never use chlorine bleach to disinfect cages etc. Since chlorine is used to kill germs in tap water, I think that spring water is a better choice.

The other issue is fluoride. There is research that seems to show that fluoride likely contributes to kidney damage in people and other health issues. I choose not to drink tap water and since Syrian hamsters are all ready suseptible to kidney failure, I think that it is wise to avoid giving it to them.

Hamstermama

[souffle]

I guess it depends on where you are in the world and what your water supply is like. Many bottled waters contain high levels of minerals. If you leave water to stand in a jug chlorine will come off it after a bit. We do have a water filter which removes chlorine etc on our drinking tap so perhaps that would be an option if you were not happy with your tap water. You can get jug filters too but in our area I am quite confident about water quality. I think that quite a few water boards have stopped fluoridation of water too in the UK or reduced it dramatically.

[Basia]

My other hobby is fishkeeping. If you leave water to stand overnight the chlorine dissipates. So I guess if you are worried about giving chlorine to hamsters leave the water to stand for 12 hours before putting it into their bottles.

[Christine Yule]

I think Souffle has a valid point that it does indeed depend on your water source and where you live in the world.

In Toronto and my area of Canada, chlorinating and fluoridating municipal water sources is common practise as well as in most parts of the U.S. My advice is based on the quality of treated municipal tap water here.

Hamstermama

[Holly]

Hmmm....I certainly don't let our water stand before using it for the hams - perhaps I will do starting tonight.

Both the books that recommend using bottled water are from the USA - I know that when I've been in America I found the tap water tasted DISGUSTING and I drank bottled water whilst there. I guess it's all down to what the water companies put in it.

Filtering is another idea (I'd need to get a new jug filter first though as I set fire to mine last year by accidentally putting it on a hot hob and spewing toxic fumes into the house and garden ).

[suga]

I tend to use tap water too although I do filter it sometimes and leave it over night. Normally though it comes straight from the tap. The water doesn't taste too bad up here and I remembered reading/hearing something about bottled water which made me stop buying it and purchase the water filter instead.

[Basia]

Do you get Welsh water in Leicester Holly or is it just Birmingham that get it? If you do it should be good, the dams are just up the road from me!