[OhBugger.]

I just read that Rats shouldn't be given fluoridated water or chlorinated water.

I like in Washington state, so we have a little fluoride added to our regular tap water.
does this mean that I need to buy rats bottled water?

Also, I have a filter in my refrigerator that we usually drink from.
Will filtered tap water be safe?

I just want the best for my ratties, so I appreciate your replies!

 

[Stephanie]

I boil my rats water all the time then put it in the fridge for them I never knew flouride was bad for them though I just do it for myself and my kids so why not the rats LoL

 

[OhBugger.]

boiling your water?
you mean, all the time?
sounds a little time consuming to have to boil it all the time.

its a good idea I guess.

heres the link of where I read it at
http://petratscanada.com/forbidden_foods.htm
its at the bottom of the page.

 

[Stephanie]

i boil it once a day in a HUGE pot sometimes i do it twice a day and we never use how much i boil at once so sometimes i don't have to boil for a day or two. Just tastes better fi you ask me LoL

 

[cjshrader]

A lot of the time people like to talk about how fluoride is bad for humans and animals, but I don't think anyone has any real scientific evidence to back that up.

Let's put it this way, I imagine every single one of us uses water with fluoride to give to our rats and not a one of us has noticed any problems with it. I sincerely doubt it's an issue.

Edit: As an aside, boiling water will not remove fluoride from it, but actually increase the amount of fluoride in the water as some of the water will boil out. Also, most water filters won't remove fluoride either.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/a/removefluoride.htm

By why would you want to?

 

[rattles]

We just moved to a new city and I really couldn't tell you what's in the water but I CAN tell you that it tastes horrible! I won't drink it so I don't make my pets drink it either. We buy massive quantities of bottled water for ourselves as well as for all the pets.

 

[reachthestars]

A good rule of thumb is that if you don't drink it your animals shouldn't either. With fluoride added it's probably not a bad idea to invest in bottled water for the furkids anyway. You could look into the Brita Filter as well, although I'm not sure if it would take chlorine/fluoride out.

 

[OnlyOno]

flouride is added to water for dental health, so i don't see why it would be bad for the ratties. chlorine might be cuz it could accumulate in the water bottles or whatnot, but i've never noticed a problem with it. it will never hurt to get them on bottled water, but i usually just use the filter on the fridge (tastes better to me ).

 

[2manyrats]

hey, now, don't you know that flouride is put in our water as part of a communist plot to pollute our bodily fluids?

stick to the rainwater to be safe!!!

 

[twitch]

hey, now, don't you know that flouride is put in our water as part of a communist plot to pollute our bodily fluids?

stick to the rainwater to be safe!!!

*chuckles* of course! i knew there had to be plot!

but you know about the rainwater right... the capitialist have set out massive amounts of polutants just so that they can make us poor, working class people sick so we don't have energy or time to revolt... i heard they got the idea from the communists... think they could be in co-hoots..? :wink:

 

[reachthestars]

flouride is added to water for dental health, so i don't see why it would be bad for the ratties.

Animals can't deal with fluoride like people can. Ever try to brush your cat's teeth with human tooth paste? :lol:

 

[OhBugger.]

I don't really know why they put that stuff in out drinking water anyways.
We can take care of our own teeth.

If you leave water out for about 24 hours, the chlorine should be gone.
(atleast thats what I've heard for letting the water sit out for fish tanks)

We have a pretty strong refrigerator filter. when we change the filter It always comes out much heavier; filled with unknown substances.
and our tap water tastes so much dirtier.

I guess I'll talk to some people in my area to see what they do for their ratties. (if I can find any)
thanks for all your great advice!