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Water and GSE?

Plissken

Plissken

Crazy Snail Lady
I was reading a Corn Snake caresheet on the net (one of many... :rolleyes: ) and it said that it's recommended to use Grapefruit Seed Extract in a corn's water dish.

Is that true?

It also said that chlorine can be harmful to snakes. If this is so, how do I remove the chlorine from my water? Or what type of bottled water can I buy that's safe?

Thanks.
 
i do not know about grapefruit extract, but chlorine is harmful to your snake. I use ro water but it is very costly,your local pet shop should Carry a few kinds of water supplements that will remove the harmful stuff and add the needed vit.,calcium,ect. i would recomend reptisafe i believe that is what it is called its blue and cost under 3 bucks.
 
I use GSE in the water. I use about a drop for a 1 liter bottle to fill up dishes.

It's not so much the chlorine as it is all the other garbage that's in water. I personally am more concerned about the other minerals and junk that's in the water than the chlorine itself. Take some water and let it evaporate and see what's left behind! You can use an aquarium dechlor solution to remove the chlorine, but it's not going to get the other stuff. I personally use RO (reverse osmosis) water, but you could use any prefiltered water as well.

D80
 
what effect does using tap water for your snakes have on them? Iv been giving my snakes tap water for probably 6 months and they dont seem affected. Is it actually bad enough for them that i have to start getting bottled water for them? what about water that comes out of the refrigerator door, i think it is filtered?
 
most tap water has a high amount of chlorine,nitrates,phosphates, and other not so good things, i recomend using ro water, and a water vitamine suppliment.
 
Had1nowwant1 said:
what effect does using tap water for your snakes have on them? Iv been giving my snakes tap water for probably 6 months and they dont seem affected. Is it actually bad enough for them that i have to start getting bottled water for them? what about water that comes out of the refrigerator door, i think it is filtered?
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Set out a bowl of water and let it evaporate. View the materials left behind in the bowl. Realize that your animal's system needs to filter that material out. Good or bad, who knows when compared to what they drink in the wild . . .

D80
 
Had1nowwant1 said:
what effect does using tap water for your snakes have on them? Iv been giving my snakes tap water for probably 6 months and they dont seem affected. Is it actually bad enough for them that i have to start getting bottled water for them? what about water that comes out of the refrigerator door, i think it is filtered?
Click to expand...

Drizzt80 said:
Good or bad, who knows when compared to what they drink in the wild . .

D80
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As Drizzt80 said who is to say whether tap water is any worse than what they drink in the water. What do they drink A sip out of a local creek or stream, a puddle of run off coming out of the walmart parking lot, rain water gathering in a leaf, Are any of those better with the amount of civilization and pollution today in a Cornsnakes range.

What it comes down to is the amount of care you are willing to give your animal that you are taking care of in captivity. I give mine spring water. Why because thats what everyone in the house gets, me, the kids, the dog we all get spring water. D80, and reptileman34 give RO thats where there level of husbandry lies. They are providing what they feel is the best for their animal.

If you feel good about tap water in your area by all means use it. If you are concerned with chlorine treat it either chemically or by letting it stand for 24 hours. Just my .02
 
Good or bad, who knows when compared to what they drink in the wild

what is the life expectancy of a snake in the wild.
 
reptileman34 said:
what is the life expectancy of a snake in the wild.
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I don't know, do you? With or without predation? With our without accidental death (ie. DOR)? Possibly taking the discussion in a different direction aren't we?

D80
 
So I could leave the water standing for 24 hours? Would that make it safe for the corns? That's what I used to do when I kept fish, but corns, as I am quickly finding out, are not fish :p

Is GSE absolutely neccessary? Will corns get sick without it, or is it okay if I don't put it in?
 
Not to be a smart aleck, but if it were absolutely necessary, corns would have a little bottle of it in their hip pocket, or they'd hang out in grapefruit groves . . . :)

D80
 
GSE is not necessary. Kathy Love, in her book, recommends using it when your snake is having problems with regurge.

as for water....if i wont drink tap, then i dont give it to my animals.
but it depends on the quality of the tap water where you live. i've lived in the mojave desert where the tap water was just really bad. everyone drank bottled water. you know it's bad when you turn on the faucet and the water is brown or smells like sulphur. here in tallahassee, the tap water is pretty good. i only add dechlorinator to it for my fish tanks. and havent had any sicknesses in the 5 years i've had fish here. and if the fish can swim in it and live then it must be ok to drink...i guess.
if you're truly worried, i'd get a filter for your tap and then use the filtered water for consumption.
 
Drizzt80 said:
Not to be a smart aleck, but if it were absolutely necessary, corns would have a little bottle of it in their hip pocket, or they'd hang out in grapefruit groves . . . :)

D80
Click to expand...

:grin01: cute...picturing a corn snake sucking on a grapefruit...
 
Howdy Folks!
I use exoterra conditioner, and/or bottled water or water filtered from the fridge. It really does depend on the water in your area. Here in Round Rock, Texas the water is heavily laden with limestone, hard minerals and stuff barely visible. My indoor terra cotta planters (with house plants in them) keep getting a white salt/lime line around the outside which I have to wipe off. Yeah, I wash my mouth out with it, but swallowing it is questionable. When I lived in Mississippi the water was a yellowish to brownish, deppending on the town, and was really bad. In Chicago, the water was clear refreshing and tasty. I drank from the tap. I could go on, but the thing is that its a personal choice, and some water is better processed, and from a better source, than others. Of course pretty much all of it has chlorine, which is not good for fish, snakes, or me. (It actually is good for my red slider though.) Bottled water is cheap, filtered tap cheaper. If it will make my pets healthier, than I'll go with that. Reminder to self - remember to use the filtered water for the dog too. Doh!
 
Drizzt80 said:
Not to be a smart aleck, but if it were absolutely necessary, corns would have a little bottle of it in their hip pocket, or they'd hang out in grapefruit groves . . . :)

D80
Click to expand...

True, but captive corns have needs different to that of a wild corn (or at least needs that require artificial recreation.) I thought that perhaps GSE was an artifical replacement for something they do drink in the wild. I'm new to snakes.

The tap water here is good enough that I happily drink from the tap, but still. Perhaps I will shop around for some bottled water anyway.
Thanks for your replies. :)
 
I may be wrong, but I think America has a big chlorine obsession. I don't know if its that way anywhere else.
 
Plissken said:
True, but captive corns have needs different to that of a wild corn (or at least needs that require artificial recreation.) I thought that perhaps GSE was an artifical replacement for something they do drink in the wild. I'm new to snakes.

The tap water here is good enough that I happily drink from the tap, but still. Perhaps I will shop around for some bottled water anyway.
Thanks for your replies. :)
Click to expand...

good thought, about thinking that perhaps the GSE might be a sort of supplement. it is true that most captive reptiles need supplements to replace what they would get in the wild. for example, i give my turtles calcium in the form of cuttlebones. now, in the wild they wouldnt find cuttlebones laying around and be able to gnaw on them...but they would get calcium through other means...and they're from Costa Rica. i can only duplicate so much of their native Costa Rican home. i just try to make sure that they get all the nutrients they need through supplements and diet.

but in this case, GSE aids in digestion i believe. so it's not necessary unless your snake is having problems.
 
Tyger9791 said:
good thought, about thinking that perhaps the GSE might be a sort of supplement. it is true that most captive reptiles need supplements to replace what they would get in the wild. for example, i give my turtles calcium in the form of cuttlebones. now, in the wild they wouldnt find cuttlebones laying around and be able to gnaw on them...but they would get calcium through other means...and they're from Costa Rica. i can only duplicate so much of their native Costa Rican home. i just try to make sure that they get all the nutrients they need through supplements and diet.

but in this case, GSE aids in digestion i believe. so it's not necessary unless your snake is having problems.
Click to expand...

Exactly... if it benefits the corns, it must be replacing something in their natural diet, or so I assume.

Okay, I will skip the GSE then. Thanks for your reply! :)
 
Grapefruit Seed Extract is a 'natural' anti-bacterial supplement. The two uses that I have heard of are: 1. To help with regurges that may be caused by bacteria 2. To prevent bacteria growth in water bowls (many people use GSE in dog, bird, etc. water bowls in order to prevent the red-brown algae that sometimes outbreaks due to infrequent cleanings).
 
I'd never even heard of GSE before I researched corn snakes. I've kept a variety of other animals and they have never needed it.
I'm guessing the water is pretty good around here.

I will leave out the GSE unless my snake would appear to seriously benefit from it.
 
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