LOL

So, I typically use bottled water to water the critters. The cats have an automatic water fountain that I refill ever day, that holds a gallon of water. I also use the bottled water for the rabbits (figure it's easier if/when I need to move them somewhere, if the bottled water all tastes the same), and for my fish tanks, humidifiers and plants.

Well, I picked up my milk crates to refill them, and realized one of the cats had sprayed them. So, I scrubbed it all, and let it dry. We have no bottled water right now, and haven't for the last day or so. I used tap water in the cat's water dish, and to refill Ollie's water.

Yeah.... the water is still there. I caught Lucivar drinking out of the bathroom drain (dork), but otherwise they hop up there, and just stare at the water, and get down. I'm stopping to get more bottled water after work, but it's humorous how much they dislike tap water.

Does anyone else notice the bunny hops twice in one direction, and only once the other way?

A good trick to avoid that problem which we use for horse shows and such that require too much water hauled along is to add a little apple cider vinegar. It's healthy for the animals and it flavors the water. Some love the flavor and if you are using refill containers you can just measure it in to those and then use normally but with the option to use the tapwater and not get a water strike. All water tastes near the same with acv and no one notices the switch. You can use the big bottles of cheap stuff for that but the small unfiltered more expensive bottles have health benefits. Start at 1/2-1 tablespoon per gallon until they are drinking normally and then go up to 2-4. ACV can sit foooreeeveeeerrr and still be good. I left a bottle of the unfiltered active stuff sit for a year and I just had more sediment that they call the "mother" which is actually healthy nutrients.

You can also get flavored electrolytes which we also used to make salty apple water for a picky horse that got sick easy at shows but I only suggest it for hot weather and especially animals that sweat rather than house rabbits who aren't losing many salts.

What is wrong with your tap water that you need to buy water??

There's something wrong with our water supply. If you get a glass of tap water and set it on the counter, within 24 hours there's mold growing in it. We realized this when, no matter how much we scrubbed the sinks and bathtubs and toilets, there was continual mold. And then when we got the dogs, their water dishes started molding up almost overnight, so I switched to bottled water for anything I do. The rest of the family uses the tap, but I have qualms trusting the water. I hate bathing in it, but the Health Department wants $100 to check the water, and that's all they'll do, and the landlord refuses to believe us without the Health Department checking it.

If it's city water probably a bad storage tank somewhere along the line because they test their end regularly. Most places also chlorinate which prevents these things. A little bleach in the water can mimic chlorination and is no more harmful. If it's well water then wells are supposed to be checked yearly and you can take a landlord to court over not checking the water on their own money unless it's written in your lease to be your responsbility.

Whoa!!!

I thought the manganese in our water in Florida was bad! I found out with a coffee filter that it was coming out like dust in the water all the time. Every third bath or so, huge amounts of it would pour into the bathtub.

This mold situation, though... yikes!

I've always lived on well water and you'd be amazed what counts as "drinkable" water in some areas. If you drank a glass you could grind the grit left behind between your teeth and everything turned red within a day of scrubbing it so generally our family didn't bother and I didn't bother when I moved in to a house. My husband's brother finally bought a filter for the house we were renting and the rust just peeled off the walls of the shower and the toilet. I've lived on bottled water my whole life. We never drank the water. We did cook with it sometimes but it was heated then so bacterias and mold would be killed. Some pets I gave it to and some pets I did not. Dogs and cats deal with contaminants very well since they have very acidic stomachs and short digestive tracts to avoid bacteria or mold causing a problem when they eat raw meat that has sometimes been sitting awhile. Although I still probably wouldn't use it if it molded in the bucket/bowl before they drank it but we refresh the cats water several times daily to make sure they drink and the dogs finish their bucket usually within 24hrs. Some pets like the sugar gliders and birds we always used bottled.

I have to point out the acv again because it will help kill mold, algae, and bacteria. That's another reason some use it for livestock water. Less frequent cleaning required. I would probably start getting used to it myself and add a little to anything I was drinking or eating made from that water or drinking a tablespoon or 2 a day in better liquid to help. Some love the taste and drink apple cider vinegar water every day, occasionally with a little lemon, just for enjoyment as well health, some get used to it in their food or drink, and some can't stand it so it doesn't work for them. Personally I can't stand it, I tried hard but I just can't manage to drink it in anything, but I do find it an improvement over some other things I occasionally have to take for health problems so use it then and otherwise for the animals.

We live within city limits, so it's city water, but it's privately owned property that the landlord rents out. When they were re-laying some of the electric lines, I was talking to the guys that were digging (they were digging in RANDOM spots, trying to find out where the old lines were), and they said that for some reason, when the area was 'populated', they didn't bother mapping anything. They said that they were finding water lines (which are plastic) in some spots more than 8 feet down, and in other spots, less than a foot.

Less than a foot?? We live in Zone 5... that's not below the freeze lines. So I have no doubt we've got a crack in a water line somewhere, contaminating the water.

akane: I meant to reply to that other thread. I'll look into that... it can't hurt! ^_^ I'd heard of it for horses, but they scare me, so we don't have 'em. Never once thought to use them for other critters! My hamsters got used to well-water (when I bought them, I was in the country on well water), and it was a pain and took forever for them to finally drink bottled. I had to more or less give them 50/50 juice and wean it down, and I was terrified they were going to die of dehydration or something. ACV is a much better choice.

The cats water.... we logically COULD use tap in it, but it's an automatic fountain (one of 'em is inbred, and is REALLY prone to kidney infections, so I use anything possible to increase his water intake), and the filter is an absolute b**** to clean, so bottled is sooo much easier. I kinda feel bad that I use the tap on the dogs, but they go through about 4 gallons a day, so it's just insane to try to keep up with them and bottled water. ^_^

Hamsters are desert/tundra animals. They come from cold, rocky, low water areas. They can go on water strikes for weeks and depending on diet not notice as they use stored food and moisture. My rodents have been getting 1 tablespoon to a quart since I got them and are up to 2 tablespoons to a quart which is double the average with no problems other than they are desert animals and will drink smaller amounts when they feel like it until they get around to needing more. I use the same container for the birds. Since I have raw acv it starts to grow stuff if not used quickly which is probably not bad. The mother that grows in acv is actually good nutrients but with it so diluted I question something bad growing in my water containers (not the acv container) so I use the same water with same dose for all small animal to get through it weekly and occasionally dump some leftover in the dog water if it gets weird looking. Plus the chunks clog the bird waterers. While the dogs get 1/4cup (16 tablespoons to a cup) in their 2gallon waterer. The rabbits I haven't done yet but being there are so many I had to buy a container of the cheap stuff that is not active cause I can't afford the unfiltered active tiny bottles for 50 something rabbits.