American Toad Water?

[AlanLynch]

So I've had my female American Toad for a year now, and she's around two inches, she eats readily, is very active during day hours, and she has nice clear eyes. But ever since I've got her I've been using water straight from the sink, I don't dechlorinate it, but it doesn't seem to be affecting her. Is this okay?

[MatthewM1]

No its not, you won't see immediate effects, the chlorine and heavy metals build up slowly in their system toxing them out over time, leading to a slow painful death down the road.

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[AlanLynch]

'.' I've had her for a year using chlorinated water, I don't think it's THAT bad. And I'm pretty sure the water they use in the wild is way worse then sink water.

[Mmfh]

It may not have hurt her yet but why take the chance. De-chlorinator is cheap and easy to get at any pet store. Or if you just don't want to buy it, you can let the water sit for twenty four hours and let the chlorine evaporate. The problem is that chlorammine is often used by cities to make water "safe" and to the best of my knowledge that particular chemical does not evaporate.

[AlanLynch]

But if my toad has been using this water for a year, is she going to die now?

[MatthewM1]

Just switch to dechlorinated water asap and hopefully all will be well. And no letting it sit out is not sufficient, while chlorine will evaporate out, trace amounts of heavy metals the water picks up while traveling our pipe systems remain and are just as toxic to amphibians, dechlorinating drops will neutralize them along with chloramins which also do not evaporate out

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[yoshimi]

But if my toad has been using this water for a year, is she going to die now?

Don't panic, but yeah get a bottle of tap water conditioner as soon as you can, if you're on city water and not well water. Unless your air quality is very bad, I think collecting rain water is ok too, if you can't pick any up soon enough. Water conditioners that remove chlorine, chloramines, and detoxify heavy metals can be had for cheaper when marketed for fish.. but I'd skip anything with added fishy things like a slime coat. Reptisafe is a pretty reliable product: Zoo Med Labs ReptiSafe Terrarium Water Conditioner - Free Shipping if you're a new customer, you can save 20% with promo code "bark". This is where I buy my ecoearth bricks and other toad-centric things. Also cat treats and toys. So much cheaper than at a pet store. And $4.99 flat shipping via UPS or Fedex (forget which) isn't too shabby either. No, I'm not a shill. They caught on to me pretending to be a new customer <shame on me>. Other current coupon codes: 30% off Wag.com Coupon Codes 2013: Promo Codes, Deals and Printable Coupons

[AlanLynch]

I can't get de chlorinated water for my toad cause my parents think it's silly, but the toad never goes into her water like a day after a refill it so chlorine evaporates, but...

[kueluck]

You could also use rain water if your air quality is good & you can get a clean catch. It's all I use on my amphibians.

[AlanLynch]

It's not supposed to rain until tomorrow. How long does it take for the chlorine to kill toads? Lola (My toad) has been using sink water for a year now... is she doomed? Or does she still have time if she has clean water tomorrow?

[UncleChester]

I can't get de chlorinated water for my toad cause my parents think it's silly,..

A dechlorinator is pretty cheap. The small bottle yoshimi linked to is only $3 and will condition 5 gallons of water. If your toad just has a little water dish, 5 gallons is quite a few refills. The larger bottles will be more economical. You'll probably pay more at a local petshop, but several months supply won't set you back much.

..but the toad never goes into her water like a day after a refill it so chlorine evaporates, but...

If you are unable to get a dechlorinator or collect rainwater, please at least let the water sit for a day outside of your toads cage for 24 hours before you refill it's dish.

It's not supposed to rain until tomorrow. How long does it take for the chlorine to kill toads? Lola (My toad) has been using sink water for a year now... is she doomed? Or does she still have time if she has clean water tomorrow?

Your toad almost surely isn't doomed. How long it takes for a problem to develop (if one even will) is dependent on too many variables that no one here could possibly predict what will happen to your toad. You've used the tap water for a year, a few more days will be minor. For the long term health, conditioning the water is the safest approach.

You haven't actually mentioned if your water is from a city or town supply? Or if you're in the country, are you on a well or spring?

[never quit]

A dechlorinator is pretty cheap. The small bottle yoshimi linked to is only $3 and will condition 5 gallons of water. If your toad just has a little water dish, 5 gallons is quite a few refills. The larger bottles will be more economical. You'll probably pay more at a local petshop, but several months supply won't set you back much.



If you are unable to get a dechlorinator or collect rainwater, please at least let the water sit for a day outside of your toads cage for 24 hours before you refill it's dish.



Your toad almost surely isn't doomed. How long it takes for a problem to develop (if one even will) is dependent on too many variables that no one here could possibly predict what will happen to your toad. You've used the tap water for a year, a few more days will be minor. For the long term health, conditioning the water is the safest approach.

You haven't actually mentioned if your water is from a city or town supply? Or if you're in the country, are you on a well or spring?

Excellent answer, Brian!.....The Cl doesn’t seem to have affected the toad after a year, so while the Cl MAY have long term affects, it would seem prudent to add something to the water to remove the Cl.
The other good point is the source of the water….If it’s a municipality, maybe Logan can get an analysis of the water, and based on that, treat the water accordingly. If the source is well water……You would most certainly want an analysis! Too many horror stories of the ground water being contaminated by industrial processes that are miles away from your well. We have a situation right here in town with trichloroethylene (TCE) being used by a local manufacturer. Now that manufacturer doesn’t want the locals to use their wells!....

[AlanLynch]

I'm in a Chicago suburb, so I get my water from Lake Michigan. I'm going to collect rainwater tomorrow if it rains and try it in my toad cage. Thanks so much for your great answers I feel a lot better now!

[yoshimi]

It's definitely not silly... go to walmart or petco/petsmart and pick some up for a couple bucks and they never need to know. get a friend to go with you if you don't drive. a little goes a long way. i pre-make toad water in empty poland spring bottles (just easier). of all the secrets people keep from their parents, it's a pretty benign one. or just explain to them that it's better safe than sorry... (tho i don't think she's necessarily doomed, either). when you're out there watching the skies and collecting rain water for lola, maybe they'll catch on that this is important to you. remember to collect that rain water and bring it in rather than letting it sit outside. Only because standing water attracts mosquitoes. We had a mosquito-borne illness outbreak last year and those things love me so I've never used rain water. Dunno how Gail does it, but that lady never ceases to amaze and inspire me.

I have no idea what the water quality in lake michigan is. I googled, but i can't make too much sense of it... too early in the morning. sometimes home depot has those little bottles and envelopes available to get your tap water tested/analyzed. might just cost the price of mailing, but i've never done it. my town's water is some of the best in my state, but for people, not amphibian safe, and i still filter my drinking water anyway (old house, old pipes)... i'm sure the water analysis is just to try to get you to buy filtering systems, but it's worth running by your folks. they might realize that the price of a bottle of tap water conditioner is better than getting soliciting phone calls..

Good luck with rain and if you still can't get your hands on tap water conditioner, someone might be willing to donate some for lola. (like me)

[AlanLynch]

They know my toad is important to me, but I kinda see what they're saying. When my dad was a kid he used to keep american toads too. He always used sink water, he had them in just a sand exhibit, and they lived a long time... i'll still try to get rainwater, it seems like a good idea.

[MatthewM1]

How long is a long time? Some frogs and toads are known to hit 20+ years in captivity with good husbandry.

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[AlanLynch]

I dunno... Its cool that the record for the longest living American Toad in captivity was 35 years but it was squished, so no telling how long toads can really live in captivity!

[yoshimi]

I dunno... Its cool that the record for the longest living American Toad in captivity was 35 years but it was squished, so no telling how long toads can really live in captivity!

is that how that toad died? i read it was killed by accident but couldn't find anywhere what that accident was. how sad.

chlorine has been added to our drinking water since before your dad was born, assuming he's under 100yrs old... but levels may have increased. more pollution, more ****, more everything and the effectiveness of chlorine may mean there's more today than when he was a kid. or the build-up could just take years to have a negative effect, dunno. rain water, if you can collect enough of it to keep her in clean soaks, is a great idea.

that said, i've argued with my boyfriend (and won) about what he thinks is just crazy to buy for a "free" toad. but she's little and in my care, and there's not a whole lot she can do about it. so yeah, i end up shaking her food up in awful smelling vitamin and calcium powders, tripping over bottles of treated water, a fridge full of worms and plastic totes of breeding bugs that eat better than i do. a world of soil out there and i buy it by the brick. so she can burrow and ignore me unless she's hungry and frowning at me. but that's just her face, and i love it.

[AlanLynch]

What if my dad is a timelord and lived for over 900 years? Bum Bum BUM!