Question about safe water

[mrk]

I am not sure what water is the best & safest for my WTFs and I have several questions about it. The pet store guy said to always use distilled, but I read on this forum that the frogs need minerals so I should use spring water, only using distilled to mist. However, I'm not sure all my frogs go in the bowl. I've have only caught 2 of my 5 taking a 'dip'. Could they be absorbing all the water they need just from the frequent mistings and, if so, need misted with spring water? I mist several times daily to keep the humidity up above 50. ( Also, I am soon getting a Monsoon system which I think must use distilled to avoid clogs.) As spring water can get a bit costly over time, I tried boiling water but it seemed to have a slight oily-looking film on it after it cooled, before I used the dechlorinater drops. Has this happened to anyone else and is it safe? Do I need to boil the tap water before adding dechlorinater drops or is it safe to just add the drops? Do the drops work immediately? What is the 'stale' water some care-sheets mention? I am so confused about such a seemingly simple thing!

[John]

Use distilled or reverse osmosis for misting. For everything else (water bowls for example) use spring water or dechlorinated tap water. You don't need to boil the tap water - the dechlorinator drops work almost instantaneously.

Stale water would indicate water that's been sitting in a terrarium for a while. I wouldn't worry about it.

[Lacibeth]

Stale water is usually tap water that has been allowed to off-gas for a couple of days. I use treated tap water (treated w/ amquel +) and then it sits a couple of days before I use it just b/c I have a couple of jugs going. Whatever "dechlorinater" you're using should tell you how long to let the water sit.

There is a difference between boiled water and distilled water if that was one of your questions.

My assumption is that if you're supplementing their food w/ vitamins and Cal/D3 that they're getting the things they need, but that's a total assumption. Hopefully someone will chime in w/ more info.

[mrk]

Thanks for the help! Just using the dechlorinater sounds so much easier than going through boiling process and cheaper than buying spring water all the time! I'm glad it is quick and dependable!