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Posted by: Sparkey, Sparkeyjb@aol.com
Subject: Drinking water HELP
When: 3:46 PM, 20 Oct 2000
IP: 205.188.196.39
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Hi,
My baby,Elmo will drink tap water,but they say that tap water is no good.I got him bottled spring water.When I got him,the breeder was giving him nectar with added calcium.He loves this nectar and won't drink the water!!!!!!! I have tried taking his nectar away,,,and he won't drink the water.I have tried mixing the water with some nectar and he won't drink that either,,,,,,,,any ideas? My tap water is from Hialeah,Florida (very near Miami) thanks
Love,Sparkey



Follow Ups:

Posted by: John Derek, jdg716@yahoo.com
Subject: Bourbon and others...
When: 4:04 PM, 20 Oct 2000
IP: 204.48.27.130

Please lend a hand. I am not 100% sure why this is? frown



Posted by: Kitara, fuzzybabies@juno.com
Subject: water
When: 4:11 PM, 20 Oct 2000
IP: 63.31.46.227

It may just be a long process of fooling him into drinking the water. Try diluting it vert slowly. Only a few drops at a time if you have to and then wait a couple days and dilute some more. The trick would be to not let him recognize the change. What is the rest of the diet?

Kitara



Posted by: Lauren and Sydney, Scubysnak7@aol.com
Subject: tap water?
When: 4:30 PM, 20 Oct 2000
IP: 152.163.197.77

Whats wrong with tap water, I drink it, and thats what I give my glider. She drinks it, and that shouldn't be a problem...is it?
raspberry



Posted by: Tina Marie, Torcsena@uswest.net
Subject: none
When: 4:42 PM, 20 Oct 2000
IP: 207.225.94.150

I give my babys tap water.... they are very healthy !



Posted by: Maria, dmeexotics@aol.com
Subject: none
When: 4:51 PM, 20 Oct 2000
IP: 205.188.192.28

Tap water has chlorine, flouride and may have lead and other things. It just depends on how good the water in your area is, some people just filter their tap water and use it. I use tap water, but I have a well, not city water so my water isn't treated. smile



Posted by: Bourbon
Subject: none
When: 6:41 PM, 20 Oct 2000
IP: 216.248.35.251

also you must watch for things such as giardia, it can pass through the water treatment plants when it is in it's dormant state. as for teaching him, as they said fool them each day dilute it more and more, you may want to try something such as apple juice though.. they shouldn't drink a bunch of water anyway unless they are eating things like briskys.. they will consume so much more , but they need more. as long as you offer wet fruits, they shouldn't need a lot , but they need some..



Posted by: Mary/Beck, intr01dc@frank.mtsu.edu
Subject: Girardia!!
When: 8:30 PM, 20 Oct 2000
IP: 12.77.81.121

Never ever give your gliders tap water! I only had peep for 3 weeks when he got girardia. He got very sick and could of died from this. Girardia is a parasite only found in water. Cities do not filter girardia...you can get it from tap water anywhere. It gets in the water from anumals dogs, cats, birds, etc going to the bathroom in or near the water. You need a water filter that specifily says it filters girardia...things like brita do not. PURE water filters gilter giradia 99%. Speing water and bottled water are less likely to have girardia, but it is not filtered for it.

PURE water filter is the only company I know if that filters giradia. You can buy these filters at wal-mart for about 35-40 bucks.

I know how sick my glider was, and it was my fault for giving tap water. Girarida can get in the water at anytime...you can easily have healthy glider for 10 years and then one day get girardia in the water. you can't see it and you never know if its there or not.

Go out and buy one today...please I know how scarry it can be to see them get sick that way.



Posted by: chrissy, crisi13@aol.com
Subject: none
When: 12:08 AM, 21 Oct 2000
IP: 205.188.200.56

we have bottled water delivered to our house from co. called puritain springs, do you know if they filter for girardia??? Do you think that if I call the toll free # on the bill they would know?



Posted by: Jim M, dr.goodnight@att.net
Subject: none
When: 10:53 AM, 21 Oct 2000
IP: 12.75.96.78

First on the agenda, Public water supplies, such as the water cities supply to homeowners, do have filters in place to filter out parasites and other particulates, such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. However, people with private wells will probably have a higher risk of having parasites, bacteria (such as coliforms, e.g., E.coli), nitrates, etc. in their water. This is why they should have their water tested twice a year. I agree with using a filter system, such as Pur or Brita. I work at a state lab who did studies on bottled water and there have been some samples that came up positive for various chemical and microbiological "impurities". Once again, the take home message is that we can tolerate a whole lot more in our bodies (with the aid of our immune system) than our little gliders. Sparkey, you can also call the water department in your city and get the results of all of the testing they do on their water. It is public information. Good Luck!

Mary/Beck,
Where do you live? Just out of curiosity and did you let the water department know that there was Giardia in the water? Was your glider's stool sample tested for Giardia or was it presumptive by your vet?



Posted by: Mary/Beck, intr01dc@frank.mtsu.edu
Subject: Nashville TN
When: 9:42 PM, 21 Oct 2000
IP: 12.77.81.67

I live in Nashville, TN...and I know of cases of girardia found in gliders and other animals like cats and dogs from all over the US. This is not just from well water..this is from regual city water.

Yes my gliders stool was sampled and he did have girardia. My vet said they had never seen it in a glider before but see it in dogs and cats all the time.

The water department has said that they have filters..but that they can not filter it all. They say by law they must filter the water to a "safe" ammount. A safe ammount for human consumption is not the same as that for a glider. They may filter out some of the girardia but they do not filter it all.

Chrissy: spring water has no regulations for filtering girardia..but it has less chance of getting contaminated. You can call the company and see if it is filtered for girardia..but I do not know of a single spring water company that does. Please let me know if they do. I do use bottled water when traveling with my glider but I prefer the filter ebcause I know for a fact it filters out at least 99% of the girardia.