Compnerd7
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Earlier I posted a thread on if it was safe or not to take a Tegu in a swimming pool. A few issues arose whether or not it was safe for someone to take a Tegu in a swimming pool. Some controversy arose, and more questions were raised. So, I have spent some time testing and researching to answer these questions.
First off, 4 people were contacted as consultants to this "hypothesis"; a well respected exotic pet veterinarian, a biologist who works at a zoo handling reptiles, a reptile shop owner, and a pool man. Almost all were unanimous in their answers, some more detailed then others, and with the variety of people I talked to I got to see 4 different view points.
Chlorine as an element:
I am going to start out by saying that Chlorine is a very unstable element, and Chlorine levels can change rapidly in any pool of water. The bonding between the two atoms is relatively weak. UVB / UVA breaks down Chlorine from a liquid to a gas or breaks apart the neutrons / protons+ of the element. That's why you can leave water out in the sun for a few days and rid it of Chlorine. Chlorine is a natural element found on this planet, not a poison, and is found in many places you wouldn't expect it to show up, including Salt. It becomes toxic when it is refined, and concentrated. So there are many acceptable levels of Chlorine both in nature, and in captivity. The flip side of that is there is also UNACCEPTABLE levels of it.
Levels of Chlorine vs. Human / Animal interaction:
There are different levels of Chlorine that affect different organisms depending on it's concentration. I am only going to go over acceptable levels on humans, and Tegus. 3ppm ( parts per million ) is acceptable for humans to swim in, with some risk. If you were to shower afterward this would eliminate that risk. It is the same for Tegus. Due to the fact that Tegus are Semi-Aquatic lizards, their skin is designed in such a way to be water resistant, but is also water permeable. So they will absorb whatever is in the water after a long periods of time, as will a humans. However, Tegus can handle higher toxicity then we can because of their hardened beaded scales, and a layer of skin.
Tegus in a Chlorine treated pool:
As was stated above, a 3ppm is a maximum safe consecrate for a Tegu to swim in. That doesn't mean that I recommend you allow your Tegu to swim in the maximum level. A safe level would be 2.3 or lower. I prefer to to let levels in my pool to drop to 2ppm or lower just to be on the safe side. Another factor to consider is if your Tegu is getting out of the water and sunbathing for periods of time, He/She will burn off what Chlorine that is on it's skin, and thus allowing it to stay in the pool for longer. If your Tegu stays out of the water and drys off for more then 30 - 45 minutes, he will be free of Chlorine. A misnomer about washing your Tegu with a hose after it swims also comes up. Most drinking water contains Chlorine, and ALL water from a city treated water source has Chlorine in it. I just tested my tap water about 20 minutes, and it had a 1.7ppm of Chlorine. So if you take your Tegu in a pool with a ppm of 2, then rinse it off with a ppm of 1.7, that doesn't really do much. If you would like to be on the very safe side, I would soak your Tegu in repti-safe or something else that is safe for reptiles that removes Chlorine. However, after they go in their cage and bask for a while under their UVA/UVB bulbs it will burn off.
Tegus in a pool treated with Salt:
A pool treated with salt still contains Chlorine. When you are swimming in a pool treated with chlorine and you have a reaction, such as your eyes burning and turning red, that is not the Chlorine causing that effect. That is actually the effect of "dead" chlorine, and that it is breaking down due to the fact that it is an unstable element, and there are too many people in the pool, or the PH is off balance. What you are really experiencing is a chemical change. The sun and other safety measures are not acting quickly enough to rid the water of this. As was stated in the beginning, salt contains chlorine. A salt treated pool is a much better stabilized water, with little chemical change. But, there are 2 downfalls to bringing a Lizard into a Salt treated pool. Salt can quickly dry out a Tegu, and make them dehydrated, so if one were to choose to bring their Tegu into a Salt treated pool, make sure to keep a good watch on it, so that he doesn't get dried out, and that he also has access to some fresh water once in a while to drink. The second downfall of Salt treated pools is that they can contain good amounts of Chlorine at times, so be sure to check to the Chlorine levels before you decide to put your lizard in it.
Tap water and Chlorine:
I did make the point that tap water contains Chlorine when it is treated, and it's concentration changes from time to time. My only recommendation in this entire thread is that you test your tap water before you use it. I am sure that most on here use filtered water, distilled, R.O. , or spring water; I am only saying this as a friendly reminder to some. If you want to test your water, you can get Chlorine test kit at a local pool store, I got the one in the following picture for $7 ( it was actually free because my friend who worked there gave it to me, but it was normally $6.99 ) and it tests both Chlorine and PH. You would think fish stores or pet stores would have testers for Chlorine, but I have seen that a lot don't, so your best and sure bet is to just go to a pool store.
I want to make it clear that I wrote this thread just to share the information I have spent a lot of time gathering. I am not suggesting you do things one way or the other. These are just the facts, and I hope if anything you at least learned something new, as I did.
Any comments, or questions are welcome. If you have a pool, and you want my own personal advice on what you should or can do, feel free to send me a PM.
First off, 4 people were contacted as consultants to this "hypothesis"; a well respected exotic pet veterinarian, a biologist who works at a zoo handling reptiles, a reptile shop owner, and a pool man. Almost all were unanimous in their answers, some more detailed then others, and with the variety of people I talked to I got to see 4 different view points.
Chlorine as an element:
I am going to start out by saying that Chlorine is a very unstable element, and Chlorine levels can change rapidly in any pool of water. The bonding between the two atoms is relatively weak. UVB / UVA breaks down Chlorine from a liquid to a gas or breaks apart the neutrons / protons+ of the element. That's why you can leave water out in the sun for a few days and rid it of Chlorine. Chlorine is a natural element found on this planet, not a poison, and is found in many places you wouldn't expect it to show up, including Salt. It becomes toxic when it is refined, and concentrated. So there are many acceptable levels of Chlorine both in nature, and in captivity. The flip side of that is there is also UNACCEPTABLE levels of it.
Levels of Chlorine vs. Human / Animal interaction:
There are different levels of Chlorine that affect different organisms depending on it's concentration. I am only going to go over acceptable levels on humans, and Tegus. 3ppm ( parts per million ) is acceptable for humans to swim in, with some risk. If you were to shower afterward this would eliminate that risk. It is the same for Tegus. Due to the fact that Tegus are Semi-Aquatic lizards, their skin is designed in such a way to be water resistant, but is also water permeable. So they will absorb whatever is in the water after a long periods of time, as will a humans. However, Tegus can handle higher toxicity then we can because of their hardened beaded scales, and a layer of skin.
Tegus in a Chlorine treated pool:
As was stated above, a 3ppm is a maximum safe consecrate for a Tegu to swim in. That doesn't mean that I recommend you allow your Tegu to swim in the maximum level. A safe level would be 2.3 or lower. I prefer to to let levels in my pool to drop to 2ppm or lower just to be on the safe side. Another factor to consider is if your Tegu is getting out of the water and sunbathing for periods of time, He/She will burn off what Chlorine that is on it's skin, and thus allowing it to stay in the pool for longer. If your Tegu stays out of the water and drys off for more then 30 - 45 minutes, he will be free of Chlorine. A misnomer about washing your Tegu with a hose after it swims also comes up. Most drinking water contains Chlorine, and ALL water from a city treated water source has Chlorine in it. I just tested my tap water about 20 minutes, and it had a 1.7ppm of Chlorine. So if you take your Tegu in a pool with a ppm of 2, then rinse it off with a ppm of 1.7, that doesn't really do much. If you would like to be on the very safe side, I would soak your Tegu in repti-safe or something else that is safe for reptiles that removes Chlorine. However, after they go in their cage and bask for a while under their UVA/UVB bulbs it will burn off.
Tegus in a pool treated with Salt:
A pool treated with salt still contains Chlorine. When you are swimming in a pool treated with chlorine and you have a reaction, such as your eyes burning and turning red, that is not the Chlorine causing that effect. That is actually the effect of "dead" chlorine, and that it is breaking down due to the fact that it is an unstable element, and there are too many people in the pool, or the PH is off balance. What you are really experiencing is a chemical change. The sun and other safety measures are not acting quickly enough to rid the water of this. As was stated in the beginning, salt contains chlorine. A salt treated pool is a much better stabilized water, with little chemical change. But, there are 2 downfalls to bringing a Lizard into a Salt treated pool. Salt can quickly dry out a Tegu, and make them dehydrated, so if one were to choose to bring their Tegu into a Salt treated pool, make sure to keep a good watch on it, so that he doesn't get dried out, and that he also has access to some fresh water once in a while to drink. The second downfall of Salt treated pools is that they can contain good amounts of Chlorine at times, so be sure to check to the Chlorine levels before you decide to put your lizard in it.
Tap water and Chlorine:
I did make the point that tap water contains Chlorine when it is treated, and it's concentration changes from time to time. My only recommendation in this entire thread is that you test your tap water before you use it. I am sure that most on here use filtered water, distilled, R.O. , or spring water; I am only saying this as a friendly reminder to some. If you want to test your water, you can get Chlorine test kit at a local pool store, I got the one in the following picture for $7 ( it was actually free because my friend who worked there gave it to me, but it was normally $6.99 ) and it tests both Chlorine and PH. You would think fish stores or pet stores would have testers for Chlorine, but I have seen that a lot don't, so your best and sure bet is to just go to a pool store.
I want to make it clear that I wrote this thread just to share the information I have spent a lot of time gathering. I am not suggesting you do things one way or the other. These are just the facts, and I hope if anything you at least learned something new, as I did.
Any comments, or questions are welcome. If you have a pool, and you want my own personal advice on what you should or can do, feel free to send me a PM.
