Misting Terrarium with Distilled Water

[AaronK]

Would misting a terrarium with distilled water be ok. I know the dart froggers use R/O and distilled but would it hurt salamanders?

 

[keechoo]

I always thought it would and have heard it from different people. Whether it is true or not I don't know so I err on the side of caution and use spring water.

 

[Abrahm]

Reverse Osmosis (RO) or distilled water should pose no problems for misting. Each of these water types has the benefit of not leaving mineral deposits. The only potential problems are when a totally aquatic animal is kept in RO or distilled water as this can cause the animal to be stressed due to osmotic pressure. Ions will want to leave the animal and it will have to work (harder) to keep them in.

 

[grunsven]

Indeed, keeping them swimming in distilled water might pose a problem in the long term but misting is safe.

 

[DosJax 12XU]

I work at a reptile shop, and all we use for misting and filling water bowls is distilled water. We'll use it on crocodile newts, emporer newts, spotted salamanders, tiger salamanders (when they used to be legal here), and fire salamanders and still be fine the next day. We've had these shanjings for a while and they all look great, and we use distilled water (because it leaves no water spots on the glass when it dries). But for a completely aquatic animal, I would be very cautious.