Water for frogs, newts, and axolotls

Tap water

Treat tap water for chlorine and chloramine before it touches an amphibian or goes in the misting bottle. A product made for aquaria, used at the label dose, is the usual method. Boiling does not remove chloramine reliably. Reptile-safe is not a feeling. It is a treated bucket you can point at.

Temperature

An axolotl belongs in cool water, commonly around 16–18°C, and becomes stressed as the water climbs toward room-temperature tropical tanks. White's tree frogs and many dart frogs want a mild room, not a heat wave. A thermometer in the water is part of the enclosure.

How clean

Axolotls are messy. A filter rated for a larger aquarium, a bare or fine-sand floor, and regular water changes matter more than a treasure chest. Frogs that sit in a water dish need that dish washed. Stagnant warm water grows the bacteria that show up as red skin and lethargy.

What not to add

Salt, soaps, essential oils, and copper medicines from fish shops are a poor experiment. A sick amphibian needs a veterinarian who will see one. Cooling an overheated axolotl is done gradually, with treated water, not with ice against the skin.

Your hands

Rinse hands before handling, and handle rarely. Poison frogs are not pets you hold. Their toxins and their skin both argue for looking, not touching. Wash afterwards. Salmonella advice applies to amphibians as well as reptiles.