Water Bottle Help!

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nikkik0720

Chin-Mommy of 3
Joined
Jun 30, 2013
Messages
104
Location
Johnstown, Pa
So I'm looking to get some new water bottles (my girl's bottle is a plastic Lixit and it leaks horribly) and my boy's have a Super Pet top fill (which is amazing, but they ate the rubber/plastic flip top thing so poop/fur/hay gets in the water and it's not healthy).

I was thinking about getting 2 new Super Pet bottles like my boys have, but they're somewhat expensive and pretty hard to clean. I've also read that super pet doesn't have the best reputation against being leak-proof (even though I've used the brand for awhile and never had problems. I used to have hamsters, and used the Super Pet glass bottles.)

I'm looking for opinions on water bottles. They have to be the kind that has the bent tube that attaches to the outside of the cage (my boys will eat/attempt to eat anything in their cage).

~~I forgot to add, it has to be the type of bottle that has the ball at the end. It's what I have and what I'm comfortable with. Plus I've heard that sometimes chins have difficulties learning to use other kinds and can dehydrate quickly since they don't know how to get water~~
 
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I don't have experience with either, as I use Water Buddies, which are no longer made.

However, if you decide to go with the Super Pet like you have now I suggest getting a water bottle guard to prevent them from chewing it through the bars. I use them on almost all my cages. :D
 
If I go with Super Pet, it'd be the glass bottles. I've had one too many problems with the other plastic ones (even with guards) with my hamsters, and am not willing to risk my chins well-being with the plastic ones (other than the kind my boys have now, but that's a different style/kind)
 
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i use that kind. 6 of them atm. They are decent, but i will note that a while back the company went cheap. The length of the nozzle was shortened and the spot where the metal connects to the glass is of less quality.

Is a shame, but they do still work.
 
i havent had luck with the above kind in the picture by super pet. they seemed to work ok for me for a little while then all of a sudden they would just pour out leaking! so id say if you want to use those, be careful if you get those and use with caution. keep an eye on them.

i'm weary of buying glass bottles online cuz id hate for them to break in shipping, or have to return them if they leak. so i tend to try to buy that stuff in stores. the best luck ive had so far was with a GLASS bottle in the BIRD section of petsmart. the bottle is smaller, with a thinner nozzle, and i wanna say about $13 a piece. but they have always worked for me!!! i want to say they are "all living things" brand. they all have a little neon green floating turtle inside so you can easily see the water level.

hope that helps!
 
I finally ended up just getting a Kaytee/Super Pet glass bottle, much like the one you have pictured GodofGods. I only got one because it was pretty expensive and the boys' bottle works (I used an old dust container lid to cover the opening where they ate the lid that came with the bottle) Willow isn't a huge fan of it (mainly because it has to hang inside the cage) but she uses it and it doesn't leak (except for the first few minutes that it's upright until it creates it's seal)
 
yea, mine are doing that a decent bit any more. When i fill it with the filtered water at the sink i usually tap the end several times letting some water out until it stops leaking much. Then go put it on the cage. Of course by the time i get to the cage, the movement has caused it to drip again, so i take a piece of paper towel and tap the nozzle until it stops leaking. - of course i have to be careful doing that. If some of my chins are to close they will try to grab a piece and take off with it so they can eat it in peace
 
If the chin room gets colder than 65, the bottle wants to leak really bad. Not quite sure why, but it's whatever. I keep the room closer to 70 since they seem to like it better that way too (much more active and seem happier in general if it's 70-72.)

My boys' figured out how to empty their water bottle... I watched Gizmo pushing the ball with his paws until water runs out onto the shelf. He showed Mazlow and they now empty the bottle when they get mad at me (ie. If I don't give them treats every time I enter the room)
 
I had issues with the bottle pictured above being stopped up...no water coming out at all. There will always be some leaking you may even have a girl that is playing in the water
 
My boys' figured out how to empty their water bottle... I watched Gizmo pushing the ball with his paws until water runs out onto the shelf. He showed Mazlow and they now empty the bottle when they get mad at me (ie. If I don't give them treats every time I enter the room)

Haha!! Punishing themselves because they're mad at you!

I know you said you're not comfortable with the other kind of water bottles, but I totally recommend them. I wasn't too sure about it at first, but I have 3 of those glass ones pictured above and hate them. I only use one now. I have this one 7 year old plastic lixit ball bottle that never drips, it's like the god of all water bottles, but I got tired of my other ones gushing water. When I tried the switch, I kept both bottles in the cage. The older one usually emptied in about 4 hours, so when I first put it in and they were all curious, I used my finger to press it. They caught on very quickly, but I still monitored usage for a while. The bottle is much smaller but never empties. I love it!
 
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