Best Water Bottle?

[schweppes]

Now that I have a better hay holder, I find I need a new water bottle. This one leaks every time they run on the wheel and the other day I came home to find that the bottom of the bottle just fell right off. Water was everywhere. So I come here to ask, what's the best water bottle for my chins?

 

[MelodyR]

THE best one was the one that Lixit used to make with the Chinchilla on the bottle. But I can't find them anywhere anymore. They never ever leak or clog, and mine is right near the flying saucer that really rocks the cage.

If anyone knows of any, let me know! My poor guinea pigs live in puddles. I like the Flat-Bac bottles but they leak like crazy, but at least they don't fall off like some of the others.

 

[arf2184]

I reccomend one of these two-

The 8 oz glass Lixit bottle:
http://www.amazon.com/Lixit-Heavy-Glass-Water-Bottle/dp/B0002YFS7E

Or the glass Super Pet bottle (6 or 12 oz):
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Ani...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1260070079&sr=1-1

The lixit is my favorite, but if you're having trouble with it leaking do to cage movement, you might go with the Super Pet bottle. It tends to hold the water in better than the Lixit bottles. I find that the chins have to work a bit harder to get the water out of the Super Pet one. I use it for one of my chins that likes to play with his water bottle.

 

[Stackie]

I love my Lixit bottles. None of them leak and none have problems with the water coming out. The Super Pet bottles I bought recently weren't letting the water come out, so my chins kept trying to get a drink but nothing would come out.

Never had a single problem with any of my Lixit bottles and I have 6 of them, in both 16 and 8 oz.

 

[Hazurdouscowgirl]

Edstrom water buddy

I have Edstrom water buddies and I think they are the greatest things since sliced bread. Unfortunately, they have been discontinued. I can't imagine why as they were very popular and people were always searching for them. You might be able to find some dealers who have a few left in stock. I got mine from agselect.com and their website says they don't have any. However, bunnyrabbit.com says they have some of each size left. I have the 16 oz. because the 8 oz. seemed too small. They are pricier than most water bottles you'll find in pet stores, but if you get one you'll never need to buy another water bottle. They don't leak, period. If you want to get one, I suggest you order it quickly because when they're gone, they're gone for good

Here is why they have been discontinued.

 

[arf2184]

I've got 12 of the Lixits and I do love them, but the plastic on the spout can be chewed by a persistent chin, over time the plastic threads (parts where you screw on the spout) wear out and the rubber washer that helps them seal also wears out. I have yet to find a supplier for replacement washers and caps that fit. I don't see any point in replacing the whole bottle when the cap and washer is all I need, but it looks like I'm going to have to.

The Super Pet ones do not have rubber washers and have a nearly-all metal screw on spout (plastic threads on the inside) which is a plus. But yes, they don't always release the water as easily. This can be a plus for some.

You should always check to make sure that the bottle is working properly each time you wash, refill and place it back on the cage.

 

[jenjenn2005]

I have the Edstrom water buddies in 8 and 16oz and absolutely love them! I didn't realize they were discontinued, now I may need to go buy some more. They are totally worth the price, I've never had a chin chew through them or have them leak, even on bumpy car rides. My suggestion is get these while you can, you definitely don't want to miss out on them!

 

[cintistatern2005]

Is the edstrom water buddies glass or plastic?

 

[Hazurdouscowgirl]

The Edstrom water buddies are made of rugged PVC plastic and can be washed on the top shelf of your dishwasher. I have not had problems with my chins chewing them. There is a bottle guard made for it that can be purchased if you have problems with chewing.

 

[danakscully64]

I honestly had major problems with my Super Pet glass bottle, it wasn't dispensing water at all and I didn't know it! After that incident, I read online that many others experienced it too. So if you do buy one, make sure you're monitoring the water level frequently.

The only water bottle that I've ever owned that didn't leak is the Super Pet Critter Canteen. To prevent the chins from chewing, I bought this guard many years ago for about $7.

 

[jenjenn2005]

After seeing that the Edstrom bottles are discontinue, I saw on the bunnyrabbit.com website they have MJ topfill water bottles... Has anyone used these? They look similar to the Edstrom. There is also one called Nivek. Both of them have the barbed water valve versus the ball, which is what I find leaks the most.

 

[Rickman]

Of the maybe 10-15 different bottles I've used, I now will only buy the superpet.
I've replaced washers with 'hose washers', bought metal guards, and replaced chewed nozzles, but once you learn the 'trick' of the superpet, they cant be beat!
If, after you fill them, you turn them upside down, [installed position] and 'bounce' them off the heal of your hand, and see bubbles coming up - they're ready to hang on the cage!
I especially like the "double ball" concept to avoid backflow, and the stainless steel cap, so you could even hang it inside the cage! Mounting hardware is pretty good, too!
After reading members with problems posts, I E-mailed Superpet with the no-flo problem, recommending they at least give some directions, with no success.

 

[Hazurdouscowgirl]

I'm not sure about the first 3 MJ bottles in the picture on the left. But the 4th, 32 oz. bottle has the same valve as the Edstrom bottles and should be similar. The Nivek bottles further down the page also have the same valve and would be good as well. The valve is the key to any good water bottle. Most of the ball drinkers are going to leak no matter what you do because they don't seal tightly enough. Any bits of food, hay or dust can get stuck in them and cause them to leak. The MJ and Nivek bottles are a lot cheaper than the Edstrom, but they look to be really soft plastic. Since they still have a good number of the Edstrom bottles, I'd go for one of those since they're dishwasher safe. But to save money, the others should do just fine.

 

[danakscully64]

After reading members with problems posts, I E-mailed Superpet with the no-flo problem, recommending they at least give some directions, with no success.

I e-mailed them too and never got a response. It really makes me want to avoid the company because they obviously don't have the best customer service or care about the animals (if they're still selling a faulty product).

 

[Stackie]

I bounced them off the palm of my hand to get water flowing and it flowed for maybe 5 minutes, then stopped flowing again. This was the same with all 3 of the superpet bottles I had.

 

[Rickman]

Agree - their customer service sucks!!
Since they're only about 5 miles from me, now, next time I'm in their neighborhood, I'm gonna pay them a visit! Hard to ignor a person in the waiting room, and I can be pretty persistant!! Especially when I can say I've almost 2200 'potential new customers' waiting for an answer!!
And I've never had a leakage problem with their product! I think the double balls eliminate that.

 

[Hazurdouscowgirl]

Pardon me if this sounds funny, (just remember this is the Housing and Supplies forum and not the breeding one :laughitup but the double balls thing sounds like a winner. I've never tried one as I've had my water buddies for several years now. But if I ever need to get more bottles, I'll look into those.

 

[Stackie]

The lixits only have one ball and none of mine leak. They drip a few times when forming the vacuum but that's it. All of the double ball bottles I have had have had problems with the water not coming out at all, including the Critter Canteens and the Superpets.

 

[schweppes]

I'm using Superpet right now, it's a lot better than my first bottle, but it's still leaking and I'm afraid the bottom's going to fall off again. I'm going to try my luck at getting an Edstrom. I won't be able to buy it until Wednesday, but there's over 100 in stock right now, so I think I'll be just fine.

 

[Hazurdouscowgirl]

Yeah I think you should be able to get one in a few days. They were discontinued in the beginning of the year. So it's not like it was just announced last week and there's a frenzied rush to buy up the remaining supply. If you can't get the water buddy or would like to save a few dollars, the one 32 oz. MJ bottle and the Nivek bottles also have the same valve and would be just as good.