water bottle

[degu mad]

Currently my two degu's are in a cage, but as they are due babys i have decided to get them a bigger tank. i was just wondering how you guys attach a water bottle in a tank as currently mine clips onto the cage. i have seen bottles with suction cups to put on the side of the tank, but do you think the degus will chew through the bottle? any suggestions appriciated, thanks

[DirtySouthChins]

what we did when we had our degu's and their pups were old enough to move out and be placed in a space of their own (tank) we took some small wire (chickenwire) and made it to wear it would hold the bottle and clip to the top of the tank at the same time, I hope that made a little sense as it is hard to explain w/out a picture.

[degu mad]

so the bottle was inside the tank, hanging up? and the degus didnt chew it? that is my main concern, i dont want them to chew it and waterlog their tank!!! thanks for the suggestion :O)

[DirtySouthChins]

Yes the bottle was inside the tank, and no they didn't chew it because the wire was around it like a covered holder, and then had a thinner strip cut out to go behind and up to attach to the tank. The wire was all one piece just cut to fit, I really hope I'm making sense.

[degu mad]

yeah i see what you mean, my bofriends lizard tank has some thing like that around the light bulb to stop him burning his self. i'll try and give that a go, thanks

[DirtySouthChins]

your welcome....good luck!!

[degu mad]

i'll let you know if i have any success with it!!! hee hee!

[Amethystbelle]

If its going inside the tank, cage etc then you will need a glass water bottle as the ickle critters can get there teeth through a bottle cage and chew a plastic bottle up in minutes if thats what there minds are set too as thats what happened to me, i'm the voice of experience here as for 3 days in a row my cage was flooded ! The degu in question got his teeth through the bottles cage and chewed the plastic once on the bottles cap and i didn't know what had happened just that they had gone through a large bottle in a day and then i replaced the bottle and he did it again but this time the plastic itself and this happened twice in a row so i replaced all mine with glass and ceramic capped ones, they are hard to get hold off and a little more expensive then a plastic ones but better in the long run

[degu mad]

i'll keep my eye out for a glass one, i've never seen them before! do you know if there are any websites that sell them in the uk?

[Amethystbelle]

Not seen them on any sites i have been on but if i do i will let you know. I found mine in a small petshop as all the big retailers seem to just stock plastic but they can be found if you look around and i found that they also stay cleaner inside then plastic ones do, if i do see any on here i will let you know

[degu mad]

i dont think i have ever seen one either!! thank you for the idea though, seems an easier idea that d.i.y. (in my case anyway!!!) much appreciated

[Amethystbelle]

Lol....and chicken wires dangerous i still have the scars from the last time i decided to mess with it in a animal related project!!!

[degu mad]

hehe! i know what you mean, im likely to do more harm than good!, i have a plastic one in there at the mo and they havent chewed it yet, touch wood! i also have a few spares in the cupboard, just in case!!

[Amethystbelle]

I had a water bottle on for well over a year and then oneday don't know what got into his head he decided to wreck it and the next two that followed, he tried with the glass but found a little on the hard side Some degus are pretty good and don't chew anything up and then you get some who are prolific chewers, one of mine Basil i can give him an empty tissue box and it lasts him a week or more before he totally destroys it but the other Rupert destroys it within 10 minutes

[XTRAWLD]

I have a small glass one.....my worry with that is that they won't get the water out, as they kind of have to suck as opposed to click a ball and water runs out. I had it for my hamster and took it out for fear of the same thing. I'm sure they would figure it out though, but I'm still a little wary. We too will be going to an aquarium sort of cage from a wire cage soon, so this thread has been helpful.