Water Bottles

[kandy]

My degus drink out of bowls because I've never really trusted water bottles. I've been thinking about giving water bottles another chance but I have a few questions first. The water bottles that we've had seem to drip constantly, do all water bottles do this? And another thing is how do I know for sure that they're drinking from it? The bottle that we have has measurements on it, but it wouldn't be accurate to read the measurement if it's dripping constantly right? If it is just our bottle that drips and we get a new one, how much would they drink a day?

When they had their water bottles before I never seen them go near it and when I brought them to it they would bite it once and walk away (I don't even think they got any water from it). I read before that you can put certain types of fruit juice as a treat in their bottle, would this help them learn to use it?

Thanks in advance for all of your help

[Sasami]

They shouldn't drip constantly...I think I read on my bottle that the water is supposed to be room temperature and then it won't drip. Also, it drips a little at first until it forms a vacuum.

They should probably figure it out on their own. I'd put a water bowl right under the bottle to help them learn. You could also 'show' them how to use it by pressing on the bottle and letting some water come out.

Hope this helps .

[vinamp]

ya they shouldnt drip constantly at all .... im pretty sure they would figure it out by themselves, if they are thirsty they should be able to figure out where the water. i agree with sasami about squeezing the bottle to show them, thats wut did the first time i put mine in. im gonna take a guess at this but in a day my 3 degus drink around 100ml - 150ml in a day.

im not 2 sure about the fruit juice as ive never heard of it. i know when i died blocks with koolaid it didnt promote chewing at all.

at first my degus didnt know how to use thier bottle but they learned quickly

[Amethystbelle]

Non of my bottles drip at all, the only time they might is when they are about empty but i never let them get to that stage anyway as i give my boys fresh water every single day. If you are worried about them chewing at a bottle try and look for a glass bottle, i have a few of those and they are brilliant. I wouldn't advise putting any fruit juices into their water as they tend to be too high in sugar for degu's. They should like everyone else has stated figure it out for themselves. But if you are worried for a start then i would put a little water bowl under the spout like Sasami said and then gradually as they use the bottle more phase the bowl out. I wouldn't worry too much about how much they drink. Degu's are designed to be able to draw water from the food in which they eat as in the wild they come from an arid area so water wouldn't be available all the time so their bodies are designed to cope with little to no water. In captivity they have free access to water and do drink as and when neccessary but every degu varies. So i wouldn't worry too much about how much they need to drink as they will take on what they need on a daily basis and like humans every degu varies. The only time to worry is if they are drinking excessively as this can be an indication of illness but water intake is hard to tell anyway especially when there is more than one degu in the cage

[Keppeh]

Beebo and Quinny are in love with sugarless fruit juice. Pure fruit juice, basically. Apple juice, grape juice, but I think I only let them have a bit once. They love too many things that are terrible for them.

[SulaBlue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Keppeh Beebo and Quinny are in love with sugarless fruit juice. Pure fruit juice, basically. Apple juice, grape juice, but I think I only let them have a bit once. They love too many things that are terrible for them.

You mean no-sugar-added, right? "Pure" Fruit juice is still incredibly high in natural sugars.

[Keppeh]

Yes, of course. But I only have them a tiny tiny bit. As in, a drop.

[pinkie1205]

I have a regular water bottle for my mice and a spring loaded water bottle for my rats (the blue water canteen thing you can get from petsmart) I dont know about degus, but I don't think they could handle the spring loaded water bottle because it takes a lot of pressure to move the ball. I got a cheap waterbottle from walmart that was $3 and it doesn't drip (I don't remember the brand)

Also if you're worried about chewing, those little metal thingys do actually work, and you can probably hang it on the outside of the cage.

[kandy]

Thanks a lot for all the help!
I'll check again with the dripping by trying room temp. water and we'll see how that works.
When I first got my chinchillas I gave them a plastic water bottle without a guard and in one night they ate through it and water was everywhere in the morning, so I learned that lesson the hard way!
I'll keep you guys posted Thanks again!

[KLocke]

I have been using a Habitrail (it has a bit of a space theme to it) water bottle with my girls since we got them and they use it as their water source. It also doesn't drip at all! There's measurement demarcations on the side if you ever need to give them medication as well.

[pinkie1205]

My one mouse uses the crittertrail water bottle, it doesn't leak, but I've had mice chew through theirs before. I stand behind the ball water bottles, or the silent ones, which have little valves.