water bottle leaking/dish drinking a bad thing?

by Moose Sun 02 Jun 2019, 7:18 pm

hello! my mouse's water bottle is a glass kaytee water bottle. i'm not sure of the ounces but it's one of the bigger bottles. it seems to be leaking a bit so i put a small glass dish under it to catch the water. i planned on getting a new bottle, but i noticed just a few minutes ago that my little mouse seems to prefer licking the water from the bottom of the dish as opposed to drinking it straight from the bottle nozzle? i watched him today and i was worried he wasn't drinking until i observed this. if i change and clean the water dish and bottle daily, would drinking from the dish cause him harm in any way?

thank you! Smile

by chiroptera Mon 03 Jun 2019, 2:11 am

@amousewhosqueaks As long as you're cleaning it daily, there's nothing wrong with using a water bowl! That's a more "natural" method of drinking than a bottle, so it's not harmful to them.

A potential downside is that mice like to put bedding/food/poo/pee/themselves into their water bowls for some reason Rolling Eyes

(Or at least mine do) So do be careful to keep it clean and accessible at all times, otherwise it should be fine!

by Sparrow Mon 03 Jun 2019, 5:34 am

I like to use water bowls for my mice, water bottles are a hassle to clean and more often than not they do indeed leak. Mice don't seem to like using them all that much to begin with. I barely saw my mice drink when I used water bottles.

Like chiroptera said, a lot of mice seem to like to put stuff into the water bowls. Mine seem to be obsessed with putting uncooked pasta into it as well as shredded bits of egg cartons. I have to clean out the bowl at least 3 times a day, oftentimes more. If that's something you don't mind doing, than by all means you should be able to use a bowl.

by Moose Mon 03 Jun 2019, 7:47 pm

@chiroptera @sparrow

thank you for your replies! as i was taking his water bowl out to clean it i came back to find my little rascal drinking from the bottle, lol! so i guess i’ll leave the bowl out for a little while and just play it by ear and observe Smile

maybe he likes both! i’m unsure, but he and i are still getting to know each other, lol!

by chiroptera Tue 04 Jun 2019, 5:08 am

@Sparrow They want to cook the pasta! Just need the heat. Laughing

by WBCarson Tue 04 Jun 2019, 3:43 pm

I use a water dish made of porcelain so they cant chew it and its easy to clean.
Mine too poo and put stuff in the water.

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Tue 04 Jun 2019, 4:30 pm

I used wide-rimmed glass candleholders, maybe finger-high or so, that I bought two per package at a dollar store. Pretty much untippable, even when April would stand on the edge.

Little April even taught herself how to use one of them as a pottie! She'd stand on the rim with her bum hanging over the candle hole and piddle right in. On occasion she'd carry a poo grenade from elsewhere in her little house and drop it in her tiny commode. As soon as I'd see she'd made a deposit, I'd take it to the bathroom to rinse it out for her. Sometimes she'd ride along on my shoulder to supervise.

How I miss that funny little girl!

by CallaLily Tue 04 Jun 2019, 7:25 pm

Yep. You can use a bowl, just know that it’ll likely need cleaning/refilling several times a day. Smile

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