Water bottle issues...

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sun 19 Jun 2016, 10:06 pm

Sorry for asking sooooo many questions, you are probably really annoyed by me lol. I have two water bottles, both the same brand/style, and I always have to squeeze them to get the water flowing again, as air always gets stuck. Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me? And as for the product question... Which water bottle can I get that will actually work?

by peas Sun 19 Jun 2016, 10:48 pm

Glass is better than plastic.

I think most people use a glass no drip (they're all called no drip) water bottle. You can probably google it and only one type will come up. I doubt you can find many other types in stores anywhere but i could be wrong.

Hydration is super important for mice so it's a good idea to know for sure they are working. If you are having issues, make sure to get ones you are confident in right away. A mouse can dehydrate a lot faster than a person and their organs are more prone to problems than a person so it's a double whammy.

Also, it can help to make sure the mice can easily reach the water bottle without having to get on their hind legs. It may help if you build a little platform to it so they can reach it very easily. I would get a glass bottle one, and build the platform.

by scaredymouse Sun 19 Jun 2016, 10:53 pm

I don't trust any water bottles. I'm in the habit of testing them all with my finger every day. I use the basic plastic ones from Petco and they work 99% of the time. But that 1%, someone almost died. So for that reason, I don't trust them. It's not an uncommon problem. I don't have to squeeze them or anything, but I do tap the ball on the end once a day to make sure everything is in working order.

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/petco-polka-dot-print-small-animal-plastic-water-bottle

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sun 19 Jun 2016, 11:14 pm

peas wrote:
Glass is better than plastic.

I think most people use a glass no drip (they're all called no drip) water bottle. You can probably google it and only one type will come up. I doubt you can find many other types in stores anywhere but i could be wrong.

Hydration is super important for mice so it's a good idea to know for sure they are working. If you are having issues, make sure to get ones you are confident in right away. A mouse can dehydrate a lot faster than a person and their organs are more prone to problems than a person so it's a double whammy.

Also, it can help to make sure the mice can easily reach the water bottle without having to get on their hind legs. It may help if you build a little platform to it so they can reach it very easily. I would get a glass bottle one, and build the platform.

Yes I understand that they need a lot of water, that's why I go in and check every few hours but it gets annoying. I want water to be available to them 24/7 without me having to manually help them get it. I have never seen the glass ones in the petco closest to me, but I will check for prices online, thanks!

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sun 19 Jun 2016, 11:19 pm

scaredymouse wrote:I don't trust any water bottles. I'm in the habit of testing them all with my finger every day. I use the basic plastic ones from Petco and they work 99% of the time. But that 1%, someone almost died. So for that reason, I don't trust them. It's not an uncommon problem. I don't have to squeeze them or anything, but I do tap the ball on the end once a day to make sure everything is in working order.

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/petco-polka-dot-print-small-animal-plastic-water-bottle

Yeah, mine are plastic, so I'm not sure how you get yours to work and I can't seem to get mine working properly. I'll just have to try purchasing a glass one and see what happens.

by Peachy Sun 19 Jun 2016, 11:32 pm

I think water bottles can be really hit or miss. I bought a whole bunch of one kind when I had seven baby boy mice, and half of them worked. If it doesn't work, exchange it and test it before you leave again. lol I think blowing into the spout has worked for me too when the water wouldn't come out... Who knows where that weirdo idea came from. Laughing

These are my favorites, I have a few of each and haven't had any issues at all. The one that scaredymouse linked to has been a good one, too. Good luck with your search!

Glass:
http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/small-animal/small-animal-feeding-supplies/kaytee-chew-proof-water-bottle

Plastic:
http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/small-animal/small-animal-feeding-supplies/petco-universal-small-animal-water-bottle

by Brynne Mon 20 Jun 2016, 1:53 am

Water bottles have been a frustrating mess since I began keeping pet rodents in the 1980s. Strangely, there has been no advancement in the basic technology used on the spouts: Just the choice of a plain sipper tube or one with a ball bearing on the end (or two ball bearings, and sometimes a spring.)

Keep trying various styles until you get "the one." When you do, it will likely last for several years. That's the good news- at least half of bottles are excellent!

by MouseLover Mon 20 Jun 2016, 7:13 am

I've never had a problem with the most basic plastic water bottles. I guess it's just luck of the draw!

by CallaLily Mon 20 Jun 2016, 12:16 pm

I had the same problem -water not being released- with the glass Kaytee water bottle. I tried everything, searching out tips on the internet. The only thing that helped was to make sure it was hanging at just the right angle. Needless to say, I haven't used this bottle in a while. Someone over on TFM mentioned switching the spout out for one from a basic plastic water bottle helped them. Something I may try in the future if one of my plastic bottles cracks.

At the moment I'm using ones just like Scaredy linked. I check them often after the scare with the glass bottle, but so far they've been great.

I also have this one that I planned on using for the travel carrier but it drips like crazy.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Mon 20 Jun 2016, 1:18 pm

Hmm, most of you seem to be leaning towards the plastic petco ones, so maybe I will give those a try instead. Lol, you see, I really just need one that works, I can't go returning them for different ones all the time if they don't work because the nearest Petco is 40 minutes away. There's only one pet store really close and it's privately owned, but all they really sell is pet food, not much supplies. Even if they did have water bottles, there would probably not be much of a choice. So I need to get a water bottle that's worth a 40 minute ride to Petco! Razz

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sun 26 Jun 2016, 10:58 pm

Got one of the plastic ones while at PetCo today, I'm pleased with it so far, it seems to be working well. It was leaking like crazy at first, but that seems to have cleared up. Water's coming out ok! Smile

by olimarthemouse Mon 27 Jun 2016, 7:57 am

I had such trouble with water bottles that I finally decided to switch to a bowl. My mouse is actually a lot happier with the bowl. Sure, I have to clean it more often, but he had such trouble getting used to a bottle for some reason, and I can tell if he's drinking from the bowl or not:)

by CinnamonPearl Mon 27 Jun 2016, 8:56 am

Glass water bottles are better because you can sterilize them by boiling them, and some plastics can leech chemicals into the water. What I do is I bought a glass bottle, but I use the tube from a plastic bottle that works much better. I've never had any problems with it!

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