Boycotting Water Bottles!

[Happi Bun]

I've had it with leaking and troublesome water bottles!!! :X

You wouldn't believe how many different types and brands I've tried, it's ridicules! I always end up with the same problem, leaking. This time just went too far though.About few nights agoI filled Dunkin's water bottle andmade sure it was working properly like usual. When I woke up the next morning it was completely empty! No way he drank all that in one night. It's one of those Super Pet Glass bottles, the largest, so it holds a good amount of water in it. Equally strange, I was expecting the lino on his NIC cage floor to be soaked but itwasn't. I shrugged it off and re-filled it. It's been working fine now. :twitch:

The day before yesterday I started noticing this wet/moldy odor in my room so I got down on my hands and knees to sniff out the source. A spot just at the edge of Dunkin's lino and a bit under it was wet and smelling so incredibly awful. Instantly the thought of mold jumped into my head. I realized that the reason his cage floor wasn't soaked after the water bottle malfunction was due to it trailed down the edge of his NIC cage, puddled at the end of the lino, and overflowed onto the carpet where it had been sitting without my knowledge.

Yesterday night Mom and I had the wonderful task of moving all the critters to different areas of the house, piling all the stuff in my room to one side and pulling up the carpet to assess the damage. We could feel in that spot the padding under the carpet was wet, so we pulled that up as well to see the wood. Sure enough it was soaked, but not moldy yet. I propped it up and set up a fan to blow on it then sprayed Lysol which kills Mold and Mildew. I'm so thankful that it dried within a few hours and the smell is gone now.

Now I need to come up with a plan to make sure this doesn't happen again. First I will be making the lino around his cage much larger. Second, I'm thinking about boycotting water bottles for the bun's. It's strange I don't have this problem with the smaller animals bottles, like the pigs and rats. I cant help but imagine what would have happened if we had been away during a water bottle malfunction, leaving Dunkin or Amber without water. So I'm thinking heavy duty ceramic watercrocks? Or maybe the kind that attach to the cage?

What would you do in this situation?

 

[irishbunny]

Oh that sucks!
I've never had a problem with water bottles, you don't have a brand of water bottle called ''Classic'' over there no? Seriously, they are the best water bottles. I have been using them for hamsters/guinea pigs/ rabbits since I was like 6 and not one ever gave me a problem. The majority of small animal keepers in Ireland/UK use this brand, pet owners, rescues, breeders etc. They are very reliable IMO.

I think if you are going to use a bowl, something you could attach to the side of the cage would be handy. Least that way he can't hop/poop/knock litter into his bowl, if it is keep up kind of high.

 

[BethM]

I use large ceramic crocks for water. They are too heavy, when filled with water, for the bunnies to move them much. The downside seems to be that hay and fur gets in there, so they have to be dumped and rinsed quite frequently.

Just yesterday, Nick was begging for his dinner pellets, and he was stretched up on the NIC panel above the water bottle. All of a sudden, he let go, and both front feet PLOPPED right into the water. LOL. Splashed everywhere, and he was a bit irritated. Funny, though!

 

[slavetoabunny]

I use the lock crocks that attach to the side of the pen for both food and water. They work great and are easy to run through the dishwasher.

 

[TXsouthrngrl]

I have both a water bottle and a "doggie dish" of water. I have read too many places that they drink better from a dish but keep the bottle as a back up. But I've never had problems with the bottle leaking.

 

[pOker]

I have the WORST problem with water bottles also!
Vegas' water bottle drips and drips all day and then when I check the cage later-the whole floor is soaked and disgusting..uff..

Thats a touch one to deal with..
But i am glad the mold smell went away for youu!

 

[Rabbit Hero]

I had the same problem. I once bought a "no-leak bottle", and it didn't leak BUT there was a spring inside the spout that kept the ball pushed up against the mouth of the hole, making it virtually impossible for my rabbit to push the ball in to get any water. So I also switched to heavy ceramic crocks. Aside from washing them everyday I prefer them more over the bottles. (plus listening to him gulp and slurp water is super cute)

 

[Raspberry82]

BethM wrote:

I use large ceramic crocks for water. They are too heavy, when filled with water, for the bunnies to move them much. The downside seems to be that hay and fur gets in there, so they have to be dumped and rinsed quite frequently.

Just yesterday, Nick was begging for his dinner pellets, and he was stretched up on the NIC panel above the water bottle. All of a sudden, he let go, and both front feet PLOPPED right into the water. LOL. Splashed everywhere, and he was a bit irritated. Funny, though!

I use the heavy crock with frequent washing method too... I had tried 3 diff brands of the best rated water bottles and they all had issues eventually with dripping or leaking. Or max would push against it and let some out for fun without drinking it! Lol.

 

[bengal77]

All water bottles leak. I've never tried that European "classic" one though, so that would be an interesting experiment. I use a ceramic cat bowl. I fill it 3-4 times a day and it seems to work well.

 

[Raspberry82]

Rabbit Hero wrote:

(plus listening to him gulp and slurp water is super cute)

:yeahthat:

 

[undergunfire]

I got a water bottle from the recent holiday gift swap on GM. It was from Walmart and amazingly enough...no leaks! Molly always runs out of water in her crock, so I keep the water bottle filled above the crock as another source for her to drink from. I think the water bottle was $4.

You can also look into "Water Buddies"....they aren't cheap and you better order them now as they won't be making them anymore because the company can't stay float in this economy. I have a small 8oz Water Buddy and it doesn't leak at all because of the valve.

KW cages has a cheaper version of the Water Buddy, which I imagine it works just the same because of the valve....

http://clover.forest.net/kwcages/index.html

 

[Raspberry82]

slavetoabunny wrote:

I use the lock crocks that attach to the side of the pen for both food and water. They work great and are easy to run through the dishwasher.

I've never seen those, but they sound great! Where did you find them?

 

[JadeIcing]

Bird section for big birds.

 

[slavetoabunny]

Raspberry82 wrote:

slavetoabunny wrote:

I use the lock crocks that attach to the side of the pen for both food and water. They work great and are easy to run through the dishwasher.

I've never seen those, but they sound great! Where did you find them?

Any Petco or Petsmart will carry them.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

No leak water bottles are as horrible as the no leak sippie cups for kids, it is all a LIE,lol. The way i resolved this problem complete is by putting their litter pan right under it, when it drips it drips right into the litter pan which has absorbent litter that sucks it right up!!!!! The only cage i have a problem with it in sometimes is Charger cause he rearranges his cage sometimes taking the box and moving it where he would like to have it, w hich is not under the water bottle, lol

 

[elrohwen]

I would definitely switch to a crock. I've always had water bottles for my gerbils and they've been nothing but trouble. I was very happy to buy a bowl for my bun.

However, if I had a bunny who repeatedly filled his water bowl with hay, food, etc I would probably go right back to a bottle!

 

[erinwerner]

Ugh, I agree!! Last night ours completely emptied out into his cage and somehow, all his food was put in the mess with left me with a huge pile of soggy pellets...yuck! (I am assuming he moved his food there, the feeder is not even near the bottle..LOL!). Going out to look for crocks today!

 

[MeAndB44]

I use water bottles for both of my chinchillas (not rabbit, though she'll be using one too when she gets her permanent cage)and I've never had any problems. I use a no leak for my male chinchilla, it doesn't use a ball it uses a sort of... stick?

My female has a chew proof water bottle that's metal and glass. It works great for her since she's the destroyer of all things plastic.

Maybe you could try one of those?

I hope that helps!

 

[Happi Bun]

Update...

Problem solved!! :weee:

I went to Walmart and bought two of their water bottles that I have heard nothing but great reviews about. Not sure why it works great for such a low price, but so far so good! I was pleasantly surprised that not one drop of water leaked out of the new Walmart bottle even when I was talking around the house with it. Amber is currently using a heavy ceramic bowl because she seems to prefer that over a water bottle. Another thing to do in case of leaking bottles is to put a bird coop cup below the water bottle at the bottom of the cage. It catches any dripping water so you can just dump it out when needed and attaches to the cage wire.

:thumbup

 

[nfored]

Dealing with fish has taught me one thing, anytime there is water involved it will be sure to find a way to your floor. Before I moved everything down to the basement, I always recommended rubber padding to safe guard the floor. after two major fish tank floods I learned the hard way about protecting the floor. lost two rooms of carpet.

I also have crocs for my rabbits water.