Backwash

[daboysmom]

I adopted a third guinea boy the day after new years. Everything is working out great but I noticed that since has come into our home that there is backwash in the watterbottles and cud all over the stem as well. The people I adopted him from had him drink out of a bowl. I dont like the bowl because it gets very nasty and smells like fish when they disolve poo in it.


Anyway i am wondering if there is anything I can do or a specific water bottle i can get to avoid the backwash problem. Its so bad that it clouds the water after only a few hours.

[wiggley_narco]

This same thing happened to me. I never had a problem with this until I added York to my piggy family. Now, I change the water bottle twice a day! It looks pretty gross when he's done with it.

[daboysmom]

Haha I am glad Rocky isnt the only gross piggy out there. I would feel bad for the other two guys having to drink that because he does that to all the water bottles but hey they also eat each others poo so I guess I wont feel too badly.

[OSUCavies]

Wow I've never seen that!


Would one of you two mind taking a picture for reference?

[wiggley_narco]

I'll try and see if my camera can take a decent pic of it tomorrow!

[OSUCavies]

That would be helpful! Thanks!

[salana]

Jackie's a mega-backwasher. I find it helps not to have the pellets anywhere near the water--he loves to eat pellets and wash them down with water, and if he has to walk across the cage to get to the water, that gives him a chance to actually swallow the pellet before he drinks.

[daboysmom]

Thank you I hadnt thought of moving the pellets away. I will definatly try that.

[cavyinhawaii]

I think there are water bottles that have a spring behind the ball. They are really made for piggies who like to dump water but I bet it would work for your problem too. Maybe someone here knows the name of them?
I have found them at Walmart for around $17.00

[salana]

Is that the Lixit bottle?

[Biscuit]

I have a backwasher too. The bottles that helped with it only seem to make it harder for the other pigs to get water. It's actually funny to watch her. She shoves the entire bottle into her mouth in one quick burst. Then backs off...stares at it with the blank "pig stare" for about 15 seconds, then suddenly lunges at it again.

[Wheek Weak]

Rufus is the same way. He makes pellet sludge, which makes the water bottle disgusting!

I have to change his bottle twice a day, and scrub it with a bottle brush (and Q-tip the nozzle) every 3-4 days.

I've tried all kinds of different methods, bottles, etc...my Rufie is just a little slob guy, so I love him as he is!

[daboysmom]

Haha Yeah pellet sludge is the best way to explain it. The gross part about Rocky is that he is leaving a puddle of sludge under the water bottle where it drips too. It really ruins the effect of the light blue fleece. I wuv my little Rockstar though. He is the only one who likes to cuddle with mommy without a carrot bribe.

[Wheek Weak]

Yep...Rufie leaves the pellet mud pile under the bottle too!

I just put a small piece of fleece under the bottle and change it once a day. That way the main fleece stays cleaner until wash day.

[WICharlie]

I had a foster pig that did this. I was resigned to rinsing and refilling it twice a day. One thing that helped was to go to the largest bottle I could find (the rabbit size). I still refilled it twice a day, but at least the water stayed relatively clean most of the time for him. It was a boy pig that was the culprit.

I also made sure to hold the top under running water and shake the ball in the tube up and down to rinse out the yuck everytime. Otherwise it just stays in the tube and gets the new water dirty right away.

[Astrantia]

I don't have any useful suggestions to help, other than changing the water a few times a day.

I can't help being slightly amused at the thought of GP's 'backwashing' their water bottles .