Water Bottles: Water Buddy Introduction

[Dav423]

Is it ok to remove the old water bottle after the water buddy has been in there 24 hours? I've seen my pig try it but only for a couple of seconds, and then he went back to his 'ball' one.

[akstrohm]

Yes. They will figure it out quickly. You can leave your veggies extra wet if you are concerned.

[Dav423]

Alright, that's what I was planning on doing with his lettuce and cilantro as those tend to hold on to water a lot better. Appreciate the help!

[dpringle1737]

What is a water buddy?

[Dav423]

Google images will be able to show you better than I, but its a special type of water bottle that is leak proof.

Anyway I have not seen him use it all day along with anyone else in my house, so I put his old one back in and he immediately went to it(his old one) after I got his attention and drank from it for at least a minute. I walked out of the room to talk about it with my mother, came back and he was still drinking it, so I know he got a bit dehydrated. I did wet down his veggies and even gave him some bonus pieces to keep him hydrated, but it didn't do the trick I'm afraid.

I know he knows how to use it nut he doesn't want to. Anyone have any advice?

Thanks

[Seonta]

Some guinea pigs like to play with the water bottles. Could it be that he had seen the return of his leak-able bottles as the return of a toy?

[akstrohm]

I agree that he probably just likes playing with it. Pigs don't need that much water. I would just switch to the Water Buddy. He will figure it out.

[Dav423]

I'm not sure that he is playing with it though. The majority of the water he gets out of the bottle goes into his mouth when using his old one- I feel he is doing it for sustenance.