Chewing water bottles

[BabyGrl]

So my rats have taken up a new pastime. Chewing holes in their water bottles. The first time was my fault because the ball was stuck and they could not get water. But now they have destroyed two more water bottles in the last 4 days. Brand new one I bought yesterday already has a hole in it. Any suggestions as to what I can do? Right now I have a bowl of water clipped to the side of the cage but I don't want to do that forever.

[katiecavyNC]

had the same problem with my hamsters. I found a bottle that would clip outside the cage so only the metal spigot part was inside the cage.

They do make a glass tube type of watering bottle that has a rubber gasket that holds the spigot part. Of course, the rats may develop a liking for rubber gaskets...

[BabyGrl]

Well the problem is that my cage is made out of grids and although my rats can't squeeze through the grids they can stick their heads out, and that is how they are chewing the bottles. I might have to try the glass one.

[katiecavyNC]

Thought of one other thing - I've seen water bottles that are made of shiny hard plastic instead of the softer plastic - know what I mean? Maybe they wouldn't want to chew the shiny plastic.

Oooh, just thought of another idea - hardware cloth. You could get a piece of that - you know the cage wire that has small grid holes maybe 1/4" small? Anyway, you could take that and cut a piece a bit larger than your water bottle and fasten to the grid, and put the bottle tube through it.

Rats are pretty smart and sneaky, but maybe they couldn't get through the hardware cloth to get a good enough grip on the bottle.

Just brainstorming some ideas...

[Percy's Mom]

If your rats are crafty enough to get their little heads out the grids to chew a plastic bottle, I'd be worried about the glass. It might take them longer, but I'd be afraid eventually they might break it and get glass in their mouths.

[BabyGrl]

The last water bottle they destroyed was a shiny plastic one. I like the mesh idea and I think I will try that.

[chinchillasunde]

Lixit makes All glass water bottles. It is thick glass, not like the thin glass like test tubes you see in walmart. Nothing can chew through them. This is what i use with my chinchillas, always, due to their propensity to bite through bottles. They are also very long lasting, I will never use plastic bottle again. The only thing to keep in mind, is if the cage is near very hard flooring, put something below (like a rug) so that if the bottle falls it won't break. Some petstores sell them, if you email me I'll send you a link to a place online that sells them. They come in 8 oz and 16 oz.

[Zenith Cherry]

My males have all done that and no matter what I do, they continue to chew threw every single one! I've just given up and they have a bowl attatched the the side of their cage. It's easy to clean and they don't care a bit. My females on the other hand are just perfect with any bottle I give them.