On a Quest for the perfect water bottle!

emithebug · Jun 8, 2006

Okay, CCers, I come to you with a mission! A QUEST!

I've had my four girls for about a year now and we've gone through about sixty million of the normal ball-ended water bottles. The bloody things won't stop leaking! I've only ever tried one brand, but we'll attribute that to being a poor college student =P

I'd be fine with continuing to irritate the local pet store by trading in leaky bottles for new ones every month, but I now live with my boyfriend and the little "clicking" noise that the bottles make when the piggies drink from them is keeping him up at night.

To fix this problem, we tried the Flip-Top No-Leak water bottles by All Living Things (I think?), and for the first week or so, I LOVED them. Granted, out of the three we bought, one leaked, but we exchanged that one for one that didn't and they NEVER STARTED leaking. AND they were totally silent.

The problem?

I was afraid my girls couldn't figure out how to use them properly. I kind of stood by and worried about it for the first day or two, then I started leaving a small water dish in their cage. And the water level almost never seemed to go down. Ever. Maybe a tiny bit, just from them TRYING to drink from them, but it never seemed significant?

First question: If he has to, my boyfriend will live with the noise at night (he loves the piggies just as much as I do, and spoils them WAY more ^.^

. If this is the case, are there any specific brands or types of bottles that are better? The ones I've been using are the Critter Canteens at PetSmart, with the spring in the end to keep the ball at the end of the bottle. I don't know if they other kind (with no spring) would be better.

Second question: Am I being paranoid? If I switch back to the other kind of bottle, will they learn how to use them okay? I don't know if the water level never seemed to decrease significantly because they never tried to use them and just went to the water dish, or if the difference in how much leaks vs. how much is actually consumed is THAT large or what. I'd actually PREFER to use this kind of bottle, but not if I'm going to kill my girls in the process o.o;

Third question: If neither kind of bottle will work out, are there any safe alternatives? For a while, I'd take their normal bottles off the cage at night and put in water dishes, but that got old REALLY fast >.< What I mean is... is there anything I can do to keep it silent at night if I can't find a better bottle? I only need the bottles/drinking to be quiet at night.

Help me! >.<

guineasqueak · Jun 8, 2006

If they tip water dishes and spill, get the ones with 'stabilizers', similar to those you get for dogs (non tip bowls).
Like this:

Percy's Mom · Jun 8, 2006

If you're changing the water in your bottles daily, there shouldn't be any issue with bacteria or mold. One tipped over bowl of water would be enough for me for life. Having to change out a cage for a tipped over water bottle and having a potentially soaked pig would drive me mad. I'd also be a bit concerned about a pig deciding that a bowl made a good potty, and then that mess sitting there while I wasn't near the cage. I know Percy poops in his food bowl and on occasion on his salad plate, so I feel pretty certain he would do the same with a water bowl, that is IF he didn't decide it was fun to splash the water all over everywhere.

You can always show them how to use the flip top bottles if you don't think they know how to get the water out. Otherwise keep irritating the shop people and exchanging your bottles. Personally, I would use the bottle you know they use well, exchange or buy them new ones when needed, and buy your boyfriend some earplugs, so he can sleep at night.

wheeker · Jun 8, 2006

I dont think a bowl is a good idea. Maybe just for my piggies anyway. I have a waterbottle and It has a spring loaded end so it keeps the water from dripping out. It works pretty good for me.

Amber23 · Jun 8, 2006

My pigs poop in thier food bowl everyday. Its not very uncommom im sure. As for the slimy water bottle, if you wash it regularly then there shouldn't be any problems. Obvioulsy if you never wash it and just refill it, It will become pretty gross. Would you drink out of a glass that was never washed? I guess I don't get the "topping it off" statement. I clean mine everyday. No pig should have to drink stale, dirty water.

salana · Jun 8, 2006

chisky said:
I can't imagine a pig going in a water bowl.

Your pigs must be clean and dainty. Mine aren't. Jackie is known to pee in his pellets.

I find a good way to de-slime water bottles is to put in about 1/4 cup of water and about 1 tablespoon of rice. (These are approximate figures. You basically want enough rice to scrub the sides, enough water to move the rice around, but not too much to fill it up.) Put the top on the bottle and shake it up. Shake it up and down, back and forth, around in circles, on its side, however you want. The water should turn dirty and/or green with all the stuff you didn't even know was on the inside of the bottle.

Then dump out all the rice and water and wash the bottle out.

Or you could use a bottle brush, if you can find one with a long enough narrow enough handle.

Amber23 · Jun 8, 2006

I use a bottle cleaner I got from a fish store. Its used to clean filters and such but it works well for bottles.

Soola · Jun 8, 2006

The piggies we had as a child were a nightmare for using their water dish as a potty. They also used to have a competition on how much bedding they could dump in it too. Water bottles are so much more hygienic.

Soo x

cavy-cool-crazy · Jun 9, 2006

I had trouble finding a suitable bottle for my lot. Charlie puts the tip of the spout right in the back of his mouth, He likes to chew it and have the water go right in his mouth. So many water bottles were ruled out immediately because the spouts only protruded about 2cm from the cage.

I have had Savic Biba (bunny size - 500ml) bottles for over a year and they have never leaked. I fill to the top and it drips for a couple of seconds and that's it. The spout is pretty long making it perfect for Sir Charles.

As for water dishes - mine would think of it as a pool rather than a place to drink. And when one pig gets chased (one of the girls in heat for example) the water dish would cause major problems in that everyone would either get trapped or forced into them. And that's bearing in mind it's in a 4 level 2x4!
Sows in heat concentrate on one thing (they are usually chasing and mounting the others or being chased incessently) - especially when you have a very frisky girl like my Lottie - and they don't care for anything (or anyone) in their way. They just think about one thing - and unfortunately it isn't their surroundings!
At least bottles are out of the way yet very accessible.

cavy-cool-crazy · Jun 10, 2006

Wow! I did the rice thing last night and the bottles are so clear now! I used wholegrain rice (all I have available), and I added water and shook it around for a few minutes, and the water was filthy! And it's nothing to do with the way the rice is wholegrain either.

I just didn't think about the mess of trying to get the rice in the bottle to start with. And then to get it out.
Use a funnel to get the rice in otherwise it will be chaos! And then when you get the rice out, add a bit of water, shake and tip up. Pour the water into your hand and dump any rice into a little container rather than trying to tip down the sink. I clogged it up completely by thinking it would all go down the drain with no trouble.

fourbwabbys · Jun 10, 2006

Does anyone know a good way to clean the spout on the water bottle? I always just put it under the tap when the water's coming out fast to force any debris out, but every once in a while there's sludge I have to wipe out.

cavy-cool-crazy · Jun 10, 2006

I use cotton buds. The ones on sticks. They work perfect. Just damp them a bit, stick them up the spout and clean. It is amazing how much dirt is inside those sipper tubes!!

fourbwabbys · Jun 10, 2006

Thanks CCC. I'll try that.

TipiDancer · Jun 10, 2006

salana said:
Your pigs must be clean and dainty. Mine aren't. Jackie is known to pee in his pellets.

I find a good way to de-slime water bottles is to put in about 1/4 cup of water and about 1 tablespoon of rice. (These are approximate figures. You basically want enough rice to scrub the sides, enough water to move the rice around, but not too much to fill it up.) Put the top on the bottle and shake it up. Shake it up and down, back and forth, around in circles, on its side, however you want. The water should turn dirty and/or green with all the stuff you didn't even know was on the inside of the bottle.

Then dump out all the rice and water and wash the bottle out.

Or you could use a bottle brush, if you can find one with a long enough narrow enough handle.

This worked fantastic!! It was gross to see the water turn yellow. So now whenever I clean my bowl... I will do this!

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On a Quest for the perfect water bottle!

emithebug

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guineasqueak

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Percy's Mom

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wheeker

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Amber23

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salana

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Amber23

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Soola

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cavy-cool-crazy

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cavy-cool-crazy

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fourbwabbys

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cavy-cool-crazy

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fourbwabbys

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TipiDancer

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