Water Weaning off water bowl to use bottle

[aranelchan]

I have had my two piggies for a week now, and wanted them to use a water bottle instead of a bowl because I thought it would be cleaner. However, the rescue place where I adopted them from suggested also including a bowl, and I note that this was also the advice given in New pigs, water bottles?:

Until they are accustomed to their new surroundings, I would provide both a water bottle AND a bowl. Once you see that they are drinking from the bottle, then you can remove the bowl. They may be drinking at night or when you aren't looking.

As such, I put the bottle in a corner, and put the bowl nearby.

I have seen them drink from the bowl, but they also seem to poop in it sometimes, though thankfully they have not managed to tip it over (base-heavy ceramic bowl). A friend of mine also mentioned that the water bowl, despite the shallow water, is a drowning hazard, so I have been even more keen on getting them to switch, but I have not seen them drink from the bottle.

Should I continue to provide both for a while more (but then how long?), or should I experiment with only the bottle, or could it be that they simply strongly prefer the bowl so I should give up on the bottle?

Thanks!

 

[bpatters]

I'd stop using the bowl. They'll figure out the bottle.

You might try a bit of diluted fruit juice in the bottle and see if you can get them interested. Just don't leave the juice in the bottle -- it can develop bacteria pretty quickly.

 

[taytay22883]

make sure you use a glass bottle and sterilise every two weeks. Using a bottle can cause infection due to bacteria build up in the ball also bottles are very easy to break and in some cases your guinea pig can?t get the water out. If your worried about your pig drowning or making a mess try one of those hanging bird bowls.

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[spy9doc]

make sure you use a glass bottle and sterilise every two weeks.

If we were talking about a human baby, this might be a good course of action. But, it's a bit of overkill for cavies.

First of all, yes, in theory a glass bottle may be desirable. But in practical terms, many of them don't function properly, are expensive, and just don't work for most people. I have found that the inexpensive generic plastic bottle from Petco works just fine and is large enough to hold a sufficient quantity of water. You can clean them just as the glass ones and they are not expensive to replace if the spout begins to leak or malfunction in any way. I would transition them to the bottle now because the bowls can get pretty funky fairly quickly.

Most little ones will learn from an older cavy but in your case, there are no older ones in the cage. Show them what to do with the bottle. March them up to the bottle and tap the ball of the spout with the other hand so that the water runs out, onto their noses if necessary. After a couple of times of this, they should get the idea.

 

[aranelchan]

Thanks! They are still terribly skittish, but I'll try introducing them to the bottle then see if they figure it out. I'm not keen on the bird bowl idea since I don't think they will be able to reach if I put it high up, but if I put it low they will probably still be able to climb in so it would be no better than the base-heavy ceramic bowl, and possibly worse if they manage to bounce it such that the water spills out.

 

[taytay22883]

I understand where your coming from. Hope you have success with your piggy


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[taytay22883]

I suggested a glass bottle because they can be sterilised at a higher temperature all plastic items cannot my properly cleaned. Plastic bottles gather a lot of bacteria and cannot be cleaned properly, rinsing your bottle with soap and water and maybe scrubbing it a little isn?t going to make it clean. Also if the bowl of water is getting ?funky? shouldn?t you be changing it everyday along with their food?


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[bpatters]

i've been using two plastic bottles in my cage for years. They can't be too dangerous.