General Best size bowl?

[Floatingzoo]

Hello! I don't have my guinea pigs yet, and was wondering what size (in cm. or in.) is the best for ceramic bowls (for food and water)? I see a lot of cute stuff in store, but don't have a very good eye for size (ooo a rhyme.) Thank you!

 

[Soecara]

I would advise against a water dish/bowel and suggest you get a water bottle instead, simply because guinea pigs tend to be very good at getting poop into the water dishes/bowels.

For food you don't need bowels that are very big, adult guinea pigs only need 1/8 cup of pellets per guinea pig per day and 1 cup of vegetables per guinea pig per day. Some guinea pigs don't mind sharing food dishes but some will chase their cage mate away so plan to have separate dishes for all just in case. Personally I only use the bowels for pellets as mine are happier eating their vegetables off the cage floor (where they can dig through them), and I just put their hay in loose in the cage.

You will want to consider if they will be able to tip the bowel over or not, some of my guinea pigs like to put their front paws on the edge of the bowel while they are eating so if the bowel were too light it would flip over with their weight. Half of my pellet dishes aren't even pet food bowels, rather they are ceramic dishes (some of which I suspect could have been small souffle dishes or ramekins) I found at second hand shops that were the right size and weight so I re-purposed them.

 

[MerryFriarTuck]

My piggies' bowls are about 6 inches across and work perfect Decently heavy or weighted ones are definitely a must in my expierance--- (broken link removed) because they love to stand on the rim while they eat ( it looks adorably dignified! ) and (broken link removed) they love to flip it if they can and thus spill all their food. I learned this when we got them a shallow silver bowl that was too light--- Robin Hood likes to literally play frisbee with it! lol
They have a hay rack for their hay, but I also put a handful on the ground so they can snuffle around and play in it. I usually just put their veggies/greens on the ground, or sometimes in little bowls ( like the shallow silver one ) if it's something chopped up.
I'd definitely get a water bottle over a water bowl. That way the water stays clean and they can't spill it...But the biggest reason is most piggies have water bottles from the time they're born, and they might not even know how to drink from a normal bowl.
And two of everything is always a ideal because piggies will frequently squabble over things when someone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed

 

[Floatingzoo]

I would advise against a water dish/bowel and suggest you get a water bottle instead, simply because guinea pigs tend to be very good at getting poop into the water dishes/bowels.

For food you don't need bowels that are very big, adult guinea pigs only need 1/8 cup of pellets per guinea pig per day and 1 cup of vegetables per guinea pig per day. Some guinea pigs don't mind sharing food dishes but some will chase their cage mate away so plan to have separate dishes for all just in case. Personally I only use the bowels for pellets as mine are happier eating their vegetables off the cage floor (where they can dig through them), and I just put their hay in loose in the cage.

You will want to consider if they will be able to tip the bowel over or not, some of my guinea pigs like to put their front paws on the edge of the bowel while they are eating so if the bowel were too light it would flip over with their weight. Half of my pellet dishes aren't even pet food bowels, rather they are ceramic dishes (some of which I suspect could have been small souffle dishes or ramekins) I found at second hand shops that were the right size and weight so I re-purposed them.

Thank you so much for all the information! I was only planing on having a water bowl because my cage will not be wire, but I'll find a way around it!

 

[Floatingzoo]

My piggies' bowls are about 6 inches across and work perfect Decently heavy or weighted ones are definitely a must in my expierance--- (broken link removed) because they love to stand on the rim while they eat ( it looks adorably dignified! ) and (broken link removed) they love to flip it if they can and thus spill all their food. I learned this when we got them a shallow silver bowl that was too light--- Robin Hood likes to literally play frisbee with it! lol
They have a hay rack for their hay, but I also put a handful on the ground so they can snuffle around and play in it. I usually just put their veggies/greens on the ground, or sometimes in little bowls ( like the shallow silver one ) if it's something chopped up.
I'd definitely get a water bottle over a water bowl. That way the water stays clean and they can't spill it...But the biggest reason is most piggies have water bottles from the time they're born, and they might not even know how to drink from a normal bowl.
And two of everything is always a ideal because piggies will frequently squabble over things when someone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed

Yay awesome thank you for all of the information! And I will definetly look into how to have water bottles in my cage! (it won't be wire.) Thanks again@

 

[MerryFriarTuck]

Glad to help!! A quick google search for "how to hang a water bottle in glass tank" etc, pulls up a bunch of ideas that should work for any non wire cage. I'm sure people on here might have some ideas too--- the Hot Tips section has lots of diy hay racks and water bottle info!

 

[spy9doc]

With regard to a food bowl, you have received sound advice from other posters. I think we all have had the experience of cavies dragging their bowl across the cage, standing on the edge and flipping them over, and I recently had a cavy who would literally pick up his bowl in his mouth and move it to his desired location (usually under a hidey or tunnel) in the cage. He even managed to pick up a heavy ceramic ramekin and move that as well.

After considerable searching, I found the perfect solution at Target. It is stainless which makes it too slippery for them to pick up, and it has a rubber flange on the bottom which makes it difficult to slide across fleece. It is easily to wash and best of all, is inexpensive. I have two different sizes with the larger one being on the main floor and the smaller one is in the loft. Go to Target's website and search for Platinum pet bowl. They come in different sizes and colors. Here's a pic of it: