General Wading In The Water Dish?

[PigPandemonium]

Hello again,

So when I got Fus and Ro Dah from the rescue, they were used to drinking out of water bowls instead of bottles, so it took them a while to figure out how to work one, though they still seem to like the bowl more so I recently started putting that in their cage for them to use if they please, however I have a problem with Ro Dah. She tends to like to sorta wade in the dish, is this a problem? I make sure to never fill it up to the point where she would be swimming of course, it is only about an inch of water or so, but she seem to really enjoy walking around in the water.

Should I take out the water dish, or is it fine for her to be doing this as long as I never fill it up too full?

Thanks, The Human, Fus, Ro Dah, Godric, and Nova

 

[CavyMama]

Here is the problem I see with her walking around in the water, it means her fur will be wet. This means that bedding, hay, poos, etc could get stuck in or to her fur. It also means that poos on the floor of the cage could be softened which means she could step on it and get it stuck to her foot.

I would take the water dish out. They will figure out the water bottle soon enough.

 

[bpatters]

If she's wading in it, it won't be long until she's pooping and peeing in it, if she's not already. And that's not good for the pigs who may be drinking out of it.

 

[pinky]

If you want to have water in a bowl and their bottle, see if you can find heavy duty parrot "troughs" that firmly attach to the sides. Just make sure there are no gaps where they can catch a foot in it. Some types have an attached perch. Those would be dangerous since a foot could get caught in there. There are others that are round or square with no openings. They have a bracket on the end that can attach to the side of the cage. Place it a few inches off the ground so they won't step in it but can easily drink out of it.

 

[lemonham]

Penelope came from the rescue not knowing how to drink from a water bottle too. So she had both bottle and bowl in her quarantine for a few weeks. Once she got into the cage with Eleanor, I tried to have both but Eleanor would tip it over as soon as I put it in.

When I saw Penelope learn from Eleanor and use the water bottle at least once, I removed the bowl. I figured if she did it once, she could do it again. As long as both know how to use the water bottle, remove the bowl... its more hassle than anything else.

 

[PigPandemonium]

Alright thanks all, I shall take the water dish out of the cage.