# Baby's stuck on the bottle



## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I have a 7 week old hedgie (Milly). Today is my 2nd full day with her. The breeder I got her from uses only water bottles for his hedgehogs because "otherwise they fill their water bowl with shavings". I just nodded and smiled and thought, "I'm not interested in chipping my baby's teeth and I don't use shavings!" Anyway, he _insisted_ that I buy a bottle from him. Well, the bottle is a piece of garbage. The plastic bottle itself is flimsy, but the plastic and wire harness you use to rig it up on the side of the cage is just a joke. The entire bottle fell in last night when Milly was trying to drink. I'm not pleased.

I hate the idea of a bottle to begin with. It's not natural, and it can't be a comfortable way to drink. Plus, I don't want a toothless hedgie in a year! :|

My question is, how do I wean her off the bottle? I tried putting a bowl of water in her cage with her (a tiny bit off to the side of her bottle), but she either ignored it or pooped in it.

Help!


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## Judi (Jul 9, 2009)

My hedgehogs use bottles, and nobody has lost any teeth.

The only hedgehog I had who lost teeth had lost them by biting me so hard that her teeth were embedded in my hand (or arm, the other time) and came out of her mouth. She used a bottle too and never lost any teeth that way.

I use cable ties and plastic clips to secure my water bottles.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Judi said:


> My hedgehogs use bottles, and nobody has lost any teeth.
> 
> The only hedgehog I had who lost teeth had lost them by biting me so hard that her teeth were embedded in my hand (or arm, the other time) and came out of her mouth. She used a bottle too and never lost any teeth that way.
> 
> I use cable ties and plastic clips to secure my water bottles.


How do you use the cable ties? I'm using a sterilite bin for a cage and was thinking about that too, but I was wondering how to get the cable tie tight enough to hold the bottle up and still be loose enough to be able to pull the bottle out to re-fill it.


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

I would suggest if you want to switch to a bowl try first filling it & placing it underneath the water bottle. maybe during play time use your finger to splash the water some so she sees the moving water.. or even try using a dropper over the bowl to show her that it is water. it may take time and patients. good luck :]


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## kiania (Mar 15, 2011)

Over on the UK forums, getting hedgehogs off bottles was discussed recently, goats milk was recommended as the transfer method...here is the thread:

http://www.pygmyhogsuk.com/t15944-using-a-water-bottle


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It's a very rare hedgehog that won't switch from bottle to bowl. Being so new to you, it may take her a few days. As has been mentioned, put the bowl under the bottle and she will catch on. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if they are drinking from a bowl as it doesn't obviously go down in level.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I went out and bought an actual bottle holder - it's much more sturdy than the cheap one the bottle came with. I also put a bowl of water under the bottle. We'll see what happens!!


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

good luck! let us know how it goes.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

How do hedgehogs drink? Do they lap water up like cats and dogs, or do they slurp it like horses?

After play-time, I put Milly back in her cage and peeked in before I came on the computer, and she was sitting in front of the bowl with her nose/mouth in the water. It was completely quiet in the room and I didn't hear anything, but she sat like that for like 2 or 3 minutes. I don't see why she would sit with her mouth in there if she wasn't drinking? Fingers crossed!!


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

Sounds like she was drinking! My Norma kind of laps like a dog, but its very quiet when she does so. Watch the level of the water bowl to see if it goes down! :]


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## steven (May 3, 2011)

same her both my hedgies lap like dogs too its very hard to hear but they make a weird little noise while drinking but its very quiet hope all works out


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## firephoenixla (Sep 13, 2010)

I agree with the idea of putting a bowl of water under her water bottle.. hopefully she'll start using the bowl more often and eventually you could take out the bottle.. if she's really not catching on to it you could always put a little drop of honey in her water bowl and swish it around.. Paprika goes crazy for honey water (I rarely do it) but she practically drinks the whole bowl when I do ;D


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

panda said:


> Sounds like she was drinking! My Norma kind of laps like a dog, but its very quiet when she does so. Watch the level of the water bowl to see if it goes down! :]


Her water bowl level did go down a little last night, but I also heard her drinking out of the bottle. :roll: She doesn't know what she wants!



firephoenixla said:


> .. if she's really not catching on to it you could always put a little drop of honey in her water bowl and swish it around.. Paprika goes crazy for honey water (I rarely do it) but she practically drinks the whole bowl when I do ;D


Thanks for the suggestion! If she doesn't start drinking more out of the bowl, I will definitely try it!

Thanks for all the help guys!


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

Well i would say if she is drinking out of the bowl.. give it maybe just a few more nights and then remove the bottle?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

panda said:


> Well i would say if she is drinking out of the bowl.. give it maybe just a few more nights and then remove the bottle?


I was thinking about that, too. I want to make sure she's completely settled and comfy (haven't even had her a week yet) and then I will take out the bottle and keep a super close eye on the bowl to make sure she's drinking enough.


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

great idea! my baby goes through water fairly quickly so it should be pretty easy to see if she is using it or not! :]


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice!  By the way, Norma is just gorgeous! I love her little nose


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

Ohhh thanks so much! That is by far my fav picture of her... Posting more soon on a thread. :]


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