# Algae in my water bottle



## Hedgehogluvr386 (Jun 16, 2012)

I noticed this a couple weeks ago, and have been rinsing it out. It seemed to have gone away, so I didn't think of it again. Last night, I noticed it back in the inside of the bottle. This time it won't rinse out and I cant wipe it out. It is a Super Pet chew resistant glass bottle with stainless steel tip. It is long and has a little ducky floating inside.
I try to clean the bottle at least once a week, so the water isn't sitting in there forever....

For now I am using my older plastic water bottle until I know how to properly wash my glass one and with what to wash it with. I don't want to clean it with something that could hurt my baby.

I assumed a glass one would resist bacteria better than plastic.....? It seemed the plastic one stayed cleaner longer though.
:? a little confuseddddd


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

That's one of the issues with water bottles - the water needs to be changed every day, just like water bowls, and the bottles need to be cleaned every day, just like water bowls...only hard to clean. Get a bottle brush (might be able to get them at a pet store...otherwise likely with the baby supplies at a store like Walmart) and just wash it with a drop or two of dish soap every day and rinse it out well before re-filling.

Edited to add...you might want to stick with the plastic one over the glass one. When we tried using glass ones for the rats at the pet store I worked with, the water got very warm from sitting in the glass bottle and exposed to the lights/heat in the caging unit. If you have a heating set up for your hedgehog, it could be doing the same thing with his water and encouraging more gunk to grow in it.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

You should be cleaning the bottle more often, or switch to a bowl. One of the downsides of a bottle is that it makes owners lazy, and they don't clean it or change the water as often as they should. The water should be cleaned daily, and you should use a bottle scrubber and mild dish soap to clean the bottle every day (every other day at the most). Rinse it well after you wash it. If you can't keep on top of cleaning it that often, you should switch to a bowl. Bacteria builds up very quickly in still water, like in a bottle, and the insides become scummy. The only reason I use bottles is because they're more sanitary - no poop or pee or food crumbs ending up in them like with bowls. If you don't clean them enough, it completely defeats the purpose.


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## Hedgehogluvr386 (Jun 16, 2012)

Oh, ok! Thanks! 
I really do like my bottle, but had no idea it needed to be cleaned that often!  
So there is no need to fill up the bottle 100% full, right? I use purified water, so I don't want to be wasteful. Maybe if I filled it 1/2 every day it would stay clean and fresh, also providing enough to drink? I feel like any less water could be not enough....


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## Erizo (Jul 25, 2012)

> ". . . One of the downsides of a bottle is that it makes owners lazy . . ."


A week is a long time between water changes. I sure wouldn't want to drink week-old, stagnant water. I use a water dish and it gets a thorough rinse every day. It gets a hot water and soap wash every couple of weeks. I'd think that a thorough rinse of the water bottle everyday would probably do it, but I would want to rotate a pair of bottles so that it could be given a thorough drying as well.
......................................................

Video thoughts on water for your hedgehog. (What I do and why.) - 
(18:42)
water-dishes-13-01-09.mp4


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## Hedgehogluvr386 (Jun 16, 2012)

That sounds good  thank you!


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