# New Water Bottle



## reggiehedgie (Jan 18, 2012)

I had to buy a new water bottle for my Reggie because the other one leaked too much. Im concerned he is not using it though because it is really quite and i have not seen him use it yet. It has a shorter nozzle and the leak proof tip is different than what he is used to. It is a valve tip instead of a spring-loaded ball tip. I'm worried he is not going to figure out how to use it, are there any suggestions to help encourage him to use it?


----------



## coribelle (Jan 20, 2012)

I would get rid of the bottle altogether and switch to a ceramic water dish. They are safer to use as they don't chip teeth or pinch tongues, and provide a more natural drinking position for a hedgie which encourages them to drink more  They are also, in my opinion, easier to keep clean


----------



## HedgieGirl519 (Oct 21, 2011)

Water bottles actually aren't recommended to use. You should be using a ceramic bowl instead. There are a few reasons for this 

1) Hedgies can chip and break their teeth on the bottle trying to get water. 
2) They don't give enough water fast enough.
3) They can get their tongue caught or ripped trying to get water out. 
4) They strain the neck because it is an unnatural drinking position. 

You don't want to use a plastic or lightweight bowl though, they tip easily. You'll want a ceramic bowl 

You can do a search on these forums and see that water bottles are recommended at all.


----------



## raerysdyk (Oct 21, 2011)

If you insist on staying with the water bottle, you can measure the amount of water that you put in it each night. When you clean it in the morning, you can measure how much is left in the bottle.

However, like everyone has said, bowls are recommended. To help with transitioning, I would put the old water bottle that you originally had, back in the cage over a full water bowl. This way Reggie can still get water from the bottle if he sees fit, but also can learn to use the bowl. When I switched Brillo over to a bowl he immediately used it, and ignored the bottle. 

Good luck!


----------



## alstewar (Mar 1, 2012)

When I transitioned Nutmeg I did the same, provided a waterbottle and a ceramic dish if water. She never used the water bottle after I introduced the dish.


----------



## Lyndypop (Aug 8, 2011)

I had a problem with the flat dishes because my hedgehog's blankets would get wet, but at the same time I didn't want to get a smaller dish because I didn't want him running out of water. So I went to the pet store and picked up a bird feeder. The feeder is flat so it sits on the floor of his cage. I really liked switching to the feeder as his water source because the exposed source of water was much smaller than a flat dish and has the quality of a water dispenser. It only cost me five bucks and has been an excellent solution to both wet bedding and having enough water.

I hope this helps. When I was a new hedgie owner those were dilemmas I had with water dishes. XD


----------

