# water bottles versus water dish



## ghartrid (Mar 18, 2011)

are water dishes more favored over water bottles? I heard something about hedgehogs chipping their teeth on the water bottles metal part. is this something i should worry about if i were to purchase one?

thank you.


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## pearlthehedgie (Feb 15, 2011)

I have heard that the dish is usually preferred because it is a more natural drinking position and your hedgie will be more likely to consume an adequate amount of water to stay healthy. I know some people use the water bottles only, however. I read that the hedgie teeth will not grow back if chipped or broken like a rodent's teeth would. 

When we got Pearl, the breeder was using water bottles only. We offered her both the water bottle and the water dish at first. I never ever saw her choose the water bottle--always has drank out of the dish so we don't even offer the water bottle anymore. 

If you use fleece liners, there is really no problem with junk getting in the water supply in the dish. Hope that helps.


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## alexdud25 (Oct 31, 2010)

When we adopted ShadowBaby, he was used to the water bottle and since I was using the same pine bedding, we kept the bottle for a while. About a month ago I switched to fleece liners and decided to switch to a water bowl too. ShadowBaby always made so much noise when trying to drink from the bottle that it got on my last nerve. He loves the water dish and used it immediately. 

It's what you think is most comfortable for your hedgie. There is a thread floating around that spells out all the pros/cons of each. I will try to find it for you


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

A water dish is much more hedgie friendly.  So much to worry about with water bottles,no way i'd chance it with any of my gang.


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## karennoel (Dec 20, 2010)

I have both a bottle and dish for my hedgie. She prefers the bottle and has never bit it. I had a hedgie years ago and she only had a water bottle and she did just fine, she lived to be 7.


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## HappyHedgies (Feb 17, 2011)

We use water dishes for all of our hedgehogs and since we clean them everyday they stay clean even with the shavings we are using. Its seems a more natural position and dishes are cheaper too


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

In my mind, hedgies are like marathon runners. After running a mile, most would rather take a few good gulps of water rather then a few drops of water. 

This can be what usually causes hedgies to start biting at the nozzle because they just can't get enough water. 

Each hedgie is different, if you are dead set to use a bottle IMO you should still offer a bowl in addition to the bottle. Though most here just start off giving them a bowl.


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

I tried to get Norman to use a bottle so I wouldn't need to worry about him tipping over a bowl or running out of water from drinking it all or small amounts of evaporation. But he wanted nothing to do with it since the breeder raised him on a bowl. I actually ended up getting a reptile waterer for him. It's basically a bowl that fills from a bottle. He has a bowl that never goes empty, and I don't have to worry about it running out or being tipped over or spilled.


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## CritterHeaven (Feb 21, 2011)

Truffle was raised on a bottle. So I have both right now though am hoping to move to just a bowl. I have seen those self watering ones though, they look pretty good.


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