# Changing from water bowl to bottle



## eschmidt1 (Feb 26, 2013)

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I need help with transitioning from a water bowl to a bottle. When I picked up our little Izzy, our breeder said that if you put the water bowl under the bottle that when I take the bowl away that she will just go to the water bottle. Well, I did that, but I have yet to remove the bowl from the cage. We have had her for about a month now, and I still haven't taken the bowl out of her cage because I'm too nervous she won't use the bottle. However, she is now making a mess with the water bowl (walking/playing in it) and spilling water out of it. So, my question is what is the best way to transition to a water bottle? Any suggestions to help this be as stressless on her as possible is greatly appreciated.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Personally, I'd suggest staying with the bowl and switching to a different bowl. Water bottles really aren't the safest option - unless put down far enough, they force an unnatural angle when the hedgehog tries to drink from them, they're harder to get water out of for a thirsty hedgehog, which can cause either a dehydrated hedgehog or make the hedgehog try and chew on the spout, which can break teeth (which don't grow back). So, a couple of questions...why do you want to change to a bottle instead of a bowl? What kind of bowl are you using? If she's able to climb into and walk through it and spill it, my guess is the bowl is both too light, and too big. A smaller one-inch tall ceramic heavy-bottomed crock might stop her from making such a mess with the bowl and that way you both win!


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## smhufflepuff (Aug 28, 2008)

Bowl is better than bottle. Horrible things have happened to hedgies with bottles - broken teeth, tongues stuck on the bottle, quills stuck in the bottle...

Lilysmommy has great suggestions... change your bowl. You're likely to find that changing the dimensions and weight will do wonders!


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## Erizo (Jul 25, 2012)

As a generalization, breeders like water bottles and owners like water bowls.

I fall into the bowl camp. I use a crème brûlée dish for Sophie. It is flat bottomed and straight sided, so it is about\ impossible to tip. Sides are 1" high, so easy access. Sophie's dish is quite large, at a 5" diameter. That's way bigger than needed (holding 160 ml of water and she drinks less than 40 ml a night). However, she does not step in her water, so no need to make a change. If she were to have the habit of stepping in her water, I would switch to a smaller diameter.

Though a common item, getting a specific size may require ordering. Figure about five bucks for a good quality dish.

Crème brûlée water dish:
http://serenebreezes.com/Sophies-pictur ... r-dish.jpg


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