6 Reasons Why A Water Bottle Will Make A Pet Stop Drinking

The near-80-degree weather in Connecticut yesterday and forecasted for today is making small pet owners start shifting their thinking to "summer mode." Hydration is always important for animals, but when temperatures start climbing above 70 degrees and higher humidity starts kicking in, hydration becomes exponentially more important.

So, it's essential to keep water bottles in top condition. Some of the reasons a water bottle can discourage a guinea pig (or any small animal) from drinking include:

• The bottle isn’t cleaned frequently and/or properly. A buildup of “backwash particles” (commonly from the food pellets that small animals eat) gunks up the drinking spout and the bottle. Regular rinsing of both with hot water, and frequent cleaning with water bottle brushes (available at most pet stores for $1.99 to $2.49) will prevent this buildup. 
• The bottle was washed with detergent and water, leaving a residue that puts an icky taste in the water. Water bottles should be washed or soaked in hot water only; hot water and a bottle brush will more than adequately clean bottles.
• The water isn’t changed frequently enough, causing the water and the inside of the bottle to get a little slimy (thus giving the water a bad taste).
• The water bottle was filled with water that was too cold. Really cold water has a habit of jamming up, or “freezing,” the ball bearing in drinking spouts.
• The rubber ring inside the bottle cover could be degrading. Some of the old bottles had black rings instead of clear ones; when they start degrading, they put an undesirable taste in the water. If your water bottle has a black ring in it, rinse the ring and dry it with a white cloth. If you see a black smudge on the towel, it’s time to replace the bottle.
• If you have hard water, it could be leaving residue in the drinking spout; as this residue builds up, it interferes with the ball bearing in the spout. (Also, if you have hard water, there’s a good bet your animals don’t like drinking it any more than you do.)

In the weeks between now and the real start of summer, give your water bottles a thorough once-over to make sure they're operating properly and are free of buildup. If something is amiss or the bottle is showing clear signs of age, toss it in the recycling bin and buy a replacement. Your guinea pigs will thank you!

Related Posts

• A Better Bottle Brush
• Why Water Bottles Need Frequent Cleaning
• Cleaning Water Bottles

 

Comments

[Fred Dronga]

Cleaning of the water bottle is vital as the build up of bacteria can cause serious harm to your pet.
You wouldn't drink from a dirty glass but all too often pet water bottles just get filled time after time with no thought to cleaning and disinfection.

[Dawn]

My guinea pig drinks a lot of water or should I say, he spends a lot of time at the water bottle. Since he lost his partner he drinks and then lets the water run down his mouth to his neck and chest. He does this so often he is always wet and now he even smells mildewy. I have bathed him to remove the smell but he just does the whole thing over again. Wish I could stop this. I am afraid it is somehow going to cause him to get sick.

[Whitney]

Anne:
I've been content with Oasis 8 oz. water bottles. I've tried a lot of different water bottles, and I keep going back to those. In all brands (including Oasis), I've consistently found the 16 oz. and larger bottles to be very drippy (and sometimes downright leaky). In most of the brands, the 8 oz. size was decidedly better.

I have 3 pigs in one cage (used to be 4) and I keep two 8 oz. bottles in there. During really cold snaps (when the heat is running a lot) and heat waves (when the A/C is running a lot) -- when everything dries out -- I might put in a third 8 oz. bottle or swap an 8 oz. bottle for a 16 oz. bottle.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing!

[Whitney]

Marsha:
You make a good point about the cotton swabs with plastic middles being sturdier for cleaning the drinking tube. Regular cotton swabs do tend to get mangled during a good scrubbing. Thanks for sharing the tip!

[Whitney]

Ellen:
Excellent anecdote about the perils of too-cold water. Humans get so caught up in our own preferences ("When I'm thirsty, a glass of good ice water does it for me") that it never occurs to them that their critters may want or need something else. Thanks for sharing!

[Anne]

ugh- water bottles are my bane- it's like torture finding one that doesn't drip and keep the fleece damp.
When i switched to one that had a switch instead of a ball, it didn't drip, but then they'd spill water when not catching it all in their mouths
(although- i haven't tried it since my grandma pig passed- and she was going through like a bottle a day at the end there- maybe she was contributing more than her fair share of water drippage).
I've also been contemplating a 2nd bottle for the cage- since they seem to keep emptying it when i don't notice and then i feel guilty

[Marsha Neely]

If the sipper tube is too small for a brush, I use cotton swabs. Just make sure that no cotton is left in the tube, and the swabs with the plastic middle work the best. I also clean the bottle with a spray mixture of vinegar and water inside and out. The vinegar water will usually remove buildup or soap film if you have to clean the bottle with soap and water for any reason.

[Ellen Falbowski]

My daughter almost lost her favorite guinea pig to dehydration when she filled his water bottle with cold water from the refrigerator. The ball bearing "froze" and he wasn't getting any water. Luckily we noticed it in time to fix it, but it could have been deadly.