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Thread: Best water bottles?

  1. #1
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    Default Best water bottles?

    What is the best water bottles for a squirrel? Right now I have a kaytee bottle but It wasn’t working the best last night. I’m scared she won’t get enough water. Please tell me your favorite bottles + sizes and where I can order them

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Best water bottles?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peanut14 View Post
    What is the best water bottles for a squirrel? Right now I have a kaytee bottle but It wasn’t working the best last night. I’m scared she won’t get enough water. Please tell me your favorite bottles + sizes and where I can order them

    I would recommend a glass water bottle. The strongest chewer will not be able to bite into the glass. I would also recommend that all of the remaining parts of the water dispensing apparatus that the Squirrel could possibly chew on be made of metal. As far as brands of bottles to choose from, as you may have found out, there many possibilities. Most of them should work if filled, maintained and positioned properly. With that being said, from what I have seen on TSB, most of us have our favorites. Lixit bottles seem to be one of the most popular on TSB. Kaytee is another popular brand of bottle for small animals including Squirrels and other rodents. My favorite brand of glass water bottles is All Living Things marketed by PetSmart. Unfortunately, these bottles don't seem to be on their website any long so once my stash dwindles, I will need to find a substitute.

    As you just found out (and I'm glad this happened before any incident ensued); these seemingly simple bottles are not without risks. Oftentimes there is no evidence from looking at the bottle hanging on the cage wall to provide information on whether or not it's working. An animal can easily become dehydrated and even die in a relatively short period of time without adequate water ingestion! There are several practices that I would like to suggest to help ensure minimal risk when using water bottles. Before that, however, I will freely acknowledge that I am more than a bit paranoid about these bottles. I had a bottle fail to deliver water to a poor little Squirrel who had no choice but to trust me when I first became involved in the Squirreling World and while I did recognize a change in behavior in the Squirrel suggested dehydration and intervened at that point. Fortunately there was only minimal harm and no lasting effects but this incident has left me very concerned and vigilant about my Squirrels water delivery systems and options. The bottles are usually preferred over bowls because the bowls often get turned over and spill. Also, Squirrels love to use the bowls as a toilet and in a short period of time, this recently clear and enticing water has become somewhat of soup and the Squirrels seem to like dunking their food in this and often leave their veggies or blocks in the bowl to stew a little bit. Water bottles are designed to help avoid this.

    Suggestions: 1) use at least two water bottles in each cage. In the event that one may fail, hopefully the other will provide water and prevent dehydration and death; 2) change the water daily (this is an opportunity to refresh the water of course but it is also a time when you can assess the spout mechanism for binding blockage and damage to the nozzle can occur from vigorous chewing); 3) when you have unscrewed the spout, make certain that the ball(s) inside it moves freely and with it upright that you see a ball at the very end of the spout; 4) after you have filled the bottle, screw on the spout. Ordinarily it is not necessary to tighten this very hard as all you need is to have the nozzle held steady and the seals in the cap and the seal made by the ball at the end of the spout prevent leakage of water from the bottle or air into the bottle. 5) hold the bottle upright from the time you screw on the cap/nozzle and before placing the nozzle through the cage bars, tap it several times to help free-up and settle the end ball as well as create the necessary seal at the end of the nozzle; 6) check to see if the mechanism will provide water by gently displacing the ball away from the tip and then ensure the ball comes again to rest the end of the spout and makes a seal. 7) after returning the bottle to its hanger on the side of the cage, I would recommend once more reaching inside the cage and push the end ball inwards as if your finger was a Squirrel tooth and once again ascertain that the ball allows flow of water and then resettles at the end of the tube when you remove your finger. 8) after all of this (probably just reading this post would be enough!) it's now time for you to have a drink Enjoy! I know this has been similar to taking 500 words to explain how to boil an egg but I had more free-time than usual and that's the way it went!
    Regards,
    SamtheSquirrel

  3. 4 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to SamtheSquirrel2018:

    Chirps (06-04-2022), Diggie's Friend (06-03-2022), McCarthy (06-03-2022), TheBossLady825 (07-08-2022)

  4. #3
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    Default Re: Best water bottles?

    I have bought two Lixit water bottles from Amazon.

    They are made of glass. They are advertised as chew-proof, however the 6 oz. bottle that I ordered had a metal cap and tube, but the 12 oz. version had a plastic cap coupled with a plastic tube, so I would not classify the 12 oz. version as chew-proof.

  5. 3 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Rock Monkey:

    island rehabber (07-04-2023), McCarthy (06-03-2022), SamtheSquirrel2018 (06-05-2022)

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    Default Re: Best water bottles?

    Looks like an ad and we don't accept ads here on the Squirrel Board. Feel free to mention your product as we have mentioned other water bottles here, but don't make it look like an ad. I'm deleting your post but you can repost if you choose.
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

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