bigger or >1 water bottle

[Deleted User]

I need a larger water supply in my trio’s condo. I use a bottle because Mops’ ears tend to get soggy in a bowl, or his long hairs end up floating in the water and Deirdra manages to spill almost any bowl style (even the pet mate bistro!!) water source. The bottle I’m currently using is empty every morning, it holds 16 ounces. What’s better with multiple rabbits, 1 very large bottle, or several regular ones?

[mrmac]

In my pen I have one 32oz bottle, and one 16oz. I have been wanting to get a 64oz one but havnt yet.

[katie, max & penny]

I would say several larger ones. Max and Penny get two 34 oz bottles

[Deleted User]

When I take my dogs out during the night, I usually have filled their bottle so they weren’t thirsting but sounds like my bottle is way mini. Before Deirdra it seemed soooo big!!!

[Furface]

I would go with several.

I use the bottles for emergency drinks so to speak because, I noticed right away that Bugsy would spend a long long time drinking.
I thought it was because the water comes out too slow so I have bowls & a bottle just in case.
They never go to the bottle unless the bowl is empty.

Because she spent so long at the bottle, if I had no bowl, I would want at least 1 bottle per rabbit.
That way nobunny will have to wait for somebunny else to finish before drinking.

[Deleted User]

good point. I bet though mine will line up by one bottle and crowd around it…. the bigger bottle I wanted to get has a huge spout so more water should come out at once.
I’m interested in the 64 ounce one… is it the lixit brand one?

[Furface]

LOL, Bunny line up, LOL

# 1 step forward, look to the left. Mama, is this the bun that ate your prize rose? No!
# 2 step forward, look to the left……..

[mrmac]

I have seen a few 64oz ones, but I want a 64 with the ball. Most, that I have seen at least, have the little push button or the wire in the tube. Lixit does have a 64oz one that looks nice.

[Deleted User]

oh, stay away from the spring-loaded tips! I have one, and the only bun who knows how to use it out of the seven rabbits tried, is Clifford.

[mrmac]

Yeah I didnt like them, or the wire one. I was afraid they would like it or know how to use it!

[Deleted User]

Mine sat beside it wondering where the water was. Roger, Bugs and Valmore all bit down at the tip angrily. I demonstrated like it said on the package, but they refused to learn. (I stopped quickly because I don’t believe in teaching them by parching them dry)

[mrmac]

Mental note made! No spring loaded tip bottles!

[Deleted User]

Someone on this forum has really nice bottles in their condo, I believe Skibunny, but the search function isn’t working right now. I would like to know what kind they are.

Maybe I am using the wrong term, the spring-loaded one I bought had a spring inside the tube but it also had the push button.

[SirThumpsey]

I have two water bottles just for Halo. We usually have to fill them both up at night and in the morning. I have a larger bottle for Sir Thumps-A-Lot and he doesn’t need it fill as often.

I would think that several large bottles would be best. You never know when they might argue over who gets a drink at the water fountain next…

[mrmac]

I fill the two I have up every other day. They seem to go for the smaller one (grr) which always needs to be filled sooner! Little stinkers!

[Deleted User]

How do you sanitize your bottles and how often?

[Sarita]

Are you certain the bottle is not leaking?

Have you considered water bowls? I know they are more of a pain to clean since you may have to do it more often though. All my rabbits use bowls and I give them fresh water daily and a few twice daily since those seem to get full of fur.

[mrmac]

I use very diluted bleach, followed by a good rinse, and let air dry/dry in the sun. Or run it throught the dishwasher, but sometimes I get afraid it will melt. It varies, the little rubber gasket in the bottles tends to get slimy.

[SirThumpsey]

Mrmac- I noticed that Halo always goes for the smaller bottle! I haven’t been able to explain this but I’m glad to hear that this isn’t the only one this happens to.

Sarita- (I’m not sure if you were talking to me or someone else but…) I’m almost certain that the two water bottles in Halo’s cage are not leaking. I bought the one water bottle and it had a no leak guarenttee…pfft yeah okay. I’m actually considering buying them all new water bottles. With Halo’s dewlap and Sir Thumps lop ears, I was told not to get a bowl for them. (Not to mention they LOVE to knock over EVERYTHING in their cage) They will still drink out of the dog bowl occasionally but they are used to bottles at this point.

[Deleted User]

I have a water bowl for Dylan, he started out with a bottle but it was a huge one (not sure of exact measurements, but big!) and tended to drip a bit. I noticed that when I had a bowl of water in his room he came over and drank from it, so tried him with a bowl too and he seems to prefer it.
When I took the lid off his cage (he has a whole room now) I had nothing to attach the bottle to, so just went with the bowl. I fill it in the morning and again in the evening, and give it a swill around each time. I find it gives me more incentive to get him fresh water rather than just leaving it till the bottle’s empty. I’ve also given his bottle back attached to the upended lid of his cage that is acting as a computer protector, as he occasionally runs through his bowl and empties it all over the floor! Probably with more than one bunny I’d still go for a bowl and a bottle, mainly cos of the spillage issues with two bunnies and two water bowls!

[Deleted User]

Oh, and as you may notice from my avatar, Dylan’s a lop! He only seems to have soggy ear probs if i put the bowls in a corner. If there’s space on both sides and he can get central to the bowl, he’s just fine.

[Deleted User]

No leaks in mine, for sure. I sometimes also leave an attachable bowl when I go out for all day. During exercise time, too, they have bowls.
It’s mostly for Mops’ ears I switched to bottles and then Deirdra’s dew lap tends to get soggy, too. The elevated attachable bowl seems to improve that situation somewhat but I really like the cleanness of the bottles. I might measure at some point to see if there is a difference in water intake between bottle as compared to bowl.

Sir Thumpsey, imagine my surprise when valmore drank from my dog’s 5 quart stainless steel bucket the other day. It was quite a stretch!

[skibunny8503]

Posted By Petzy on 08/26/2009 12:11 PM
Someone on this forum has really nice bottles in their condo, I believe Skibunny, but the search function isn’t working right now. I would like to know what kind they are.

Maybe I am using the wrong term, the spring-loaded one I bought had a spring inside the tube but it also had the push button.

*waves* here I am!    I must have missed this post!  I have 2 bottles right now (One for each bun) and once Sandy is bonded with them I’ll add hers and we will have 3   I love my water bottles they never leak unless one of the buns pushes on it and lets water drip on the floor.  They are a bit pricier than other bottles but I think it’s well worth it because I was going through so many and cleaning it up all the time. 

I got mine from Foster and Smith: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10382+14626&pcatid=14626
But I just found this one site when searching for a different picture of it (the one on Foster and Smith isn’t right)

They have bigger ones too!  http://www.amazon.com/Water-Buddy-ounce-Topfill-Bottle/dp/B00123V3O6/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_b

There’s a letter on one of the sites stating that they’re going to stop making them due to the cost of making them.  So I would hurry and buy them before they stop making them!  I’d have to say they are the best.  I think I’m going to buy one more just to have an extra one on hand.

 

[Deleted User]

It’s a nice bottle. Wow, brass drinking valve, so rare.

Thanks, Skibunny, I had meant for you to introduce these bottles, they’re different.

[Deleted User]

Mac, I never dared put mine in the dishwasher but I wanted to! I use bleach, too, but not very often, maybe every six weeks. I wonder if it’s enough.

[mrmac]

I do mine about that same time frame.

[BB Administrator]

Posted By Petzy on 08/26/2009 12:11 PM
….but the search function isn’t working right now….

 

The search engine is working now. ) It does break periodically, but it’s an easy fix. I have now added a post to the tech section for people report when it breaks so we can get it back up asap.

Helloworld!!

[Deleted User]

oh, great. you scared me for a second… I saw “BB Admin” post in my thread and thought I said something necessitating censuring

[BB Administrator]

That big scary box – Great for intimidationg tactics! Ha Ha! The search is working now.

Oh, and back to the bottles question. I definitely think having two or more instead of one big one is a good idea just in case one does leak or is blocked etc.

Helloworld!!

[KatnipCrzy]

I have a Water Buddy also and I really like it.  I also have 2 regular water bottles- one I got with Penny when I adopted her- and the other I bought when I got Cotton.

I almost wish they were bigger- I know they make larger than the 16 oz- but I would just need to order from another site to get the larger size.  Thanks for the heads up that they may no longer be making these!

I like that they are quiet- the bunnies make no noise when drinking- and it seems as though they do not have to spend as much effort to drink.  And they do not leak- which I love!  I hate watching the other water bottles after I put them back- waiting for the pressure to stabilize or whatever it does so it will stop dripping!

I would also recommend using mulitple bottles rather than 1 large bottle.  If one rabbit claimed an area of the pen- one of the other bunnies may not have as much free access to the water- and it could be subtle body language that could easily be missed.  Plus with bottles in different/multiple areas of the pen  it would only increase water consumption- not decrease it.  A bunny might be more willing to drink if the water is right there and he/she does not have to go down a level, etc.

[Deleted User]

I was looking up bottles on Dr Foster & Smith. They even sell a cleaning brush set for the bottles. First I thought, silly. But there’s even a tiny bristle brush for scrubbing inside the tube part. I want….

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm

[mrmac]

Oh my! Must get one of those!

[KatnipCrzy]

I have that Bottle Brush it works awesome for cleaning waterbottles- especially bird water bottles since their bottles get filthy inside- I think they try to moisten their food pellets.  Anyway- it works great for bunny bottles too though those do not get nearly as dirty as the bird water bottles do.

I don’t think I have ever used it on my Water Buddy bottle since it is so “open” and easy to clean compared to a regular water bottle.

[MimzMum]

If I keep my water bottles full they tend not to leak as much. But as those washers in the cap wear down, leaks are inevitable. But my bunnies won’t drink from crocks, they just tip them, so…
There is something called the Water Buddy that’s supposed to be drip proof that I purchased, but my bunnies don’t understand how to use it. I’ve tried. Plus that little brass piece on the end looks like it would hurt them if they ran into it.
I just use the large Petco bottles with the metal ball in them. They all understand those. And one 16 oz bottle for each bun seems to do the trick.

[skibunny8503]

Posted By MimzMum on 08/26/2009 06:28 PM
If I keep my water bottles full they tend not to leak as much. But as those washers in the cap wear down, leaks are inevitable. But my bunnies won’t drink from crocks, they just tip them, so…
There is something called the Water Buddy that’s supposed to be drip proof that I purchased, but my bunnies don’t understand how to use it. I’ve tried. Plus that little brass piece on the end looks like it would hurt them if they ran into it.
I just use the large Petco bottles with the metal ball in them. They all understand those. And one 16 oz bottle for each bun seems to do the trick.

Yup that’s the ones I posted in the link, the Water Buddy.  When I first opened it up I was thinking “man this looks dangerous” but gave it a shot.  It took them awhile to figure it out but I put my finger on it to show them water came out and they eventually got it.  Oh I did order one, one time, and it actually did drip on me!  But I think it was faulty because I have 3 now and they all work.  Just ordered the big one today

[Deleted User]

In the interim, until I get to the store, I really wanted to leave a second bottle with my trio and I dug out a vacuum bottle left from when I minded some retired geriatric classroom-pet mice. After they had died I got to keep their Crittertrail habitat. It came with this bottle:

As you can see this is not meant for a rabbit. It has no spigot.  It has a metal cap at the nip that has a needletip-sized opening which drips water as it is licked. Now, no rabbit in his right mind would even bother so i didn’t use this bottle until I had more rabbits here than I had bottles. I gave it a try with my friend’s 4 rabbits that came here for bonding. I removed the metal cap to see if it would work the same but letting out more water per lick. It does. Clifford loves this bottle. I gave it to my trio now since Clifford and his buddies are pretty good with a hanging bowl and none of them is long-haired or has a huge dew lap like mine. It’s just a back-up if the main water bottle goes low, but Lint prefers this bottle, it hangs beside their regular one…. weird wabbits! Maybe he likes the effortlessness of no little metal ball to push but just getting a drink by  touching his tongue to the water held in by force of vacuum…

I wish they’d make this concept in bigger, this one is only 10 fl.oz.

 

 

[Deleted User]

I built a water station in my trio’s condo. I’m still buying the larger regular sippy bottle for the other end of the condo, but this station they seem to like. I can only go by how much they use it, and they drink lots, so I guess, this system was rabbit-approved!

It’s just the attachable bowl that I’ve used before but I made it so it refills. It holds 500 ml (16 fl. oz.), the bottle that refills the bowl automatically, holds the same amount, and then Lint has his favorite, the rodent  bottle that holds a little less. He drinks directly from that.

I had tried the store-bought petmate le Bistro waterer that refills itself but they manage to knock it over.

[RachelB]

My boys never got the hang of waterbottles.  They never tip their water dish but no matter how much water I gave them or how often I filled it it always seemed a bit empty.  I found a great solution at my local grocery store for $10.  They sell similar ones at petco for a bit more.  I bought the medium sized one and the boys love it!!  Because it is heavier than a normal dish bunnies would have a  much harder time flipping it… so even if your buns are flippers and cannot get the hang of a bottle this might be a good solution for you also.

**Edit… I reread Petzy’s response and she mentioned that her buns flipped theirs…. so I guess as with everything it depends on the bunny. 

[Deleted User]

Thanks for posting the photo of the Bistro style waterer, Rachel. — I wonder if I had gotten a bigger (heavier) one they wouldn’t be able to knock it. I could have wired it to a corner of the condo I guess, but you know, I also found it took up space too much.

[Deleted User]

I found a video that I made before of one of my rabbits drinking from this spoutless bottle. *Mops here had a choice, there was also a bowl right behind him. I don’t know why they like this bottle. But it’s kind of cute.

[Deleted User]

I guess, this is my ‘bunny watering solutions evolution’ thread! — I bought the larger bottle and ended up putting everything in one spot. All in all, for my trio I have abot 74 fl.oz. . I feel good about that b/c I also installed a giant hay rack to last them even if I am out  for a long time.

you can see if anything drips it will drip into the attached bowl.

 

[Author]

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