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Post by wonderz on Nov 9, 2021 12:20:39 GMT -8
Hi, sorry for creating a new post but this is a different topic.
I bought an all living things water bottle (the glass one with no drip) that is 6 ounces for my gerbils. Yesterday, I realized that one spent an awful long time drinking water, so I decided to test it with my finger and realized that they weren’t getting any water. I then poured more than half the water out to see if that would fix the problem. This morning, I checked again and it still was working! My petsmart doesn’t have any small ones that aren’t made out of plastic. I have an old all living things one (the bell bottle) that I used for my hamster but it has a white film stuck on outside of the nozzle. I’ll try to clean that off but if I can’t, what are some other temporary solutions? I’ve had them for a little more than 3 days and I don’t want them to die of dehydration.
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Post by barryozzy on Nov 9, 2021 12:40:50 GMT -8
When I got some new water bottles a while ago, I they were not working just like you are describing. I'm still not really sure what the problem was, but shaking them many times so the little ball moved and scrubbing it a little with a small pipe cleaner brush seemed to fix it. I figure maybe the ball was not loose enough because they were new. I still have those bottles and they work great now, though they are plastic and not the same brand as yours.
If it still doesn't work you could give them some extra juicy vegetables like cucumber and carrots.
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 9, 2021 12:51:36 GMT -8
A plastic bottle is worth a try. Most gerbils don't chew them. I've only had one gerbil chew plastic bottles.
Bottles do get white staining on the nozzle after a while and it looks a bit unpleasant but I don't think it's actually harmful as long the bottle has been thoroughly cleaned. It will do for the short term. You could try soaking the nozzle in white vinegar for half an hour to get the staining off.
You can also try a small dish of water. The gerbils might be hesitant if they've never drunk from a bowl before but they should figure it out if they have to. Like barryozzy says, vegetables are another option if the bowl doesn't work.
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Post by wonderz on Nov 9, 2021 15:27:40 GMT -8
Okay, so cleaning the old one worked. I used silverware to scrape it off and used HOT water to clean it. I will try to fiddle with the new one though, I don't want a brand new bottle to go to waste.
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Post by Markpd on Nov 13, 2021 6:44:29 GMT -8
I had problems with a Living world bottle not delivering water a couple of times early on (so I put in a 2nd old water bottle in as a back up), but not had problems since then and it's been about year. I think it might have been an air lock in the delivery tube?? Anyway, since then I always test it after filling it.
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Post by tanzanyte on Nov 20, 2021 10:30:09 GMT -8
Hopefully you've managed to get it all sorted. There's quite a lot of bottles out there that have very bad reviews for not being able to properly dispense water (most are glass as I tried to go that route and gave up). I've always used the classic plastic bottles and haven't had any issue with the gerbils chewing through them - Mymble has tried but only managed to make a small mark.
You can use wire wool to get the limescale off the end of the metal straw. It's very quick and efficient and doesn't involve using anything that might be dangerous or deter the gerbil from using it.
You can shake the water bottle after you've filled it to ensure the vacuum is formed, and it's always best to get into the habit of tapping your finger against the ball a couple of times to make sure the water is dispensing ok.
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Post by elsaandanna on Nov 20, 2021 10:49:50 GMT -8
Yes, I just wanted to say that I also use a plastic water bottle, and my two have never even attempted to chew it, and they chew their bamboo tunnel, so it's not just that they don't chew  |
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Post by barryozzy on Nov 20, 2021 11:55:12 GMT -8
My plastic bottle has a metal holder. I am sure at least some of them would destroy the plastic without it. Depends on the gerbils though
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Post by wonderz on Nov 21, 2021 15:50:44 GMT -8
I'll definitely try your suggestion!
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Post by wonderz on Nov 21, 2021 15:51:46 GMT -8
Also, I bought this ceramic dish from dollar tree. Would it be safe for my gerbils?
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Post by Markpd on Nov 21, 2021 23:25:38 GMT -8
What new dish? I don't see a link  Dishes are great, if you can place them above the bedding, so that they can't kick it into the dish. |
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Post by wonderz on Nov 23, 2021 23:38:27 GMT -8
Okay thanks! It's just like a dish for jewelry, but I just wanted to make sure because I heard dollar tree products contain harmful things.
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Post by barryozzy on Nov 24, 2021 7:42:54 GMT -8
Be careful it doesn't have anything that can come off. I got a jewelry bowl from there for gerbil food, and the little decal in the bottom started coming off after a while. I hadn't thought it would do that but it was some kind of plastic film.
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Post by yeti218 on Nov 30, 2021 0:42:06 GMT -8
I use 2 water bottles in my gerbil tank so if one malfunctions or gets buried, they still have the other one. I dont replace the water every day, but I always press the spout to make sure they're still dispensing water.
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