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Post by sparkbubble on Jun 23, 2022 10:06:11 GMT -8
Since most of the commercially sold water bottles are designed for wire cages, I had frequent trouble securing my bottle at a good height. I first got a plastic bottle (not knowing any better) and glued a wire hanger to it so that the hook threaded through the lid and dangled nicely against the tank wall. Unfortunately, the gerbs chewed through the lid in about 3 months. So I tried a glass bottle and made a stand, but the kept knocking it over and I was worried it would crush them. So I basically used the cage attachment to hold it to a piece of cardboard, then suspended the cardboard from the lid with string. Obviously, that only worked for so long, and I was kind of relieved when I dropped it and broke it (although I did pay a good ten bucks for it.) I now use dishes, and despite the cleaning complaints from other owners, I basically spend one dollar and ten minutes to glue together a customized cardboard 'house' to keep the water nice and clean (mostly), and it works for me. How do other gerbil owners cope with the inconvenience of commercial bottles or dishes? Does anybody have some hacks they'd like to share? Or is there an ideal 'miracle-feeder' out there that I do not know of?
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Post by tanzanyte on Jul 15, 2022 11:32:26 GMT -8
I actually use super strong sticky velcro on a classic plastic bottle to attach it to the glass. My stepdaughter suggested it as she uses it with her rats. I was worried that the gerbils wouldn't leave it alone but they've never tried to chew it and it hasn't started peeling off from where I pull it off to refill every day.
I actually moved over to dishes when my previous gerbil got older as I noticed she was having some difficulty. She moved over completely to drinking from the dishes but I found that you do have to be on top of changing them more frequently as it can be a mess in a few hours. I'd be interested to see a photo of your customised cardboard housing.
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Post by xzini on Jul 15, 2022 23:15:59 GMT -8
I use glass bottles that come with a metal holder and I use rubber bands to secure the water bottle into the holder so the bottle doesn't fall down. I'm able to put it on the lid which helps, if I didn't have the right kind of lid I would need to get more creative. I use rubber bands because my past gerbils learned how to drop the bottle off the metal holder but my current gerbils don't really do that which is good. It's just there for extra security. (the bottle is high enough so the gerbils can't chew on the rubber band)
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Post by Markpd on Jul 17, 2022 5:07:17 GMT -8
I've got glass water bottles for my boys, early on when I had a sectioned off area of the tank I attached the bottle to a piece of wire mesh that I hung down from the edge of the tank, as per the photo below. (Their is a clip under the bottle holding it too, but it's hidden in this photo).  Later on when I removed the barrier and placed the wheel on a platform I hung the bottle on the inside of the raised mesh roof/lid.
 It's rather a pain to take on and off though, I keep wondering if their is a better way.... I use glass bottles that come with a metal holder and I use rubber bands to secure the water bottle into the holder so the bottle doesn't fall down. I'm able to put it on the lid which helps, if I didn't have the right kind of lid I would need to get more creative. I use rubber bands because my past gerbils learned how to drop the bottle off the metal holder but my current gerbils don't really do that which is good. It's just there for extra security. (the bottle is high enough so the gerbils can't chew on the rubber band) Curious to see that setup, got a photo? |
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