[laurennicole]

how can i train my hedgie to drink out of a water bowl

 

[LizardGirl]

Bessie should catch on very quickly, though you may need to show her that there is water in the bowl. After a night or two she should have no problem.

 

[laurennicole]

oh okay thanks for the good advice

 

[padawanslacker]

After some folks on here argued pretty persuasively for water in bowls, I figured I'd give it a shot, but I think I'll do what Reaper does and have both a bowl and a bottle in the cage. Spirit was weaned on a water bottle, so she may be reluctant to give it up, no matter what angle her neck is forced to be at. With both options, she can choose the one she likes.

 

[laurennicole]

i know i have her a water bowl and water bottle in her cage so she has a choice. her water bowl keeps on spilling everywhere.

 

[Tristen]

Try using a heavier bowl.

-Edit-
Sorry if that was a bit vague, but I did mean to use a bowl thats heavier so it can't be pushed or flipped as easily.

 

[laurennicole]

?

 

[padawanslacker]

I think Tristen means that if you used a heavier bowl, Bessie couldn't nose it around and make it spill.

So far, Spirit seems to like her bowl. I got her one of those reptile-type ones, where there's a reservoir that releases water into the bowl a little at a time. She hasn't managed to dump it over yet, and it does appear that she uses it more than the water bottle. At least the changing (or not changing) water levels suggest that's true.

I found a couple of flakes of bedding in the water this morning, but other than that it wasn't bad. Still, what kind of contamination potential am I looking at here? Should I empty and clean a bowl more frequently than I would a bottle?

 

[Nancy]

Both bowls and bottles and the reptile reservoir type should be cleaned and refilled daily. Water goes skunky fairly quickly and if you think about it, would you want to drink water that had sat on the counter for a couple days.

One of my rehomes arrived with a Fluckers reptile water bowl and I like it. He has dumped it once and boy did it soak everything when it did. I find he rarely gets food or anything in it, possibly because of the slanted sides. He is on liners so getting bedding in it doesn't happen.

 

[laurennicole]

okay.