Water bowls vs. Water bottles

[RoxieFaye]

Hello! I hope everyone's new year is off to a wonderful start. :hello:

Okay, I wanted to see which you guys think is better for the little rascals, water bowls or water bottles. Right now I have Quillson on a water bottle because of 3 reasons:

#1. That's what he was used to before I got him
#2. When I've given him water in a bowl he doesn't drink as much as he does with the bottle
And #3. I can't figure out how to keep a bowl in the cage without it filling with bedding every night and I know that's when he needs the water the most.

I wonder about the bottle because it sounds like it hurts his little teeth to be scraping up against the metal tube for so long. Every night my boyfriend asks me, "Ow! Don't you think that's bad for him?"

So, low and behold, I thought I'd get y'all's opinions on which is better. So start votin'!

[Sarah+Sonic]

I have one of both. Aiden will pack his bowl with shavings no matter what so I use a bottle with him, and Loribelle has a dish as she doesnt pack it
sarah

[Sarah+Sonic]

Oh, the bottle leaks though. I put a dish under it and lo and behold its full of shavings every morning... (smiles)
Sarah

[kendra]

In my opinion bowls are a lot better, as they are not bad on the teeth, and don't drip. I have Sophie using heavy glass/ceramic food and water bowls, the best part is that they're joined together so it's almost impossible to tip. Sophie was used to drinking from a water bottle when I got her, and for the first night or two her water dish would get pretty packed with shavings, but once they realize what it's for, I think they learn pretty quickly. She gets maybe one or two pieces of bedding in there a night, and it doesn't seem to affect her ability to drink. I have switched her to vellux now, and now her bowl stays perfectly clean. I suppose that it's better to do what your hedgehog prefers, but I think that bowls are a lot safer.

[Nancy]

I use bowls. I read that they can chip a tooth on the bottles so it's bowls for ours. They are all on pad too so there's no bedding to get in the bowls.

[dirgurl]

i have three hedgehogs...Sassy, Sprike, and Pickles..Sassy and Spike normally only have 1 or 2 pieces in there watter bowls...but Pickles my newest baby has been filling her bowl up with shavings because she has not quite understood the fact that the bowl is for her to drink from...not bath in...she likes to put her feet in the bowl...she use to have a water bottle at the pet store she can from but was scraping her teeth against the ball...i have only had her 5 days.. she is a baby still...i like the bowls better for my hedgehogs..Pickle will figure out the what the dish if for after a few more days...i have just been changing the water in the dish twice a day...it is better for them to have a dish.. :)

[SuperCow]

I like water dishes because they're closer to the natural way a hedgehog would drink. Also, as you said, I'm worried about tooth damage. I use a combined cat food/water dish that's sturdy enough so neither hog has ever tipped theirs over. I've never had a problem with bedding in it, either. I used a bottle for Mocha for the first few days and she would keep me up with all the noise from the metal, and her cage would be soaked underneath the bottle in the morning. She adapted really well to a bowl the next night.

I wouldn't suggest using a bottle unless your hog refuses to drink from a bowl. I sort of show my hedgehogs how to use it. heh. In their cages, I just bring them over to it, stick my finger in the dish of water and put a little on their snouts (hopefully in their mouths, not their nose, but they'll get the idea either way). I don't know if that's necessary (or even helpful), but it makes me feel better about it. heh.

[skaterya]

I cut pieces of wood, and put them in the cage, stacked on top of each other, from the bottom of the cage and up, so the bedding goes around the wood. This way the water & food bowls are sitting on a flat surface, and they don't get bedding in them.

[ejw829]

I use a bowl for Toto b/c that's what the lady from the rescue uses for her hedgies! I never thought about a hedgie damaging their teeth on the metal tube but it does make sense...

[KeahiBlazeThea]

I use water bottles because thats what they used when I got them, and they dont use the water bowls when I try to switch over.