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Old 04-05-2020, 01:16 PM   #1
Snail
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Default Hamster drinking water backwards?

So Im not quite sure how to explain this except that when my hamster drinks from his bottle he goes behind/underneath it and drinks it backwards. I have no idea how to get him to stop and I’m worried he might hurt his neck doing so. Any suggestions?
For context he had a water bottle when i adopted him which i switched to a water bowl for several months. I now have both a bowl and bottle in the tank as i was worried the bottle wasnt working cause although he drank very often the water level didnt seem to decrease much at all. Is it possible he just forgot how to drink? He still prefers the bottle to bowl so am unsure.
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By the way the shavings in his cage are hemp so should be safe!
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Old 04-05-2020, 01:34 PM   #2
LunaTheHamster1
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

can you try lowering the bottle a little bit so his neck isn't so stretched- see if that helps and he might try it from the front.
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Old 04-05-2020, 02:05 PM   #3
Ria P
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

I'm a bit confused. You said that he had a water bowl for several months so why did you switch back to a bottle?

You could make a bottle holder from a plastic bottle so he can't go behind it and has to drink from the front or switch back to a bowl.
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Old 04-05-2020, 05:47 PM   #4
Snail
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

Hi i switched back to a bottle as he kept knocking the bowl over and didnt seem to like drinking from it so i put a bottle in to see what he prefers I might try moving the bottle down its so high because he usually stacks up a bunch of bedding beside it and cant get into it
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Old 04-05-2020, 06:50 PM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

Ha ha they do some funny things. Our hamster Moo also stands in an unusual position to drink and drinks sideways. As long as your bottle is in a place where your hamster could easily drink from the front then I'd just see it as a quirk. But do make sure he has something stable to stand on/space at the front - ie check cage set up works for him in that way.
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Old 04-05-2020, 10:28 PM   #6
cypher
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

I had a Russian who always drank that way & it never seemed to do her any harm.
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Old 04-06-2020, 07:19 AM   #7
Snail
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

He definitely has a lot of space at the front so maybe it is just a quirk. I tried moving the water bottle lower down and he simply ducked underneath it to still drink from below. I find it a little odd as he used to drink from a bottle just fine so I might use his old bottle as maybe its at a different angle he just doesnt quite understand all that well
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Old 04-06-2020, 07:57 AM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

I should just leave him to it Main thing is to check daily that it is letting water out ok. I tap the nozzle with my finger each evening just to check.
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Old 04-06-2020, 03:14 PM   #9
Snail
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

It definitely lets out water for me okay when i tap it but it might be the way hes drinking it just doesn’t work. Im maybe a little paranoid
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Old 04-07-2020, 05:11 AM   #10
Kyrkogrimr
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Default Re: Hamster drinking water backwards?

Hydrogen (my syrian boy) sometimes likes to drink upside down, by which I mean he will rearrange things in his cage if necessary then stand next to the bottle facing the same direction as the bottle, climb over the spout to straddle it and drink upside down. It thoroughly confuses me, but he seems to be amused by the process and he can definitely - and usually does - access the bottle normally.

It's hard to explain but I can never get a photo of it to show you lol
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