hamster cannot use water bowl

brieshamsters · 11-15-2020, 02:17 PM

I've seen so many people recommend bowls alongside a bottle, and my eldest hamster uses one with absolutely no problem, but my 1.5 year old female WW hybrid just cannot use one. The way I tested Fork's ability to use a bowl was by putting a water bottle cap full of water in front of him to see if he would just climb right in the water but he drank from it just fine. I tested this out with Marshmallow and she walked right into it and got wet. I really just do not trust her with a bowl so is it okay to not use one? are there just some hamsters who can't use a bowl or is it something I need to have in each of my enclosures? Fork's has stones in it to discourage climbing in but i still think Marshmallow would get in it either way..

Ria P · 11-15-2020, 02:34 PM

I can't see the problem here. If your hamster doesn't like a bowl then give her a bottle.

All my hamsters have a bottle and a bowl so they can decide for themselves what they want to drink out of.

My tiny Robo has a one portion jam jar with a big glass marble in it so he couldn't possibly step into it.

It is good to have another source of water just in case one gets knocked over or fails to work.

LunaTheHamster1 · 11-15-2020, 02:37 PM

Of course it is ok not to use a water bowl. The main thing is your hamster has water, so use what works for you and your hamsters. Each hamster is individual.

My syrian Twinkle won't go near a water bowl. he hates them. So he has 2 water bottles instead (i like to make sure they have 2 sources of water)

brieshamsters · 11-15-2020, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ria P

I can't see the problem here. If your hamster doesn't like a bowl then give her a bottle.

All my hamsters have a bottle and a bowl so they can decide for themselves what they want to drink out of.

My tiny Robo has a one portion jam jar with a big glass marble in it so he couldn't possibly step into it.

It is good to have another source of water just in case one gets knocked over or fails to work.

someone on reddit argued with me that every hamster needs a bowl as well as a bottle so i got a bit worried i suppose, i’m glad to hear that she’s just fine without one

thank you for your response!

LunaTheHamster1 · 11-15-2020, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brieshamsters

someone on reddit argued with me that every hamster needs a bowl as well as a bottle so i got a bit worried i suppose, i’m glad to hear that she’s just fine without one

thank you for your response!

I wondered if something had happened like that to you. I see it a lot on social media and youtube. It's good to try it and see what they prefer, but if they don't like one or the other there is nothing wrong with that. Just go with what your hamster likes.

brieshamsters · 11-15-2020, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

I wondered if something had happened like that to you. I see it a lot on social media and youtube. It's good to try it and see what they prefer, but if they don't like one or the other there is nothing wrong with that. Just go with what your hamster likes.

Thank you so much! This makes me feel much better

sushi_78 · 11-15-2020, 05:08 PM

My hybrid has both a bowl and a bottle and she uses whichever is closest to her at the time so that suggests to me that she has no strong preference either way. As long as your hamster has water one way or another, she will be fine. A choice of bottle or bowl is a nice bonus. If you are using just one bottle you should regularly check that it's working though.

I've had a few gerbils that hated bowls because they were afraid of getting their noses wet. That might be the case with some hamsters too.

cypher · 11-15-2020, 11:52 PM

I wouldn’t worry about it, if your ham manages fine with a bottle then that’s no problem.
I had one Russian who would never use a bowl until I got a particular one from Rodipet (wouldn’t be available to you) & she was fine with that, I personally prefer to use bowls but it’s not a big issue.