Vitamin drops ... and mould?

northmcqueen · 03-09-2013, 06:12 PM

I've been using vitamin drops in Sooty's water as she does selective feed alot and just wanted to give her some added extra!
But it seems to be causing mould in her bottle

Even though I'm changing the water every day, there seems to be little spots of what looks like mould around the inside of the bottle each day. So I stopped putting the drops in for a couple of days... low and behold, the mould is gone!
Has anyone else experienced this? Seems odd, never had this problem with vitamin drops for small animals in the past..

vanilla-yazoo · 03-09-2013, 06:19 PM

the vitamins can cause algae to grow, so it is probably that that you are seeing, itl be like little green spots or a green tint.
You can give the vitamin drops on food, you can put it on a little dry food, or on a bit of soft/fresh food.
tofu, scrambled egg, carrot, baby food, cucumber, lots of various veggies, plus they get a little extra moisture, even my pickiest eater likes his veggies and vitamins

i add 2-3 drops a day, or you can give a few more drops if you do it less often, it also is a lot cleaner!
i use a paper cake case for my soft food, so they eat it, if they dont i can easily take it out, and they often shred the empty case into their nest. cheep and cheerful and no more moldy water!

Eriklover555 · 03-09-2013, 07:22 PM

I just rinse the water bottles with vinegar water every couple of days. It kills any algae growth, and it takes about five minutes.

Vanilla's way is good too ^^ Maybe I should try that next time.

Kaztrekie · 03-10-2013, 02:15 AM

Hmm I have nt had this with the vitamin drops I add to SAMs water though with the guniea pigs it was a pain I used to clean the bottles out with dried rice and water every few days.

souffle · 03-10-2013, 04:11 AM

We find it does cause algae to grow and it needs changed daily. If you get some of the sterilising tablets for babies feeding bottles that works well to clean them and also a bottle brush to keep them clean.

Arraminta · 03-10-2013, 04:29 AM

Hello, a trick I use when I have to dose meds to my tortoises or hammies is to take a piece of cucumber, dap it with kitchen roll to get some of the juice out, then put the meds on the cucumber where it absorbs it to replace fluid lost... Then give them the cucumber.. (Only needs to be a tiny bit). I'm sure you could use any fruit or veg as long as its juicy.

Hope that helps a bit

Arraminta x