Water bottle or water bowl?

[hamsterlover16]

My hamster keeps chewing her water bottle which is on the side of her cage, where she is chewing it water keeps coming out. Should I use a water bowl instead? She has been used to a bottle will she know how to use a water bowl?

[SinNyx]

She should be fine using a water bowl. My only concern with water bowls though is that they can dry out so easily.

What you can do, which I have done, is I've covered up the water bowl holder using a toy, and instead, I have a hole going through a toilet roll tube, which the water bottle is sitting in.

If she is chewing her water bottle she may be bored or frustrated. What sorts of toys do you have? Does she have a wheel? How big is her cage?

[hamsterlover16]

She has a big wheel and a tube and toys. I am making her a bin cage soon and it will be a lot bigger so hopefully it will be okay. Going to try a water bowl instead of a water bottle. Thanks for help.

[Piebald]

I'd suggest using both at least until you see if the bowl works for her. Be careful it's not too deep as it's bad for a hamster to get wet, yet it has to be heavy enough to keep from getting tipped over.

[SinNyx]

I'd definitely suggest a ceramic bowl, just be sure to check on it multiple times a day, especially as it's getting warmer

[cypher]

You can get small bowls for reptiles made of resin which are a really good size for hams, heavy enough not to get knocked over easily too.

[maebh06]

What i've heard some people do is place a water bowl under the bottle and maybe you could try that to start off with!
Personally, I use an old toilet roll tube with a hole poked in near the top as a water bottle stand, so maybe you could try that?!
You could start using a bowl straight away, as it is more natural for a hamster because in the wild they would drink from puddles or any other water sources they could find, although it means that you would have to change the water everyday, or at least more often, as the water can get contaminated by bedding, dust and hair, though this can be fixed or reduced by putting it on a higher level or platform.
Sorry if i was rambling a bit, but in the end just do whatever works best for you and your hamster and best of luck!
One quick note, if you live in a hot country, try and stick with water bottles as they stop the water from evaporating.

[Mweekie]

With my previous hamsters Pepper and Sammie, I've use a water bottle, but with Chaos I used a bowl (as she was in a glass vivarium and I hadn't found this website yet lol), but Chaos seemed to prefer a bowl to a bottle anyway, so I guess it's 50/50 to be honest. As other people have said try both and see which one your hamster prefers. Hope it goes well and you can find which on it likes.
Mweekie xx

[Baby Grrr]

No matter what always use a bottle

[Heather]

I have water bottles and bowls in all my cages now, in two of them I use these for water bowls:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00C...WY9482JBNG66TP

There is a bottle under the cactus and it just lets a little bit of water out into the bowl part. It's good because it's not too deep and it won't dry out. It's also quite heavy so doesn't tip over! The price seems to have gone up now though, I only paid £8 when I got mine.