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Old 02-16-2018, 09:23 AM   #1
quisp65
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Question Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

Fixing up my 40 gallon breeder for a Winter White that I'll get in a week. Had gerbils back in the 70s but other than that I'm new to this.

Bought several water bottles because I am having difficulty with leaks and water stoppage. Leaks I guess are the bottles fault but the water stop issue was puzzling me because I was running into if frequent. I'm guessing the surface tension of the water were causing the bubbles to clog the tube and maybe my water quality is causing this issue.

I took a 8 ounce Kaytee bottle that I was having water stop issues and experimented putting soap in it because soap drastically reduces surface tension and Walla!....no more "bubble lock" issue and the water flowed non-stop when I put a paper towel up to end to simulate the hamster pulling water. So I'm guessing surface tension of my water is an issue and the problem?

I obviously can't put soap in the hamsters water, but what else would reduce surface tension? A little lemon juice? I have no idea. I guess I could buy distilled water. I imagine bigger water bottles with a wider nozzle might have less issues.

Thoughts, opinions?
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Old 02-16-2018, 01:08 PM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

You definitely can't put lemon juice in the water, hams should never have any citrus & I wouldn't use distilled water, unless you have a real problem with your water quality then I can't imagine that would cause a problem with the bottles.
Some bottles won't work if you fill them completely so you always need to leave some space in the bottle & then just running a clean finger over the spout should get the water flowing.
If you can't find any bottles that work but don't leak you could just use a very small bowl.
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Old 02-16-2018, 01:33 PM   #3
quisp65
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Default Re: Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

Thanks for the info. I may have found a cheap bottle at the local pet store that works. I'm putting it through trials. Turns out some old distilled water I had laying around didn't work with the Kaytee. 3 drops lemon juice didn't either but around 10 drops allowed the Kaytee to function properly.....but that's just for experimenting purposes I've resigned myself to the fact I'll have to use plain water and have to find a bottle that works. I also got a heavy shallow dish as backup.

Do people find larger tubes have less "bubble lock" issues? I sort of want to try https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...L3EUGWV2&psc=1 but it's got a 10mm wide nozzle. 2 reviewers say their dwarf hamster drinks from it.
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Old 02-16-2018, 01:46 PM   #4
cypher
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Default Re: Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

I've only ever used small bottles so I really wouldn't know about larger ones, maybe one of the US members will be able to help with the best bottles to use.
I use bowls now & the hams seem to prefer them so you could just use your bowl.
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Old 02-16-2018, 01:53 PM   #5
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Default Re: Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

I've found that the 125ml small bottle I have works best by filling it and leaving some space at the top, but my large 500ml bottle with a longer spout needs to be pretty much filled all the way to the top or it just drips and drips. I discovered that when a section of bedding underneath it where my ham's food stash is started smelling damp.
I think with some of the bottles the ball bearings are a bit dodgy and don't always stop the water/allow water through. As long as you have more than one or even if you use a shallow dish there will always be a water supply available. Just remember if you're using a dish to put it on a flat surface where it can't be spilt or have bedding kicked into it.
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Old 02-16-2018, 03:29 PM   #6
hellobg
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Default Re: Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

I've actually had a type of generic water bottles for hamsters, mices and gerbils and that was for my hamster.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hamster-Wat...cAAOSw~oFXIzeu

I've never seen it drip before, these water bottles came from the cage I bought in a local pet store, now the cage I had was quite small but the water bottle it came with was really great, it barely leaks.
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Old 02-16-2018, 04:11 PM   #7
quisp65
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Default Re: Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by hellobg View Post
I've actually had a type of generic water bottles for hamsters, mices and gerbils and that was for my hamster.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hamster-Wat...cAAOSw~oFXIzeu

I've never seen it drip before, these water bottles came from the cage I bought in a local pet store, now the cage I had was quite small but the water bottle it came with was really great, it barely leaks.

I actually had that model in my cart for a while on Amazon and was going to purchase it, but have since removed it. I'll give it some more consideration. I picked it because it was similar to the model I remember using without much difficulty back in the 70s. Nice to see a cheaper listing of it than Amazon.

Last edited by quisp65; 02-16-2018 at 05:35 PM.
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Old 02-16-2018, 07:39 PM   #8
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

Water bottles are a total pain! I finally found one that works well, lets water out, doesn't jam, doesn't leak (well the odd drip) and lasts for ages. Not sure if you can get them in the US. It's the Ferplast Drinky 75ml.

I can't see it on Amazon.com. But they do have the hamster sized Ferplast Sippy - I have that in a tank for our robo and it comes with suction cups and a holder to fix to the side of a tank, which I find works well.

It's a weird kind of bottle but our robo uses it and not had any issues with it.

The yellow thing is an attachment for cages but you have the option of using the suction cup holder instead - it comes with both. It's actually very easy to fill up - the lid just lifts off the top.

https://www.amazon.com/Ferplast-Hams...t+water+bottle
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Old 02-16-2018, 11:31 PM   #9
Dalis_mum
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Default Re: Water bottle bubble lock fixes?

Drinking distilled water can give people kidney issues. I'm assuming it could lead to a similar outcome for hamsters so not a great solution.
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