Water bottle leaking problem

[Robodwarfs18]

So my hamsters have been using the water bottle which came with the cage for months now and it originally sat on their white platform. Since I've taken the platform out (for many reasons) I've had no where to put the bottle until I found out that your can just poke a hole through a toilet roll tube and it will work as a stand. So I woke up the next morning to check my hamsters were alright and the bottle was empty and half of the tube was soaking wet. The sawdust underneath was wet too so I had to remove it and use a new tube. This keeps happening every morning and I'm running out of tubes any ideas of how this happens??

[Pebbles82]

I suppose it could be that the bottles are at a different angle, but sometimes these bottles just go and need replacing. I use this classic mouse bottles, which are cheap and work well. They don't tend to leak, as they have two ball bearings in instead of one I think, but on the other hand I'm always a bit paranoid that Charlie might not get water and I only fill it 2/3 full and leave it partially unscrewed so water can come out easily - which does lead to a wee bit of dripping but not a lot. I check water is coming out ok by tapping my finger against the end when it's in place as the angle does seem to make a bit of difference. Also I think maybe a toilet roll tube isn't maybe the best material - I think some people have made stands out of plastic bottles which wouldn't soak up water, but then it would still drip onto the substrate. I never got on with having a bottle attached to the bars with narrow bar spacing in our cage, so a bottle stand works for me, but I forked out £10 and bought a wood one lol.

These are the bottles and I have a spare as they're so cheap, just in case one stops working

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Delu...c+mouse+bottle

This is the stand from Rodipet - there are two heights - I have the taller one for a Syrian, this shorter one is for dwarf hamsters. 13.99 euros converts to £10.25 but with postage it is 24.89 euros which is £18.23 so it's not cheap. I ordered mine when I was buying some other things, so the postage didn't seem so bad. The Rodipet stand comes with one of the small mouse bottles I think, can't remember, but I bought a couple anyway so I had spares for emergencies.

Rodipet® TRÄNKE mit Standfuß 18.5 cm (M) (Häuser) - Rodipet® Heimtierzubehör Shop

Someone on here also has this Critter Camp out set which includes a Water bottle holder like a tree which is cute, but quite low so better for dwarf hamsters or would need to sit on top of something to make it higher for a syrian. It's £11 including postage - but there are various ways of making bottle stands if you're good at that kind of thing.

Superpet Critter Camp-Out Set: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

[Artisans_uk]

It may be that the ball has got stuck in the spout and is not shutting off the water flow, perhaps a bit of food or substrate has got lodged. You can clean out the spout thoroughly to see if that helps. I have got some very small "bottle brush" cleaners that I use.

Small bottle brushes

When you fill the bottle and replace the spout, push back on the ball to make sure that it is moving freely and lets out a small amount of water and then drops back into place.

If that doesn't stop the problem, I would get a new bottle, I use the Classic range of bottles which can be picked up in most pet stores for about a £1 (if you are in the UK).

Classic Water Bottle

Hope that helps.

[racinghamster]

Also, try and have two water bottles, or a bottle and a heavier ceramic dish in case the bottle fails. The Rodipet wooden water bottle stand is good if you can order one.

However, another home-made bottle stand can be made by taking a plastic juice bottle, cut off the top. Measure how high/low you want the bottle to be inside. Make a small hole for the spout (melt one through the plastic if you can as it will make a better hole) and fill the bottle with pebbles or a rock from the garden to weigh it down. Stand this in a corner of the cage and it should be a lot sturdier than a toilet roll tube!

Here is another wooden stand on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-World.../dp/B00EQFP20S

[racinghamster]

Also found this from an older Hamster Central post! The image by AmyXLovesXHamsters.

How to attach water bottle in bin cage???

The yellow one looks to be made from a fairy washing up bottle! Cheap and cheerful and just need some stones or pebbles in the base to stop it from being knocked over.

[Robodwarfs18]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I suppose it could be that the bottles are at a different angle, but sometimes these bottles just go and need replacing. I use this classic mouse bottles, which are cheap and work well. They don't tend to leak, as they have two ball bearings in instead of one I think, but on the other hand I'm always a bit paranoid that Charlie might not get water and I only fill it 2/3 full and leave it partially unscrewed so water can come out easily - which does lead to a wee bit of dripping but not a lot. I check water is coming out ok by tapping my finger against the end when it's in place as the angle does seem to make a bit of difference. Also I think maybe a toilet roll tube isn't maybe the best material - I think some people have made stands out of plastic bottles which wouldn't soak up water, but then it would still drip onto the substrate. I never got on with having a bottle attached to the bars with narrow bar spacing in our cage, so a bottle stand works for me, but I forked out £10 and bought a wood one lol.

These are the bottles and I have a spare as they're so cheap, just in case one stops working

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Delu...c+mouse+bottle

This is the stand from Rodipet - there are two heights - I have the taller one for a Syrian, this shorter one is for dwarf hamsters. 13.99 euros converts to £10.25 but with postage it is 24.89 euros which is £18.23 so it's not cheap. I ordered mine when I was buying some other things, so the postage didn't seem so bad. The Rodipet stand comes with one of the small mouse bottles I think, can't remember, but I bought a couple anyway so I had spares for emergencies.

Rodipet® TRÄNKE mit Standfuß 18.5 cm (M) (Häuser) - Rodipet® Heimtierzubehör Shop

Someone on here also has this Critter Camp out set which includes a Water bottle holder like a tree which is cute, but quite low so better for dwarf hamsters or would need to sit on top of something to make it higher for a syrian. It's £11 including postage - but there are various ways of making bottle stands if you're good at that kind of thing.

Superpet Critter Camp-Out Set: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

Thank you so much! This was very helpful especially the links you gave me. I'm going to take a look at them and see what one would be best. Once again thanks

[Robodwarfs18]

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Also, try and have two water bottles, or a bottle and a heavier ceramic dish in case the bottle fails. The Rodipet wooden water bottle stand is good if you can order one.

However, another home-made bottle stand can be made by taking a plastic juice bottle, cut off the top. Measure how high/low you want the bottle to be inside. Make a small hole for the spout (melt one through the plastic if you can as it will make a better hole) and fill the bottle with pebbles or a rock from the garden to weigh it down. Stand this in a corner of the cage and it should be a lot sturdier than a toilet roll tube!

Here is another wooden stand on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-World.../dp/B00EQFP20S

Thanks loads. I'm going to try that bottle idea out this weekend to see if it works.

[Robodwarfs18]

Originally Posted by Artisans_uk

It may be that the ball has got stuck in the spout and is not shutting off the water flow, perhaps a bit of food or substrate has got lodged. You can clean out the spout thoroughly to see if that helps. I have got some very small "bottle brush" cleaners that I use.

Small bottle brushes

When you fill the bottle and replace the spout, push back on the ball to make sure that it is moving freely and lets out a small amount of water and then drops back into place.

If that doesn't stop the problem, I would get a new bottle, I use the Classic range of bottles which can be picked up in most pet stores for about a £1 (if you are in the UK).

Classic Water Bottle

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the help! I might just buy a new bottle as nothing is stuck in the spout. The bottle I use is very cheap-made so I'm guessing that's the issue.

[Snowz]

Has been happening to me to! I bought the bottle from Pets at Home and all it does is leak. My hamster doesn't get much water as it all just leaks out. :/!

[Pebbles82]

Those little Classic mouse bottles are good! I have a cupboard full of bottles that don't work or are too heavy or whatever and I still have the bottle attachment for a Ferplast sippy stuck to the cage because I can't get it off lol.