Excessive urination!

[angelsallfire]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping you all may be able to help me. I've had my Syrian hamster Kaida since June this year, and bless her rebellious little soul, after much hassle I finally managed to toilet train her after the first couple of months of hell.

Now, in the past couple of months I've noticed her new found habit of chewing the metal spout on her water bottle, thus getting a wet face and in turn drinking a lot of water. She seems to go through phases, but this weekend I've noticed from cleaning her toilet in the evening before I go to bed, to me getting up in the morning her toilet is completely soaked through.

Obviously I'm concerned, as if her toilet substrate (wood shavings) is soaking through in my 7 hours of sleep it's obviously unhygeinic for her and I'm worried, however I don't think she's purposefully drinking a mass amount of water, she's just obsessed about chewing her water bottle. I have an abundance of chewing toys in her cage which she's totally not interested in, and I'm at a loss of what to do. To stop her drinking so much should I limit the time her bottle is attached to the cage? Or any tips people can give me?

Thanks in advance everyone!

[POLAR WHITES]

I would take her water bottle away and give her a water dish it will need cleaning more often but it breaks the habit of the water bottle, then I would see what happens if she is still drinking I would get a test stick for her and test to see if she test high, then make a vets appointment,

[Thin Lizzy]

Her water bottle is leaking, Twinkle my youngest did this and it soaked her wood shavings. The wee soul looked miserable. I got her a leak proof bottle and so far it's done the job.
I don't know where you're from but I got the leak proof water bottle from Pets At Home.

[angelsallfire]

Originally Posted by Thin Lizzy

Her water bottle is leaking, Twinkle my youngest did this and it soaked her wood shavings. The wee soul looked miserable. I got her a leak proof bottle and so far it's done the job.
I don't know where you're from but I got the leak proof water bottle from Pets At Home.

Hiya
It's definitely not leaking, I've watched her chewing the metal spout sideways, and sliding down and drinking or getting water on her face. It's one of these;
(Small Value Hamster Bottle | Pets At Home)

She's a bit special, clearly. I've taken to only putting a small amount of water in her bottle overnight to avoid over-drinking if she insists on chewing the spout. I've not heard of a water dish before, isn't there a risk she might tip it over and drench the whole cage?

[cypher]

If she was just chewing the bottle for something to do I don't think she would drink that much water, she's perfectly capable of spitting it out if she's not thirsty.
Use a fairly substantial small bowl & put it somewhere stable where it won't be knocked over too easily for some water, you don't really need much, & see how much she actually drinks from that.
If excessive drinking & urination continue I'd take her to the vet for a check to be on the safe side.

[Skeever]

Spitting might not be so easy, given they can't regurgitate, the whole idea of spitting out water may be a bit complicated for them to grasp. Spitting poo and seeds is one thing. I'm guessing water would run down their wee chins and just be unpleasant?

[cypher]

I remember when I had to syringe antibiotics into Ziggy everyday for a week he had no problem spitting at all lol! I'm guessing they can get fluids into their pouches & eject at will from that experience!

[Thin Lizzy]

That's the bottle I use from P@H.
How did you get on using a small dish in kaida's cage?

[Skeever]

I was so much happier thinking that my hams would never spit in my face....LOL. Nothing fluid anyways.
I hope they aren't checking these threads