Water Bottle or Bowl

[joeydemagio]

Hey. I was just curious as to what you guys suggest as far as a water source goes. I currently have little eddy on a water bottle but after playing it seems he goes at it for like 5 minutes because he gets to little at a time. It just seems to me he would quench his thirst better with a bowl. I just don't want him tipping it over and making a mess or anything.

[Lynxie]

Bowls are much better. If you are worried about them tipping it over, get a bowl that locks to the side of the cage.

[lorelei0922]

Nice heavy large ceramic crocks here.. anything flat bottomed and heavy... water bottles are totally ignored by my gang

[maddiesmom]

I have both, and they drink from both

[ccretarolo]

I prefer using a bowl. My guys always end up dehydrated if they have to drink out of a bottle.

I personally use a bowl that locks to the side of the cage.

[sherrylynne]

I quit using bottles a while back. I was actually worried about them hurting their teeth on the metal spouts, besides the dehydration factor. I use crock-locs for most, and a very heavy ceramic bowl in the isolation cage.

[Heather]

Ferrets cannot get enough water from the bottles, leaving them on the point of dehydration. I know that some use them because ferrets love to play in their water. I"ve resorted to using locking stainless steel bowls in the cages and the largest dog's water bowl set in a large kitty litter pan outside the cages (my guys free roam most of the time, they're only caged at night for a couple of hours). This works for most of the furbrats. Yes, Fun-Go usually goes around and empties all the bowls when he's in the ferret room and swims in the dog's bowl but we've learned to love his idiocyncracies anyway . I know that his biz, the furry fang gang get really annoyed with him because by the end of the day no one has water but we just wring him out and get him fresh water .
ciao

[josiesmom]

DEFINITELY BOWLS! I have a bowl on every level of the cage and several water bowls around the house. Big heavy crock type bowls but shallow. I tried a water fountain and at forst it worked great - until Roamn decided he needed to figure out where the water came from and then went to work emptying the reservoir! I came home to the poor little pump motor just pumping away with no water! So that was money wasted on a good idea to offer them fresh clean filtered water!

oh well - So I run about the house twice a day cleaning out and refilling crocks!

Bottles just don't let them drink enough! YOu'll probably find that the novelty of playing in the water crock will wear off after a few days. If you use free standing crocks - don't put them in the corner of the cage - instead put them in the middle of the shelf. The corner only provides the frret a place to push against if he wants to shove the crock around.

When he finally gets bored with emptying the water from the dish you can ever so slowly move it into the corner. Put a towel on the floor to sop up the inevitable spills.

You'll notice a big difference in the weight of your ferret too - after allowing them to drink from a crock! Ferrets on strictly water bottles are already suffering from dehydration.

Besides getting more water in to their system it is fun watching them snorkel and blow bubbles!

Cheers,
Kim

[Zoshi]

I have both, mainly because Mis thinks he is a deep sea diver and he will end up depositing all the water in the bowl onto the shelf in his attempts to reach the bottom. The bottle is backup for when he does his bowl-diving while I'm away, so that the girls have something to drink from. x3 They don't use it very much, they prefer the bowl.

For all the reasons everyone listed, bowls are just a much, much better source of water for them. :3

[Little Wise Owl]

I use a bowl that locks to the side of the cage as well. I used to use bottles but I, too, noticed the ferrets becoming dehydrated.

[Forum Administrator]

Bowls for sure, but you can attach a water bottle to the cage too so it sits right above the bowl. Eh, why not right? Be sure you get a bowl that locks on to the side of the cage or a heavy bottomed ceramic bowl (as was mentioned).

Something that is often overlooked is that you should be changing your ferret's water 1-2 times per day and thoroughly rinsing the bowl out each time. If a slimey film begins to accumulate on the bottom of the bowl, then you are way overdue for a rinse/washing of the bowl.