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Water bottles Q

omni

omni

antiunresemiretirismic
I've been using the cheapie bottles forever, and every now and then, I see my mice fighting the bottle to get water out sometimes. I then have to shake it to get it going for them by shaking out the bubble that stops water around the ball bearing.
Does anyone ever notice this with the cheap, single-ball nozzles? Does having a spring-loaded single ball or double ball tube eliminate this, or do they just stop leakage better?
 
I use such a wide variety of water bottles for my mice and rats that I really can't say which ones work better than others. I can say that almost all of the mice and rats have learned to move and bang their own bottles on the side of the tank if they are having trouble removing an air bubble (real annoying when you're trying to get some sleep and they are all getting a drink). I have one colony that is still trying to learn this behavior for one particular bottle they are having trouble with. The younger ones seem to have a clue, but just aren't big enough to effectively move the bottle (it's a 12 ounce bottle).
 
For the mice in lab cages I use glass bottles with rubber stoppers and straight metal sipper tubes with no ball. They can be a pain when something gets stuck inside and the whole bottle empties, but as long as there is water the mice can always get a drink, and they make NO noise.

For the rats, I've found the best water bottle made is the "Edstrom Water Buddy". It's a top-filling sturdy PVC bottle that uses an edstrom valve, same as what is used in auto watering systems. They are SILENT, never leak, and can be filled while still mounted on the cage.

http://www.woodlandbird.com/text/WBuddy.html has them for the best price and shipping I have found.

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