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Water dish ideas for rack systems

antsterr

antsterr

Always mostly awesome
I have a continual problem with my rack systems and water dishes I'm hoping people may have creative solutions for. My snakes keep tipping over their water dishes.
I use 12oz and 1oz cups for my large and small tubs.
The smallest tubs are no problem, the top of the cage is low enough that the 1oz cups can't flip over.
My juvenile rack is the worst, cups are dipped on a daily basis.

I don't want to use ceramic bowls because the hard water here leaves such mineral deposits behind when it dries that the bowls can't be properly scrubbed clean. Those resin cast reptile dishes suffer the same mineral deposits and also are too low for my liking and end up full of substrate too often. I'd rather use plastic and throw it out when it gets too dirty to bother washing it.

I've seen plastic plumbing pipes cut into rings to use as base to hold the cup and make them less prone to tipping. However the cups I get are just a little to big to fit into 4" ABS pipe. The caps for the ABS pipe are perfect but a little pricey to outfit all my cages with.

What I really need though it to solve for the juvanile tubs. They are in shoebox tubs. I've thought maybe I could use paper clips to hook them onto the walls in front corner or something?

Anyway, I know there are many other rack owners here. What do you use for an efficient and easy water dishes and how do you prevent spilling?
 
I use the ceramic bowls as well as the square glass candle holders. They stand a few inches tall, and are a few inches wide. I pick up what I find at second hand stores, or sometimes dollar stores.
 
What about using the ceramic bowl and then putting a slightly smaller plastic one inside it? That way you're still using the disposable plastic parts but it would have the weight of the ceramic so it wouldn't get tipped over?
 
That works good if you've got the right sizes.

For my babies I use small cups, 1 hot glued down with disposables on top. They come unglued every once in a while, but it's cheap and easy.
 
you are using plastic bins right? what about putting a small spot of hot glue on the bottom of the cup? Using a cool temp hot glue gun it wouldn't melt the cup? and the hot glue could come right off the plastic bin.
 
cornsnakeforsale_com said:
That works good if you've got the right sizes.

For my babies I use small cups, 1 hot glued down with disposables on top. They come unglued every once in a while, but it's cheap and easy.
Click to expand...

Ok, so you glue one cup down and put a second cup inside of it?
Brilliant! so simple I don't know why I didn't think of it. That's a great idea, I'll give it a try. Thanks
 
The good thing about ceramic bowls is if the baby spills the water, or the paper towel wicks it out, the baby has a nice high perch to get dry on. I have hard water, too- I know what you mean. But at least I don't have to worry about my snakes drinking chemicals or worse.
 
You can remove the mineral deposits feom the ceramic bowls with a mix of vinegar and hot water, is safe and clean
 
Just a PITA when you have 80 bowls...Maybe I'll do that when I clean them for next year; usually I soak them in the bathtub with ammonia. I could do vinegar, too.
 
I am gunna vote for ceramic bowls too. Cheap from dollar stores, and even with hard water (because yes, I have it too and get the while build up around the edges) it's not harmful for them and the dishes are still clean after you've cleaned them. They are in a rack anyway, so you won't be seeing them all the time :p if it is you the build up is bothering!
 
I've used small plastic bowls meant as feeding bowls or bath bowls for rodents. The outer walls are angled out so the don't tip as the snakes climb in and out. They look similar to this:
00051110-large.jpg


You can usually find them in a multitude of sizes. I used 3in bowls for my hatchlings and larger bowls for larger snakes. They work great in rack systems because they are low enough and can be placed directly on top of the newspaper, not glued down. They're also around $1 each and they won't crack or chip like ceramic might.
 
I use ceramic ramekins. Buy them cheap from restaurant suppliers.
BUT I might switch to plastic thanks to another "I'm an idiot" moment ! I pulled a couple of tubs out at the same time and one slid out of my hand and dropped to the floor. The ramekin slid and pinned the 60g snake to the side of the tub. The snake had a couple of broken ribs !! :(
He healed up fine and is healthy thankfully!
 
Oh no, I'm sorry to hear about your accident.

I forgot to mention, with hatchlings, I use the Petco plastic bowls, that the babies can crawl under, to use as a hide as well. They love them!
 

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I use deli cups for my older snakes, set in 4" pvc couplers. They're virtually untippable
 
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