If a hamster settled in the house, it is very important to create the necessary conditions for his full-fledged life activity. One of the highlights is the choice of drinkers for the pet. It can be home-made or purchased in a specialty store - this is left to the discretion of the owner. About what are drinking bowls, how to choose them and use them correctly, let's talk in this article.
What are the?
Drinkers that are used for hamsters in the home can be internal and external. They differ in the method of attachment, that is, they can be located inside or outside the cage. In the second case, it turns out to save space inside the pet's habitat, this is especially true in the case when the dwelling is not too large.
The factors that should be guided in the selection, many. This is primarily the size, convenience, reliability, method of attachment.
You should also pay attention to the stability, safety for the pet, as well as the aesthetic appearance of the structure.
You can also classify devices by design type. They can be suspended and outdoor.
As for the floor options, they are placed inside the cage. The bowl should have enough weight so that the mobile pet could not turn it over.
However, it is necessary to consider the following: since the water is in the open access, it is quickly contaminated, and it is still possible to overturn it.
Suspended structures can be mounted inside or outside the cage. Capacity can be open, but the most popular yet closed options. There are vacuum structures that include a tank that stands on a wide pallet with high sides, from which water comes. Not everyone likes this option, as the liquid becomes contaminated quickly enough and you need to wash the entire device to clean it. Since most of these drinkers are made of soft materials (like plastic), hamsters often gnaw them.
Nipple drinkers for pets include a flask from which water flows through a tube ending in a locking mechanism. The hamster gets fluid by pressing his tongue on the retainer, and this animal will have to get used to. There are still ball mechanisms acting by analogy with the previous one.
Such options are used especially often, because the water remains clean and does not spill over the cage.
Some owners choose bottle drinkers with a tank. Water slowly flows out of the tank into a small depression. Such drinkers are most often used by bird owners, but hamsters can also use them. However, with this choice it is necessary to take into account that the water will also be open and the structure will have to be washed and cleaned frequently.
How to do it yourself?
If it is not possible to purchase a drinker in the store, you can try to make it yourself at home. This process is absolutely not complicated and does not require any special skills.
In addition, the construction will require only available materials or the most inexpensive materials. They can be found in almost every home.
For the manufacture of the drinking pot, you will need a knife, a nail or an awl, a plastic bottle.You also need to prepare a regular pen, a ball that fits inside it, but it will not slip out, a spring from a pen, a wire to fix the device, electrical tape, glue. The procedure will not take too long. Consider 2 options that are especially easy to do yourself.
In order to make a nipple drinker, you will need a small plastic bottle, a ballpoint pen and a ball. The ball must be chosen such that it fits freely inside the body of the handle, but does not roll out of its narrowed part.
The place where it gets stuck is neatly trimmed with a sharp knife so that the ball sticks out a little, but cannot roll out completely.
The ball can be fixed with a spring from a fountain pen, but not too tight.
A small hole is made in the bottle where the handle is firmly inserted. The point of convergence is to fix the tape or glue to prevent fluid flow. After this, the construction is fixed with a wire on the cage so that the tube is located at the bottom and is at a height convenient for the hamster.
For the second design option, you will need a plastic bottle and a straw for drinks, which is inserted into the hole made in the center of the lid, corrugated outside. The inner part needs to be trimmed. We protect the structure from the flow of water with glue or tape. The bottle is attached to the cage with a straw down; liquid will flow through it.
How to install?
Purchasing and making a drinker is not the most difficult task. It is also necessary to properly attach it to the cage so that the playful pet does not splash water and does not damage the structure. Store copies are usually equipped with special clamps, which are very convenient to use in this case.
If the drinker has a mounting hole in the cap, but there is no lock itself, this is not a problem. It can be made from a small piece of wire, bent at the edges, to get a kind of hooks. You can also use a tight rope.
The main thing that you need to pay attention to is that the container is firmly on the cage and the pet itself does not hurt about the protruding edges of the mount.
It is possible to fix the autodrinker with the help of a large plastic cup. To do this, it turns upside down, and a hole for the drinker is cut in it. From the side it is necessary to make a small hole into which a tube is pushed. The design is fairly stable inside the cage, it can be put in any free space.
Floor watering should be equipped with a weighting agent, then the active animal will not be able to turn it over. However, please note that you will need to wash the tank often enough, so you should not fix it thoroughly. It will also be appropriate to place such a structure on a stand. In this case, less dirt will also get into the water, as a result of which it can be changed a little less.
How to teach to use?
Experts recommend purchasing a watering bowl along with a new hamster house. In this case, the pet, examining the unusual housing, be sure to notice it and learn to drink on their own. This will save the host from the learning process.
However, there are cases when the drinking bowl is purchased instead of the old one, its type changes and is installed in the already existing animal housing. In this case, the hamster may not immediately figure out how to use a new device for him.
However, these animals are smart enough and are well trained in training - you can simply bring it to the drinking bowl and poke the muzzle into the ball.
After several times, the animal will understand the principle of operation and will actively drink water on its own.
Note to the owners: there is another simple way. You just need to coat the tip of the drinker with something tasty and fragrantly smelling. A curious hamster will not stand and be sure to come up to try a treat, thereby triggering the water supply mechanism.After that, instincts will work, and the animal will use the drinker if necessary.
Why the animal does not drink water?
The reasons why the hamster refuses to drink water from the drinker can be varied. If the animal has recently appeared in the family, we can not exclude its stressful state. In this case, no need to rush things - let him get used to and get used to new living conditions.
Another factor is the inability to use the drinker. What to do in this situation, we have already disassembled above.
It is possible that the animal is quite juicy food that quenches its fluid needs for a while.
We must not forget that hamsters are nocturnal animals. This means that the peak of their activity may be at the time when the household is already sleeping. Accordingly, the animal is quite possible, and enjoys the drinker, he just does it when no one sees.
Well, finally, we must bear in mind that the animal needs fresh water, which is recommended to be changed daily. Stagnant water hamster will not drink. It is also sometimes necessary to check how well the drinking trough functions and whether technical failures have appeared.
It should be noted that the moment that the newborn animals need, like adults, to get fresh water.
However, they cannot reach the adult drinker right away, so you should take care of a small saucer with water from which the kids can drink on their own.
In this case, it is best to rinse the saucer several times a day and renew the liquid.
How healthy a pet grows depends entirely on its owners. Therefore, deciding on such an important step as a pet institution, you need to pay maximum attention to it and provide competent care. Only in this case the hamster will be active, friendly, properly develop and delight its owners.
Video review drinkers for rodents, see below.
