Rat drinking problem?

Question

Just yesterday i got my rats a water bottle at Walmart. they are used to drinking out of a bowl, but they kept nocking their bedding into their water and i had to change their water at least 5 times a day... so i thought the water bottle would work. i put it in and i dont think they have touched it. whenever i squeze the water out, they come running to get the water.

Please help, how do i know if they've been drinking? Can i train them to use it? Is there hope?

thanks 4 any help... Miley <3

P.S... please no stupid answers like, "why do u have rats?" best answer gets 10 points!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

You might try putting something on the end of the water bottle that they will l**k off...then they will realize that this is where they l**k the end to get their water. (use like yogurt...something soft that would stick). You can tell they are drinking by watching the water level on the bottle. When rats drink, you can usually tell the difference in water level.

Answer 2

thats funny because my  rats done adsactly the same when they were younger.I put the bowl and water bottle up higher so nothing went into it but just put the tinest it bit of milk round the tip of bottle sucker so they know to l**k it and water will come out.

Answer 3

try putting a little peanut butter on the tip of the nozzle

when they l**k it off they should get a little water

hope it works

Answer 4

put some cucumber in the cage untill they get used to using the bottle. cucumber is moist when they nibble on it

Answer 5

you could try putting a bowl of water under or near the water bottle and get them used to associating the bottle with their water dish and then slowly fade out the dish, unfortunately there is no quick way to transition, also if you have any friends who wouldnt mind letting you borrow their rats you could put the cages together (even better put them in the same cage) and let the other rats show how to use the water bottle, but you have to be very careful with this method because there are alot of risks. good luck.

Answer 6

does the bottle have any kinks in it? one time my hedgies bottle got a dent in it so she couldnt get any water out. try putting your finger gently on the nozzle and see if anything comes out

good luck!!!! rats are the besttttt