Rodent & water bottles-water changes-Is it just me?

Question

Don't get mad. But am I the only one that fills up the water bottle and waits till it get's low and fills it up again. What's the point in changing the water everyday??? I just don't see the point. I do rinse them out with hot water.

I have a hamster and gerbil.

Answer 1

hey! not mad, i do it too sometimes, however, if you let the bottle get past half-full, the pressure could cause the bottle to get leaky, so that might be something to keep in mind!

Answer 2

The point is that its like drinking a water bottle from 3 days ago for humans. Thats why. Humans dont want to drink water from a week ago, neirther do hamsters!

Answer 3

i do the same thing, i have two rabbits and three guinea pigs (all in different cages) and i have two baby guinea pigs (with their mom) and i have 5 cages and 5 water bottles, i wait until their low and usually do it every couple days, unless the water looks dirty or it's really warm, then i refill it with cold water so they dont overheat. if the water is warm you should refill it often so that they have nice cold water.

Answer 4

what's the problem?  you're doing fine.

Answer 5

Well, would you want to drink stale/old water? I prefer to provide my pets fresh water daily.

Answer 6

I have a hamster and two gerbils and I don't change their water everyday.  And I am not mad because I do sort of the same thing that you do when it comes to changing water bottles.  I change it about seven days to about maybe eleven days.  But I think I know the point of people changing their pet's water bottles everyday.  Rodents backwash food into the water bottle and people think it is gross.  So they give them fresh water everyday.  And you can sort of tell when the water goes bad: When it is not clear water anymore.  I hope this helps.

Answer 7

Well you can sort of tell when the water has gone bad, when it goes bubbly and loses that crisp clear look. I tend to change the water once it's about halfway down (I use a biggish one). This might be every day or every second day. however I wouldn't leave it longer than that.

Answer 8

Hi,

I change the water everyday because I don't want to drink unrefrigerated water for a week! So I won't make my hamsters drink unrefrigerated water for a week! And it's not fresh if it just sits there and it gets all yucky and EW! So I like to change the water everyday :)

love,

animal helper

Answer 9

LOL. That's what I do.

I  wait til they drink all their water, then I fill it up again.

There's nothing wrong with doing that..

Answer 10

I'm not mad.  I do the same exact thing.  I have had my pets for a long time and have never had a problem.  My Chinchilla doesn't drink a lot of water so I will clean his bottle occasionally instead of waiting for him to finish all of it because he could have the water in his bottle for a month before it is empty.

Answer 11

I do not change my girl's water bottle until it is empty, sometimes it is a day, sometimes it may go for a couple days. I think it is more important to change water if it is left out in a dish... because they can tip it over, get stuff in it, or use it as a toilet. Water bottles should maintain themselves as relatively clean because the water is not exposed to air.

Maybe the advice applies only to a water DISH and not bottles.

Then again, there are always people who are obsessive about everything and will insist on a freaky level of cleanliness... that's just their deal. The rest of us know that a few germs are not all that bad, as long as things stay relatively clean.

Answer 12

no you are not alone I do that also because it is pointless to waist water just because they didn't drink it all.

It won't hurt them you just ahve to rinse the bottle out really well each time.

Answer 13

I do that too, it's ridiculous to waste water when there's nothing wrong with it. I change mine every 2 weeks when i clean my gerbils' cage, and even then it still has some left in it.

Answer 14

i do the same thing.

Answer 15

I don't change the water in mine everyday, I just rinse it with hot water and refill it when they have drank all the water.  I don't see the point either because it would be a waste of water just to pour it out and put new water in everyday.  I mean, my dog and cat don't get brand new water everyday, just when they drink it all

Answer 16

iam the same i think they call it laziness , the Latin names cantbearsed. but i do change my chinchillas water bottles every 2 days.

Answer 17

I did not change my pets water bottle everyday - only when it got low.

BUT  YOU  MUST  CHECK THAT THE TUBE IS NOT BLOCKED. just incase the little critters get food in there.

Answer 18

No you are not the only one! I have a guinea pig and I do the same thing. I believe you are supposed to refill it with fresh water everyday in case things get into it. There is nothing wrong with "old" water. We can tell that it tastes "stale" if it's been in contact with air, but there's not a lot of air in the water bottle anyway.

Answer 19

you mean i'm wasting my time changing the water everyday?

p.s. you guys better not be wrong!  this is the kind of reason i dont brush my teeth everyday, and i cant get back into the habit of doing it everyday again! >:o

Answer 20

nah...ive had mii hamstrs since they were jus old enough 2 live w/o their momma...after they were 3 mos old, i started changin their water jus when it gets reallii low n their food ev or ev toher day...i onlii wash their stuff ev friday lol...wat?!! im lazii

Answer 21

I did that when I was like 4, when I had my first guinea pig...I give my gerbils fresh water daily and sometimes a few times a day. It's because bacteria can grow with time, there's no water with no bacteria in it. If there's to many it may harm your pet (unlikely). Also changing it frequently gives it a longer life..believe me, some of my gerbils are pretty OLD. But cleaning the cage is more important though. It's your choice, I don't really care.