Water bottles vs. bowls is an extremely common debate in the hedgehog community as they both have some pretty strong pros and cons. Some owners have even reported injuries from hedgehogs using water bottles! Can hedgehogs use a water bottle? Are these freak accidents or a real cause for concern?
Almost all hedgehogs can safely use a water bottle instead of a water bowl. Water bottles are more sanitary than bowls and they also give you the ability to easily see how much your hedgehog is drinking each day. They save space inside your cage because you can hang them from the outside which gets rid of the need for a large water dish cluttering your hedgie’s home.
What about the horror stories of chipped teeth or even the rumor of a hedgehog’s tongue getting stuck while using a water bottle? Let’s put some all of the fear-mongering to rest and I’ll give you all the information you need to safely use water bottles with your prickly pal!
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Are Water Bottles Safe For Hedgehogs?
If you’ve searched the hedgehog forums or asked around the hedgehog community about water bottles you’ve likely heard horror stories about hogs getting their tongues stuck in the ball bearing of a water bottle or even chipping their teeth on the metal spout of a bottle.
If your hedgehog is not getting enough water on each lick of the spout they tend to get frustrated and try to chew the metal spout while trying to get even more water. This can lead to chipped teeth and is the source of most of the animosity that has been directed at water bottle usage with hedgehogs. Your hedgehogs will not try to chew the metal as long as the spout is big enough!
What’s the Best Hedgehog Water Bottle?
The large majority of hedgehogs will quickly learn how to drink from a bottle with zero problems. All three of our hogs have used water bottles from day one and the breeder we bought Kiki from raises her hedgehogs using only water bottles. Briar Patch Hedgehogs highly recommends the Kordon Oasis Bird Water Bottle and all of their hogs use this brand. It has an extra-large spout that lets a substantial amount of water flow at a time.
A good rule of thumb to keep in mind while shopping for water bottles for your hedgehogs is the following: compare your pinkie finger’s width to the spout. If it’s skinnier than your pinkie, it’s too small for most hedgehogs to comfortably use.
There are two types of pet water bottles on the market, those with a spring-loaded mechanism behind the ball and those without. When you tilt your bottle nozzle backward, if the ball stays in place, there is a spring behind it. This is sometimes too heavy for small animals like hedgehogs to easily push back and drink. Non-spring loaded setups tend to drip a bit more but they’re far easier to drink from than the latter.
I also suspect that the claims that a hedgehog’s tongue got stuck were caused by using a spring-loaded bottle. A normal water bottle doesn’t have any suction or tension behind the ball which makes it near impossible to get an appendage caught in.
I currently use a large plastic water bottle from the brand Kaytee but it, unfortunately, seems to have been discontinued. If you’re in the market for a new bottle I recommend that you try out the Kordon Oasis Bird Water Bottle that I mentioned earlier.
Are Water Bottles Better than Bowls for Hedgehogs?
A traditional bowl can get dirty very quickly which is why water bottles are the more sanitary option. Hedgehogs love to burrow in their bedding so if you use paper or wood shavings as bedding you will have to constantly refill and clean your hedgehog’s bowl.
We first tried using bowls as a water source for our first hedgehog but she constantly flipped the dish over while rooting around in her cage and it also constantly got food or bedding in it mere minutes after being cleaned. If you use fleece liners in your hedgehog’s cage this won’t be as big of a concern. I prefer using paper bedding because it gives my hedgehog something to burrow into while sleeping in her cage so it was a no brainer to go the bottle route.
Water bottles are also a great way to conserve cage space and make more room for toys/room for the hedgehog to roam around and exercise. It’s also difficult to tell how much your hedgehog is drinking when using a bowl. I prefer to keep close tabs on my hedgehog’s water and food consumption so we can quickly notice if she develops a health issue that’s causing her to eat/drink less. Here’s why we keep a close eye on how much our hedgie drinks daily.
Switching From a Bowl to a Water Bottle
The average hedgehog will be able to quickly and easily make the switch from using a traditional bowl to a bottle. It is best to keep a bowl with water in the cage until you see your hedgehog successfully drinking from the bottle, we don’t want them getting dehydrated during their learning curve! It’s not a good idea to go cold turkey with the bottle if they aren’t able to figure it out right away. It may take a few days for your hedgehog to fully switch over to using a bottle so keep the bowl in the cage until you’re confident that they have fully made the switch.
You can also tap the metal bead of the bottle to make water drip out while your hedgehog is very close by in the cage so they can learn that it is a source of water. The bottle should be hung at shoulder height to provide easy access for your hedgehog. If it’s hung above shoulder height it can uncomfortable for them to use.
How to Clean Your Hedgehog’s Water Bottle or Dish
Even though bottles stay much cleaner than bowls you still need to rinse and refill them daily. You can use a baby bottle brush to give them a proper scrubbing 2-3 times a week. The inside of the bottle can still develop biofilm (that slimy slippery layer that forms on the surface of a pet’s water dish) and it’s important to prevent a buildup of bacteria inside of the bottle to keep your pet happy and healthy.
How to Stop Your Pet’s Water Bottle From Leaking
A drippy water bottle is by far the most annoying part of using bottles instead of dishes. I’ve spent a few evenings fighting a seemingly endless battle with leaking bottles. But don’t worry, it’s most likely an easy fix! Here are a few potential culprits that could be to blame:
- Using warm or very cold water: The changing temperature of the water as it cools can prevent a vacuum from forming properly.
- The angle is off: If the bottle is placed perfectly horizontal it prevents the nozzle from keeping proper pressure and will cause drips. Lean the bottle slightly back to create the perfect angle. You may have to play with this a bit depending on your cage’s setup.
- Not filling it all the way: If you don’t completely refill the bottle it will also mess with the vacuuming effect.
- A dirty nozzle: The nozzle can get clogged up by calcium deposits if you are using hard tap water or bedding can get stuck behind the metal ball inside the spout.
- Air stuck in the spout: Air bubbles trapped behind the metal bead prevent a proper seal from forming.
At the end of the day, it’s mostly personal preference and depends on your hedgehog’s cage setup. If you use fleece liners as bedding and your hedgehog doesn’t like to flip its toys it’s perfectly fine to go with a water dish. But if you use loose bedding or have a feisty hog that likes to re-arrange its cage daily you should go with the bottle. If you end up choosing to use a bowl they are a bit cheaper than the average bottle. This is a great and inexpensive water crock dish that’s easy to clean and hard for your hedgie to flip!
