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Glass Water Bottles

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Laura-CCC4

Laura-CCC4

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Are glass water bottles less likely to get algae growing in them?

I ask because I replaced all my pigs Savic Biba bottles earlier in the year, and they are at the stage of needing replacing again as no amount of scrubbing or disinfecting is reaching all parts of greenified bottle. I clean them regularly, twice a week, but I just can't get the whole thing clean and I'm not happy about my pigs drinking from a water bottle with green patches in!

I am very happy with the Savic Biba bottles aside from this, have used them for years, but would be willing to try glass water bottles if it meant being able to get rid of this algae a lot easier.

I could always try the EziFilla bottles again if there is little difference in cost between those and glass bottles, they would be easier to clean than the Savic ones.
 
i read somewhere (I think it was on LisaJazz's website) that glass bottles are proven to be better for piggies, but I'm not entirely sure why, I hadn't heard that before.

I have the Biba ones that you kindly bought for us and I think they get less green than the normal red topped Classic ones, and I find them easier to clean as the neck is wider, so I just soak them in Milton once a week and scrub with a bottle brush, it does the trick, and they are the cleanest of my bottles.

I have one glass bottle here, which came in with a piggy - perhaps I will conduct an experiment!

Sophie
x
 
Glass water bottles are definitely better for keeping the water fresher. But, so far I've not found one that doesn't leak terribly - the one they sell in Pets at Home I found to be totally useless, otherwise I'd never use plastic.

Have you tried rice in the bottles? I've always found that better than a brush to scrub them out.
 
I have only tried it once before Sarah, forgot about that trick, I will give it a go today and let you know how I get on. If I can find a good way to get the bottle totally clean I will, I am happy with the bottles overall and if I can avoid buying a shedload of new bottles I will, it's just getting these ones clean enough that bugs me. The bottle brush doesn't quite get into every part of the bottle, it's great for the bits if does, so maybe a combination of scrubbing and 'rice shakes' will work.
 
The most important thing with the rice trick is to only have a tiny amount of water with it - seems make the rice more abrasive. :)
 
or you could try coarse rock salt, Laura? It doesn't stick to the bottle and clog your drans because it dissolves. Use cold water though, because it dissolves too quicky otherwise.

I wonder what makes your bottles green, though... I never had a problem with it!
 
Although I have only had GPs since April 1st, I have used water bottles for years for hamsters (and bunny more recently) and have never had anything green in the bottles but mine are not in the sunlight. Maybe you could try strilising the bottles with baby bottle solution (buy tablets from boots or mothercare) to kill off the algae and then keep them out of the sun? I would guess that the solution is safe for guinea pigs as it has been tested on babies (for a change). You rinse it off afterwards anyway.

We have had both glass and plastic bottles. I would recommend plastic rather than glass as they are lighter and cheaper. My daughter has broken the glass ones as they are heavy and slippy when wet and full although the little ducks that come in some of the bottles to show the level are cute. We only bought a glass one initially because we had a hamster that used to chew holes in his water bottles.
 
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I use both glass -for water and plastic- for probiotics, to give the girls a choice. The only time I have algae growing is if the bottles are left in the sun or if I don't clean the plastic properly, I presume it is to do with the probiotic.
 
The rice worked a treat, can't believe I didn't remember it before. Bottles are now as good as new!

A lot of it is dirt, whether the green is also dirt I'm not 100% sure, but it's definitely green. The pigs manage to get particles of food in the bottles which makes the bottles dirty inside. How they get the bottles so dirty, I don't know, not quite figured out the logic of how the food goes up the spout! :{ No direct sunlight either.

I have tried sterilising them in Milton, and with fresh boiled water, but neither lifted the dirt or the green off; now I've nailed the rice trick, I can scrub and shake the bottles, and sterilise routinely.

Phew, glad I don't have to stock up again. Thanks for the help.
 
I swear by the glass bottles. I used plastic and found they grew algae much faster and easier than the glass, as I am pretty sure plastic is an easier surface for it to grow. The plastic ones always leaked for me too. The only time the glass one leaked was when I dropped the bottle and it split the seal on the plastic lid.

I LOVE the fact that I can put the glass bottles in the dishwasher!

I think the opinions are completely mixed!

You can however buy bottle snugs from Pet at Home which stops the algea from growing!

-Carma
 
glad you got it sorted:))

I have glass (the cute one with a duck lol) but now the girls are outside they have a bottle snug onto! I have to put a heavy bowl under though as it does tend to drip{:|
 
I have to use water bowls (slighty raised so they can't wee in them!) as Ronnie can get a bottle out and on the floor no matter how securly it is attached, however when I used to use plastic ones, the sun made them green until I put a sock on them and it stopped it (and stops it freezing in the cold :) ) so maybe you could try that? x
 
Glass is so much better for you than plastic - ditto human beings. Plastic has compounds that leech into the water - glass doesn't.

Glass bottles can go through the dishwasher whereas plastic ones melt.

Guinea pigs I have found drink more water from glass bottles than from plastic ones and that's really good for them and to help prevent the formation of stones. I think to their palate which is more sensitive than ours it tastes better too.

As for algae formation - don't know. Sorry laura.
 
Very interesting thread.

Where can you get glass water bottles and which are the best for not leaking?
 
I have the ones from pets at home and I don't find they leak at all actually. They are fidly and the spout can move around as they can be sited outside or inside the cage so you DO need to make sure the spout is in tight. When I didn't have it in right one day it leaked everywhere. But that's only happened once with one bottle.

They aren't cheap though!
 
Just been reading about the ones you both have and some people have said they had difficulty with water coming out? How do you find yours?
 
Joey&Gizmo said:
Just been reading about the ones you both have and some people have said they had difficulty with water coming out? How do you find yours?
Click to expand...

Every single water bottle I have ever tried leaks to a certain extent. However the glass ones last for years, but I found the plastic ones would clog up, fall out (from being too light and the piggies would play with the catches, the glass ones were heavier and more stable, the spring wraps around a little formed groove so it's very secure) or the seal would go causing it to leak prefusely (The glass bottle has a double ball bearing spout which is suppose to seal the water in better).

I still have to have a bowl under the bottle, but I do with all of them. This is just to catch the water that dribbles out when the guinea is finished and some air bubbles into the bottle.

This is my conclusion, it seems there are many mixed experiences. All I say is check the lid when you buy it, as one drop can result in the seal breaking. Just check inside for cracks in the plastic and rubber.

My girls also drink ALOT more water from these glass ones.

-Carma
 
Thanks for the info, I'm thinking of getting one as it seems that nearly everyone's piggy drink more from them and this would be helpful for Gizmo. :) Shall have a look at the in p@h and compare the price with the eBay ones, thanks Claire for the link.
 
Thanks for the info, I'm thinking of getting one as it seems that nearly everyone's piggy drink more from them and this would be helpful for Gizmo. :) Shall have a look at the in p@h and compare the price with the eBay ones, thanks Claire for the link.
 
Joey&Gizmo said:
Thanks for the info, I'm thinking of getting one as it seems that nearly everyone's piggy drink more from them and this would be helpful for Gizmo. :) Shall have a look at the in p@h and compare the price with the eBay ones, thanks Claire for the link.
Click to expand...

My last Guin was called Gizmo!

I had Maguai and Gizmo

-Carma
 
Lisajazz said:
Glass is so much better for you than plastic - ditto human beings. Plastic has compounds that leech into the water - glass doesn't.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's exactly why I wanted to move to glass ones, but I was so disappointed with the leaky glass bottle I ended up with! It just dripped constantly.
 
I have a glass one from pets at home. My girls don't use it anymore than the old one (basically they don't seem to drink anything:{) but mine doesn't leak at all and doesn't seem to get grimy like the plastic one did. Just need to make sure that the spout is pushed firmly in as I ended up with a wet foot when it fell out after I refilled it once.
 
Stopping plastic bottles from leaking

Some people have complained of leaking bottles. There is a way to reduce leakage with plastic bottles:

  • Fill the bottle with water and put lid on
  • Hold the bottle spout up and squeeze some of the air out at the top by pressing in the sides of the bottle
  • While still sqeezing turn it the right way up (i.e. spout down)
  • Now stop squeezing and you will see bubbles from air being sucked up through the water
  • Attach to cage as normal
  • The slight vacuum helps with the leaking but does not stop it wetting the ball bearing in the spout for the piggies to drink.

It is not perfect but helps enormously.
 
My rabbits need a new water bottle so I was going to get them one today, think I will buy two of the Super Pet ones for the pigs and buns and see how I get on with them.

Thanks for this thread x
 
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