randomusername0
Junior Guinea Pig
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2018
- Messages
- 8
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Hello everyone? uh, this is kind of awkward because I've never posted on this kind of site before, but I'm doing it because I'm desperate. Hopefully I can get some answers rather quickly.. I have a problem that's pretty much what the title claims. My guinea pigs will NOT stop torturing and pulling down their water bottle. I have no idea what to do.
To start off, I have 5 guinea pigs. They're all (mostly) well-behaved angels. Almost all of them get along, too. Dont worry, they are very well-cared for and have a proper cage to house all of them. The oldest we have is about almost 3 years old, and the youngest we got in October.
We started out with a normal, big guinea pig water bottle. Their cage is actually a medium-sized wooden (maybe homemade?) dog cage refashioned into a cavy cage, so their water bottle is held on by bolts that we put through the wood, and not the typical metal rod thingy.
We eventually had to take it out because it leaked so much and ruined their bedding. We thought that that particular bottle was just broken, so we got another one that was supposedly leak-proof. Surprise surprise, it did the exact same thing. We were super confused, until we saw that they were literally pulling on their water bottle every time they drink, causing more water to come out? I mean, my guinea pigs actually yank the freaking thing SO HARD in their direction while theyre drinking that I think it's broken the ball or whatever that's inside the bottle. If anyone needs proof for whatever reason, I'll try my best to get video. I don't know if this is normal for guinea pig owners, but I'm assuming it's not.
And you might be thinking, "well, maybe they're pulling on it because the water isn't coming out?" Nope. I tested it out, I've poked it with my finger and water comes out just fine. On top of that, if water was struggling to come out, why would that be happening with 4 different bottles in a row?
They are probably on their 5th or 6th water bottle about now. I've honestly lost track. Every single time, they pull their bottle down from its fastener and it drops and spills all over their bedding. And sometimes I don't even notice for hours, which means they are extremely thirsty (and probably cold, too?!) for a while.
I swear, we've tried EVERYTHING we can think of. Velcro, metal rods, strings, nails, rubber bands, you name it. Each time the water bottle ends up on the ground, and they try to eat/chew whatever was holding it up. We've even tried giving them the bottle ourselves, (holding it up for them while they drink) but they just end up fighting so badly over it and sometimes even hurt each other in the process. When we put the water bottle back up after a few hours of going without it (because they knocked it off), the next 20 or so minutes are filled with rattling and high pitched squeaks as they practically fight to the death over it. It's like theyre acting they were all in a desert for 3 days and finally found a puddle of water to split between all of them! Or am I wrong? Is a few hours without water a really long time for them? Could they die without having some sort of liquid that long?
I really need help here, we're running out of options and I don't know what to do. Currently, they have 2 small water bottles (the ones typically used for hamsters, mice, etc.) that are hold up by string AND rubber bands, and every few hours, you guessed it, they pull it off somehow.
Sorry if this was longer than a usual thread. But like I said, it's my first time posting here (or on a forum site at all for that matter) so I apologize for any bad manners or if I screwed something up.
Is there something we are doing terribly wrong? Something that we missed? Or do my guinea pigs just have a bad habit?
I will try to answer any questions to the best of my abilities. Thank you for reading, if you got this far.
To start off, I have 5 guinea pigs. They're all (mostly) well-behaved angels. Almost all of them get along, too. Dont worry, they are very well-cared for and have a proper cage to house all of them. The oldest we have is about almost 3 years old, and the youngest we got in October.
We started out with a normal, big guinea pig water bottle. Their cage is actually a medium-sized wooden (maybe homemade?) dog cage refashioned into a cavy cage, so their water bottle is held on by bolts that we put through the wood, and not the typical metal rod thingy.
We eventually had to take it out because it leaked so much and ruined their bedding. We thought that that particular bottle was just broken, so we got another one that was supposedly leak-proof. Surprise surprise, it did the exact same thing. We were super confused, until we saw that they were literally pulling on their water bottle every time they drink, causing more water to come out? I mean, my guinea pigs actually yank the freaking thing SO HARD in their direction while theyre drinking that I think it's broken the ball or whatever that's inside the bottle. If anyone needs proof for whatever reason, I'll try my best to get video. I don't know if this is normal for guinea pig owners, but I'm assuming it's not.
And you might be thinking, "well, maybe they're pulling on it because the water isn't coming out?" Nope. I tested it out, I've poked it with my finger and water comes out just fine. On top of that, if water was struggling to come out, why would that be happening with 4 different bottles in a row?
They are probably on their 5th or 6th water bottle about now. I've honestly lost track. Every single time, they pull their bottle down from its fastener and it drops and spills all over their bedding. And sometimes I don't even notice for hours, which means they are extremely thirsty (and probably cold, too?!) for a while.
I swear, we've tried EVERYTHING we can think of. Velcro, metal rods, strings, nails, rubber bands, you name it. Each time the water bottle ends up on the ground, and they try to eat/chew whatever was holding it up. We've even tried giving them the bottle ourselves, (holding it up for them while they drink) but they just end up fighting so badly over it and sometimes even hurt each other in the process. When we put the water bottle back up after a few hours of going without it (because they knocked it off), the next 20 or so minutes are filled with rattling and high pitched squeaks as they practically fight to the death over it. It's like theyre acting they were all in a desert for 3 days and finally found a puddle of water to split between all of them! Or am I wrong? Is a few hours without water a really long time for them? Could they die without having some sort of liquid that long?
I really need help here, we're running out of options and I don't know what to do. Currently, they have 2 small water bottles (the ones typically used for hamsters, mice, etc.) that are hold up by string AND rubber bands, and every few hours, you guessed it, they pull it off somehow.
Sorry if this was longer than a usual thread. But like I said, it's my first time posting here (or on a forum site at all for that matter) so I apologize for any bad manners or if I screwed something up.
Is there something we are doing terribly wrong? Something that we missed? Or do my guinea pigs just have a bad habit?
I will try to answer any questions to the best of my abilities. Thank you for reading, if you got this far.
I will try to look for it the next time we go to the pet store!
