Hi all,
**sorry if this is wrong, I thought housing since it's parts of the cage accessories and only a bit on water itself**
So I moving along well with my little girls. Got a good nibble from one a few days ago but more of an exploratory not a scared bite which was great.

So for my cage I have 2 water bottles, 1 on each side, 1 at the top and 1 at the bottom, and then this screw on bowl in the middle. This seems to get pretty dirty, so every few days I wash and clean it out, and the bottles every 5 days-week depending. I rarely see any HUGE difference in the bottles, but I see a small bit. The bowl I do see a change and it does get what looks like crumbs of food in it, but I haven't seen them drink directly from any of them. Obviously they are getting hydration somehow, from fruits and the BML diet and water but from what?

Long question to summarize: what do you use? Do you suggest both? Do you like one or the other? Is there another option? Should I add or cut down? Better placement?!

H2O answers needed!!!

Thanks all!!! I'm loving my babies, and while it's not an emergency, I do want to make sure I'm watching and able to kind of track it somehow maybe?

Alan

Water bottles are very popular. I know some are better than others.

I tried several different ones and chose to go with a bird silo (Walmart cheapy, or pet store cheapy- they pop off and on cage fast and easy). I wash them out every three days.

I have used a dish, and it was always messy, but I figured they may at least get their hands washed.

You are right, they get most of their water from fruits and veggies. I do notice that my Dot drinks a lot of water after a hard run on the wheel.

I did forget to mention when using a ailo, it should be rather high so they don't accidentally pee or poo in it. Right now I'm only using one, but I usually have two opposite sides in cage.

I myself prefer the silos. I'm not sure what cage you got, I may have read it in another post, but can't remember. If you want to try a silo and have a cage with horizontal bars, most of the cheaper silos should work well. I have a vertical-bared cage and I use these water silos in small, They're a little pricier, but I love them. I use only one for water now, it's easy to check level, remove & replace, and super easy to clean and fill. These never fail! I despise water bottles, and will only resort to using one if absolutely no other option. I have also in the past served my gliders nectar in one (CLO-currently, but all have been HPW based nectars).


Oh, and also, yes if using silos, keep them higher up in cage. I use a high shelf that I serve one bowl of salad on and that's where the water silo is.


I also love these feeder cups. I'm currently using one for their nectar, just using one. They are easy to remove and replace and not so hard to clean (I use a bottle brush like I use for silos). I have used them to serve fruit/veggie salads, by placing two of them in separate locations, but with a trio, it gets tough with just two and I don't want to use a third one. I have also used them to serve their pellets when using silos for nectar & water with regular feeding bowls for f/v salad. Now I usually serve pellets in their forage toys.

And also, those cups could also be used for water if you'd prefer a water dish, the hood/cover helps keep them from getting on the bowl and protects content from contamination.

Just so you know, I'm using Critter Love Original (CLO) nectar with salads and pellets as additional supplemental food, their a good quality brand Happy Glider from PetPro. My gliders do enjoy them, and I love that they don't spoil leaving them in forage toys. All three of my gliders are eating well, all their nectar is usually gone in the morning, their salads are gone or almost gone, and the pellets need refilling every couple of days, depending on size of cup and how many forage toys are being used. I usually use at least two forage toys and alternate them, but sometimes I used up to 3 or 4, alternating them.