The most important thing that every animal and pet needs is a fresh clean of water. They should stay hydrated, including pet mice. It is important that your little furry pet stay hydrated with fresh water.

There are two ways you can give them water in their cages, one is a water bowl and the second option is the water bottles. But which one is much better for your pet mice to drink from? Is it from a pet bowl or water bottle?

If you are still confused and don’t know which one is better. We will give you some information and a guide to help you choose between the two as you read further this article.

Which one is better? Pet bowl or Water Bottle? 

Water bowl provides a more natural and more accessible way of drinking for your little pet. One of the great ideas of using water bowls is that your pets can drink all at once, they can refresh together at the same time.

Just be reminded that you need to replace the water very much often, as your pet mice throw anything including their poops into the bowl. And expect to have some messy bedding as they also love playing and making their bowl as if it is part of their playground.

If you are going to have a water bowl, it is recommended to buy the metal bowl instead, because there’s a chance that they will just chew the one that is made out of thin plastic. The water bottle is another option you can introduce to your pet mice. The water bottle is commonly used with small pets like rodents, birds, and many others.

The water bottle can be attached easily to the sides of the cage and it can hold enough water good for days. But it is recommended that you must refresh the water in the water bottle twice a day, or very frequently.

There is a ball bearing at the tip locking in the water. So, when the pet mouse sucks the tip of the bottle, the ball bearing will spin round, and eventually, the water comes out to drink. Pet mice love water bottles at the same time it keeps their cage clean and dry.

Should I choose a pet bowl?

In choosing a pet bowl, you should know its advantages and disadvantages, as well as what is the best type of water bowl for your pet mouse, and how to maintain their water bowl. These details below will help you in choosing a pet bowl as well as provides you some ideas on how to train them to drink from the water bowl.

Advantages

• Water bowl provides a more natural and easy way to drink for your pet mouse
• Water bowl lessen the pressure on the neck of your pet mouse in drinking
• Water bowl gives your pet mice easier and quicker access to drinking.

Disadvantages

• The water in the water bowl can easily get dirty and contaminated
• The water in the water bowl needs to replace very often
• Contaminated water can cause several health problems to your pet mouse
• The water can easily be swashed out of the bowl and can lead to a mess of bedding.

The best type of water bowl for a mouse

Height – the question you need to give thought to be will your pet mouse is able to reach over to the bowl easily, that they do not need to step into the bowl just to have water drink. Your little pet is clearly very small.

So in having a water bowl, the edge of the bowls should label to the height of your pet mouse, so that they will not find any trouble and problem in reaching over to the water. You can also use a small tray with a flat bottom and short edges, as their water bowl. However, trays are more difficult to remove from the cage, as water spills easily from the tray.

Maintaining your pet mice’s water bowl

As said a while ago, one of the disadvantages of using the water bowl is that

the water can easily get dirty and contaminated. So, how will you maintain your pet mice’s water in the water bowl safe and clean?

Your pet mice love to play, no matter if it is a dry or wet place. If you just observed, according to Pet Mice Blog, mice love to throw anything into their bowl, either it is a toy or even their own waste. So to void some illness caused by contaminated water, you need to replace the water twice a day or as often as needed.

How to teach a mouse to drink from a bowl? 

Drinking from a bowl, or tray is the natural way of drink for the mouse, so you

don’t need to worry about teaching them. On the other hand, if they are trained to drink from water bottles and you want it to change to water bowl no worries, they will eventually learn how to drink from the water bowl.

Just place the pet mice near the water bowl when you first place them in their cage. This will give them the chance to explore and investigate what’s inside that such thing. Or even you could splash them a little water using your finger to let them know that it is water.

Should my pet mice use Water Bottle?

In choosing a water bottle, you should know its advantages and disadvantages, as well as which water bottle you should consider in selecting for your pet mice, and what kind of a good-quality water bottle do you need to look for. These details below will help you in choosing the best water bottle for your little pets as well as gives you tips when having one.

Advantages

• The water on the water bottle will stay fresh more longer
• The water will decrease the chance of being contaminated
• The water cannot be swash and spill around the cage

Disadvantages

• The water bottle can be difficult for your pet mouse to drink from
• The pet mice takes a longer time to get their needed amount of water
• The water bottle can cause neck strain on your pet mice.

Which water bottle should I select for my pet?

In selecting a water bottle for your pet, it is important that you do consider first, what type of house your pet mice has made of, to also see what kind of water bottle material is matched their cage. Do consider also how big it is, is it fitted to their house, and is the size of the tip is small enough for them to have a comfortable drink?

As well as, how many are they, is one water bottle enough for them? And so on. Before you select the perfect water bottle. You must have an idea that there are three types of water bottles.

The pin valve kind, the traditional ball valve bottle, and the gravity-fed bottle. The pin valve bottles are the ones that can easily open using their teeth, the water will flow continuously that gives the mouse to drink freely anytime. While the traditional ball valve bottle is the most common option, and most easily find on the market. This bottle also doesn’t leak and high-quality.

The last one is the gravity-fed bottles, it is an upside-down jug that is attached to the bowl, and it uses gravity to ensure to have a continuous supply of freshwater. There are also two types of bottles:  glass and plastic. There are various reasons to choose glass bottles over plastic ones. The glass bottle is chew-proof, while the plastic one is not.

The glass bottle is safe for the mice’s safety and health, while plastic has a porous surface that can allow water, air, and even some chemicals to pass through. Glass bottles also can handle higher temperatures which is great for sanitation than plastic bottles.

Glass is not easy to break, because the material used is quite thick and not the fragile one that used in drinking glasses. It also has a sturdy and hard substance that microorganisms cannot be able to either stay or multiply. Compared to plastic bottles, after just a few months, it will start to leak and the surface became blurred.

Eventually, you need to replace your plastic bottle again after a few months. Glass bottle possessed high standard that’s why it is more expensive than plastic bottles. But if your budget is your concern, you can still opt to have plastic bottles.

What is Is a Good-Quality Water Bottle?

What kind of good-quality water bottle do you need to seek? Should have a steel spout and ball, these also must be rust-proof and will stay sanitary as time goes by. And then secondly the water bottle should be made of chew-resistant material. Looking at some reviews and feedbacks will also help you have an idea. And then lastly, the water bottle should be small enough for your little pet.

Tips when having a water bottle?

If you are going to use a water bottle, it is important that you know how it works, so we are going to give you some tips when having a water bottle as a drinker for your little pets.

• When the water bottle is in the raising position on a crate and the pet is big, the bottle might have the chance to shake and drips out some water when the pet is moving. Some pet owners who are using water bottles put a small “drip” cup under the tip of the tube to catch those few drops of water.
• The water bottle will not stop dripping while you hold it because your hand puts pressure on the water bottle and also your hand is warm. It will only stop dipping when you hang the water bottle on a cage.
• All water bottles will drip after the pet drinks on them, and it will change the temperature according to where you put them. Keep away the water bottle away from the direct sunlight that makes the bottle warm.

Conclusion

Pet mice can drink from either a water bowl or a water bottle, any of the two will do. If you are asking can mice drink from a bowl? Yes of course they do, it is their natural way of drinking, anyway. But the case here is what is the safest way to hydrate them? Water in the water bowl might get the chance to be contaminated and get dirty, but if you will ensure the water doesn’t become contaminated or if you are alert to change the water often, then there’s no problem to go with the water bowl. But for safety, Pet mice should drink from drip bottles, or water bottles as it is the safest way to refresh them with clean water, and also avoid them from any ill caused by water contamination.