Skip to main content

The Defective Glass Water Bottle

My poor girls spent the whole night with hardly any water thanks to a dodgy water bottle. It seemed to be working fine but when I woke up this morning and the water level hadn't changed I realised something wasn't right.

I took the bottle out and gave them a glass ramekin with a shallow amount of water in, then headed to the local pet store for an emergency plastic one to put through the mesh. When I got back the water in the ramekin was gone and my girls started drinking from the new bottle as soon as I put it in.

Living World Glass Water Bottle

After much reading I found that there were quite a few others leaving reviews on glass non-drip pet water bottles stating that they didn't work. I wasn't going to be defeated though as I'm uncertain about using the plastic bottles (even on the outside) after my rats caused a flood with theirs a few years ago. I spent this morning fixing my glass bottle.

Shook the bottle to fill the nozzle and it worked fine until the nozzle was empty. What should have happen next is that bubbles should have risen up through the bottle as it refilled the nozzle. Didn't happen. At first I thought it may have been a defect with the double ball bearing inside but I 'Googled' it and found that it may have been a 'vacuum' problem. Sometimes a super vacuum is created when you tighten the nozzle on to the bottle and this prevents the bubbles and stops the refill of the nozzle. With my fingers crossed I slowly loosened the nozzle until it started to drip. Then I gradually tightened it again until the dripping stopped and then tested it with my finger. No water after about 20 seconds. After a bit of fine tuning I managed to get it to work again. My bottle now has to fitted backwards but I'd rather have that than have wasted £5.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Degus Have Moved In

This morning 3 little degus became the newest members of my family and they're the 3 cutest girls ever! I was up until midnight filling and dressing their cage ready for them to move in and they are loving it. 2 of them still think that there are only 2 floors and not 4, and all 3 have spent most of the day running in their wheel. Just before I settled down to write this they were all in a 'goo pile' on top of their cabin. It's a little dark in the room for a decent photo and I don't want to use the flash so I'll have to wait until there's a little more light to get a photo of them huddled together. They are all still a little flighty and scared of the camera but I managed to get a few decent photos of them. Don't have any names yet as I'm waiting to see what kind of personalities they have. My brother wants to call them Penny, Amy, and Bernadette… The Big Degu Theory! UPDATE — Here's a little video my brother recorded. :)

The Big Degu Cage Build - Part Four

The cage is progressing nicely. The bottom section is almost complete. Still have the vinyl tiles (for extra protection against pee) to put in, one level to cut and attach, and some small platforms which will help form a ramp up to the top section of the cage. I have a deep 30cm mess guard which will form the basis of a makeshift digging pit and landscaped area. There will be one level and you can see the hole for access to floor 2 which will be in the top section. It was supposed to be in the back but it was going to be a nightmare to do because of the build being in 2 parts so it can be taken apart for easier moving. This means that I now have to rethink my first level. It was going to be set back slightly from the front but I may have to bring it closer to eliminate the massive drop and reduce injury should there be a fall. I'm going to have a look at some other DIY cages for some ideas but the main priority tomorrow is to get the main construction of the top section comp...

My Degu Cage Plans

Building a cage to house my degus is starting to take over my life. I've spent weeks jotting things down and thinking of ways to make it as degu proof as possible. The problem is that I could probably spend months just making sure I've thought of everything so I've decided to go for it. This morning I worked out how much material I would need for a basic cage structure to the one below (allowing extra for adjustments) and popped down to my local Wickes to order it all. I will also be adding 2 sets of mesh doors and a mesh roof but I haven't drawn these on the diagram. I've gone for mesh doors as the room it will be in is a few degrees warmer than the rest of the house and it will allow for better air circulation. The RSPCA recommends a minumim CARA (cumulative available running area) of 12,000 sq.cm for 2 degus. Owners recommend a CARA of 17,000 sq.cm so I've gone for a happy medium of around 15,000 sq.cm. Ideally I should have at least 2 levels measur...