# rat drinkers sticking any ideas



## Earthling (Jun 6, 2006)

Unfortunately i had 3 of my rats die the other day as of the rat drinker ball not operating properly. It got stuck half way up the tube and the rats couldnt retrieve the water. 2 other rat drinkers today have also started playing up. Ive cleaned them with a cotton bud, shacken the **** out of them with water in to stir up the tube, and flushed with the hose to dislodge any remnant rubbish, yet their still getting stuck. There the 'Pet One' type of drinker. Only 2 months old max. Any ideas people? I dont want to kill anymore, well not this way.


----------



## JungleRob (Jun 6, 2006)

I have found that they stick if you over tighten the nozzle after refilling. Try that, hope it helps.

Cheers,
Rob


----------



## Earthling (Jun 6, 2006)

MMMm...very possible. I do crank the cap on a bit. Cheers Rob.


----------



## JungleRob (Jun 6, 2006)

It may limit the amount of air being taken back up (if any) into the bottle to replace the water, hence the bearing being pulled halfway up the outlet. :idea:


----------



## Magpie (Jun 6, 2006)

When I used to use the ball bearing type drinkers, I used to give them a shake after refilling to get the ball bearing back down and any air out of the tube.


----------



## CodeRed (Jun 6, 2006)

The Pet One drinkers are crap. I had a few of these last year that kept blocking up. One of them had 3 ball bearings in it .. great quality control. I ended up returning them to the store.


----------



## Glimmerman (Jun 6, 2006)

> When I used to use the ball bearing type drinkers,





> The Pet One drinkers are crap.



So what are ppl using now then. I only have six spare nozzles and will need to get more shortly. Any suggestions?


----------



## dee4 (Jun 6, 2006)

Depends on what size unit you have your rats in ,We use cat self water bowls with a litre bottle that screws into it .


----------



## Magpie (Jun 6, 2006)

Herpshop type.


----------



## Peter-Birch (Jun 6, 2006)

Rats can go without water longer than camels, you need to hold the bottle upside down when refilling and shack until you hear the bearing click.


----------



## Earthling (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks magpie and manchild i do do that shake and its all good when i put it in the cage, however after a few seconds of drinking up the ball bearing goes and gets stuck. 5 days is a camel dead with no water? I like the idea of cat water bowls however probably not enough room, as i use the 50-60l tubs. herpshop ones look reasonable, i would prefer bigger bottles though so you dont have to refill for a week or more. Code red you had problems too yeah, could be a reacurring theme. I can see the road to go will be replacements................. sooooo.......Any other suggestions for replacements peoples? :|


----------



## CodeRed (Jun 6, 2006)

dont squeeze the bottle after turning it upside down. That causes the ball bearing to get sucked up and either stops the flow or makes the bottle leak

the rest of my bottles are an assortment of brands, but he best one was a no-name brand (just the nipple only) I got from the Reptile Barn


----------



## base2aau (Jun 6, 2006)

I read this post and thought " what type of digusting person would want to drink a rat"


----------



## Earthling (Jun 6, 2006)

The beginnings of a new cult...The Rat Drinkers!

BYO Rats of course


----------



## yuzzy (Jun 6, 2006)

i have been drinking them for years, finally you people are catching on


----------



## herptrader (Jun 6, 2006)

The Herp Shop ones do not have a ball bearing but rely on surface tension and the narrow tube to make the water available to the rodents. I have never had a problem with them over many years.


----------



## trader (Jun 6, 2006)

Earthling said:


> herpshop ones look reasonable, i would prefer bigger bottles though so you dont have to refill for a week or more. ......... sooooo.......Any other suggestions for replacements peoples? :|



You can attach the 'nipple' from the smaller bottles to a larger rigid plastic 2 litre bottle, example the 2 litre plastic bottles used for Cranberry juice? :wink:


----------



## Earthling (Jun 6, 2006)

Do you guys sell just the nipple or tube without the bottle?


----------



## Earthling (Jun 6, 2006)

Do you guys sell just the nipple or tube without the bottle? and if so how much?


----------



## rockman (Jun 6, 2006)

If the nozzels get stuck , try sticking them in boiling water . It will tend to clean all the crap out and they will come good .


----------



## Glimmerman (Jun 6, 2006)

> the rest of my bottles are an assortment of brands, but he best one was a no-name brand (just the nipple only) I got from the Reptile Barn



Unfortunately the Reptile Barn is closed down & the supplier no longer stocks them. I've already tried to obtain more from them  

Does anyone use those little stainless steel nipples for gravid fed lines?


----------



## herptrader (Jun 7, 2006)

Earthling said:


> Do you guys sell just the nipple or tube without the bottle? and if so how much?



The rodent breeding stuff is on the bottom of the food page at http://www.herpshop.com.au/

The bottle with the bung and tube is $6 or $7 each. Brian does not sell them separately to my knowledge but even though I use larger (cranberry juice) bottles I still make use of the bottles that came with them. You always seem to need more bottles than bungs... just like with the rodent breeding tubs you use more of the tubs than the wire tops because they need cleaning less often.

p.s. I would go for the larger bottles. The little ones would be good for a pair or trio of mice but even in his situation with the larger ones they should last a week before needing refill.


----------



## Earthling (Jun 7, 2006)

Cool. thanks all. Whats the go with stainless steel nipples with gravity fed lines? Sounds very interesting. I just did a bit of research and..........................................Glimmerman any idea where to buy those nipples? Found this site and a self watering system such as this website describes seems like a lot better system in the long run. http://www.agselect.com/ED/Features.cfm?DID=11&TID=14


----------



## CodeRed (Jun 7, 2006)

Ask Gregory about those stainless steel nipples. He uses them with a gravity fed system. Form memory they are really cheap .. like $2.50 per nipple


----------



## Pike01 (Jun 7, 2006)

sounds like the problem is with the bottle.If the bottle is too soft as the water goes out the sides suck in, then when they pop bach out it sucks the ball back.Use a gaterade bottle or a proper drinking bottle.


----------



## Earthling (Jun 7, 2006)

yes could be right pike 1 ,didnt think of that one. Cheers code red.


----------



## indicus (Jun 7, 2006)

Thanks for the tips....i'm finding them a hassle as well; wasnt a problem; until the wife went on holidays.....now it's a real problem


----------



## rodentrancher (Jun 7, 2006)

We have some 360 degree drinker nipples left over from our Rodent Ranching days. All brand new and imported from the USA. Unchewable by rats and mice. For use in a gravity feed system. Approximately 3 dozen. $3 each. Cheers Cheryl


----------



## Magpie (Jun 7, 2006)

Yes, do not use soft sided bottles like soft drink bottles.
They need to be rigid, sherry flagons work well


----------



## Earthling (Jun 8, 2006)

Pmd you Cheryl. I will have to take up drinking again magpie!


----------



## rodentrancher (Jun 8, 2006)

Have PM'd Earthling and Glimmerman


----------



## Earthling (Jun 21, 2006)

*rats*

Here is my newest creation to 'hopefully' stop rat drinkers from sticking and rats dieing from thirst. Bought some rat drinker nipples from Cheryl at $3 each(AKA RodentRancher) and a $12 watering system from Bunnings and an old 20L Soap tub from the tipshop for $2 dollars. A bit of drilling and cutting and joining and hey presto a gravity fed rat drinking system. Rats are drinking and all is good in the world of Rat Land. I wont have to top up my drinkers as often (should get at least 3 to 4 weeks out of 1 filling, and these nipples look fantastic at not sticking like those ****y 'PetOne' drinkers do. Good quality USA Nipples, not Chinese poo. All good. Thanks Cheryl.


----------



## rodentrancher (Jun 21, 2006)

*RE: rats*

Looks good Richard


----------



## Magpie (Jun 21, 2006)

*RE: rats*

Hey earthling, if you can get hold of an old toilet cistern float filler, or one out of an evaporative aircon, you can make your filler tub self filling.


----------



## Earthling (Jun 21, 2006)

*RE: rats*

Yeah was thinking about that Maggie. Or even hook straight up to a water tap and have no tub or float at all. Or is there a reason why people dont do that? After all if you get a leak with a float or not its going to keep on leaking yeah? Or is it because of water pressure? Couldnt you just turn the tap down? I thought i would leave it as it is for now and see how things work and when i get bigger perhaps do something then..


----------



## Glimmerman (Jun 21, 2006)

*RE: rats*

Well atleast if the hose cracks you will only loose 20 litres not 100s. I would personally leave it the way it is. Looks good.


----------



## Earthling (Jun 24, 2006)

*RE: rats*

Sounds good Glimmer. These nipples are a great inverstment and cheaper then bottle type ratdrinkers overall. Well recomend them.


----------



## shiner (Jun 24, 2006)

*Re: RE: rats*



Earthling said:


> Or even hook straight up to a water tap and have no tub or float at all. Or is there a reason why people dont do that? Or is it because of water pressure? .



You cant use it hooked up to mains water pressure poor little rats would never get a drink, The water pressure would keep the ball firmly seated even with the tap just turned on. 

The idea of using a header tank with a float valve (toilet cistern) is the best setup.

Cheers shiner


----------



## shiner (Jun 24, 2006)

*RE: Re: RE: rats*

Here we go I found the supplier for Drinker Nipple - Stainless Steel For Rabbits that Greg uses, I bought some but havent got it set up yet (to many other things on the go at once)

http://www.multiquip.com.au/searchdb.php?search_terms=Drinkers

Cheers shiner


----------



## Magpie (Jun 24, 2006)

*RE: Re: RE: rats*



> The idea of using a header tank with a float valve (toilet cistern) is the best setup.
> 
> Cheers shiner



That's how I had mine set up, with the hose on just enough so that water dripped out slowly, or you can just briefly turn the tap on each day / every few days to top up the header tank.


----------

