rat drinkers sticking any ideas

[Earthling]

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]

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

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Earthling]

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

 

[JungleRob]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Herpshop type.

 

[Peter-Birch]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[Earthling]

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

BYO Rats of course

 

[yuzzy]

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

 

[herptrader]

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]

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]

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

 

[Earthling]

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

 

[rockman]

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 .