Who doesn't use a water bowl?

Mostly we use the freedom breeder tubs with a water bowl built in, no tipping. An easy fix would be to get the PVC couplings and cut them to where they are only about an inch or two from the top of the "roof". This way there is no room for tipping and the snake can only fit enough to have a drink.

As for not seeing the snake drink water.... Unless you spend 24/7 watching your snakes, the observation doesn't provide a reliable estimation of water consumption. Better to be safe than sorry.

However, it would be cool to conduct an experiment to see the amount of water consumed by a ball python. Maybe with a long term video? Even then there will be a significant difference I bet, depending on humidity, temp, age, individual snake, etc....

I've never had a tipped over waterbowl with 60+/- snakes. I think you need larger ceramic bowls properly sized to the snakes :)

Regards,

B

I hit up the new dollar tree that opened and got 5 glass bowls, just like the ones someone posted. I got heart shaped ones instead of star ones though because i'm sensitive and in touch with my feelings and figured they'd be easier to clean than the star ones. :)

All my plastic crocks are gunna get replaced and i'm not gunna fill them as high. Also, upping the feeding schedule like i said. We'll see if that works. :gj:

Haha lookit my hypo girl. Shes pissed now.

"What's this sorcery, a new bowl???"
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/06/ajame7uv.jpg

"MUST TRY AND FLIP IT!"
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/06/4epyre4e.jpg

This was within 5minutes of me changing this on her. I know they aren't supposed to be that smart, but i swear some of them KNOW when i mess with them like this lol.

haha love it!

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

haha love it!

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I don't! She was one of my chief bowl tippers. I'm gunna enjoy teasing her when shes all uncomfortable being pregnant. She isn't getting offered an epidural either, plenty of pitocin though. She doesn't even know the storm thats coming her way! :D

I was commenting on the frustration they may/will go through if they can't tip the bowls while you sit back and laugh at them attempting to do so. Not that they will succeed in tipping these new bowls. :D

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Originally Posted by M&NSnakeDen

I just came home from work to this.
Allllll part of the fun. I can't imagine how frustrating it would be if I had my babes on any sort of mulchy substrate lol.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/04/7azuza2e.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/04/6avupe6a.jpg


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ANNNND this is her right now. I think she's been reading this thread!

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/06/uqevenu5.jpg


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I kinda missed this thread, but I definitely see my snakes drink fairly often with perfect humidity.

These are the ones I buy at Dollar Tree, they're great. Haven't had anyone manage to tip one. You can order them and pick up in store, I've never ordered a case personally, just bought individually from the store
http://www.dollartree.com/Sturdy-Sto...2654/index.pro

These make the PERFECT water dishes for hatchlings in 6qt tubs. I buy them at Walmart. http://www.freshpreservingstore.com/...2/shop/383234/

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I just saw this thread too. And i have a few stubborn bowl tippers. Theyre all males too. Tried different bowls, and they still seem to soak their tub :mad:

sent from my incubator

My snakes drink all the time. Ceramic bowls don't get tipped though if they drag the paper towel into them the water wicks out or if they dive around in them it gets displaced and spills.

I see that nobody advocated not using water bowls which is good. Food, access to drinkable water, protection from the elements... as far as I'm concerned these things are not negotiable when you hold any animal captive.

In your opinion they aren't negotiable. I think it is. I KNOW i've seen someone post that balls get most of their fluids from the prey they eat, which would make water bowls in their enclosures all the time unnecessary. They just haven't seen this thread i guess. We think we know everything about keeping them, but there's still plenty to learn :rolleyes:

just snapped this pic a few minutes ago! Feeding night was last night and for the next day or two all my snakes will be using their water dishes. It happens everytime like clock work!http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7d25609b.jpg

Well i see those new bowls worked well..... For about 5minutes.....
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/06/9eqy2ate.jpg

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Well i see those new bowls worked well..... For about 5minutes.....
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/06/9eqy2ate.jpg

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im no expert but im gonna go out on a limb and maybe theres something to this or maybe its nothing BUT watching this thread I have noticed that most of the bowl flippers are in bins with a bowl and a hide or two nothing else. while those who have their snakes in enclosures with clutter and branches and other objects dont have as big of a problem! I have 13 snakes and not one flipped water dish ever! I wonder if its a security thing or maybe boredom ( if thats possible?) Or maybe its just an evil plan to take over the world? :) lol

I have 15 BP's in various rack/tub systems and none of them flip their bowls. The worst they do is go #1 or #2 in them, and a couple climb in for a soak when they're entering a shed cycle.

Mike- Maybe try leaving a water bowl out of an enclosure for a week or two? Place the water bowl in the enclosure once a week when you are cleaning or after feeding? Do this with 1-2 snakes and see how it works? Find out if they pound water when you only offer water like this? Might be something to experiement with as it seems no one who doesn't use bowls has responded.

Another thought- perhaps a shorter, longer water dish of some kind which would go along the length of the tub could work? We all use round, what about a rectangular or trianglular bowl for a corner or lengthwise in the tub. Someone did suggest those big triangle/corner bowls you can get at petsmart but I'm thinking more of a rectangular crock.

ex: say you have a 41qt tub, use a 3-6qt tub as a water dish going along the length(even the front width) of the tub.

I hope you get what I'm trying to explain here. Let me know if this sounds foggy to you.

Im getting a huge order of rats on thursday so they'll be here by next week and then i'm just gunna start offering every 4-5days instead of every 7-10.

I seriously think its out of hunger or boredom because my hypo is a pretty friendly snake. I'm not even sure if she flipped the bowl or just tipped it to spill some water or what. I only filled it like 1/4 of the way full.

Ha! Just caught another one while I was walking by! .... Like I said, for the next two days, like clock work! lolhttp://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...psb5d0ef1f.jpg

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Im getting a huge order of rats on thursday so they'll be here by next week and then i'm just gunna start offering every 4-5days instead of every 7-10.

I seriously think its out of hunger or boredom because my hypo is a pretty friendly snake. I'm not even sure if she flipped the bowl or just tipped it to spill some water or what. I only filled it like 1/4 of the way full.

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How often do you handle your snakes?

Thankfully, none of mine are bowl-tippers. Hoping it stays that way! My big girl has the jumbo ceramic dish from Reptile Basics, and the little ones have small crock bowls- theirs aren't big enough to totally soak it, but I don't think that's necessary. I mostly use my bowls for humidity, but I see them drink fairly often. My bee does it a lot, I'll try to take a snap of him. My nephew caught him in the act once and he thought it was the coolest thing :oops:

If your bowls are heavy, maybe try oddly shaped bowls, or what someone on here suggested about siliconing it down?

Now if only we could figure out how to prevent poop-sailing...

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Originally Posted by Poseidon

How often do you handle your snakes?

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Not very often. Everyone gets held a few times a week for cleaning but other than that i don't bother them much.

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Originally Posted by norwegn113

Ha! Just caught another one while I was walking by! .... Like I said, for the next two days, like clock work! lolhttp://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...psb5d0ef1f.jpg

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you have some very nice enclosures. that lighting makes all the difference.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

In your opinion they aren't negotiable. I think it is. I KNOW i've seen someone post that balls get most of their fluids from the prey they eat, which would make water bowls in their enclosures all the time unnecessary. They just haven't seen this thread i guess. We think we know everything about keeping them, but there's still plenty to learn :rolleyes:

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Mike, I've seen this as well in a few places, including this forum, a number of times. unfortunately, I can't recall exactly where or when, and I certainly don't remember whether it was based on any kind of study or just a statement someone made without anything to back it up other than their snakes simply not dying due to kidney failure.

I will say that it makes some sense intuitively, at least for royals. they don't require water daily, rats/mice do contain plenty of hydration, especially if you're defrosting them in warm water, and obviously a female snake in Africa won't leave her eggs to go for a drink if she gets thirsty. it probably doesn't pose a serious health risk as an experiment if you're feeding smaller meals every few days and keep to the schedule. however, any concerns I have boil down to the captive keeping vs. wild animal issue. an animal in the wild without immediate, 24/7 access to water is simply a different situation from a captive snake relying only on its next meal from its keeper. there's no way of telling whether the amount of moisture in rodents that would suffice in the wild might be tantamount to deprivation in captivity. you have different humidity parameters, you use newspaper instead of African soil, instead of rain you mist as you see necessary, you're feeding frozen rodents that might be more desiccated due to the freezing process, etc. as with any other husbandry issue, we're only able to approximate the conditions that they require to survive. obviously the guidelines are meant to give everyone a baseline for best practices, and I wouldn't presume to tell someone with your experience not to attempt it. hell I'd be interested to see your results, but I also don't think I'd do it myself.

finally, not to beat a dead horse, but try a PVC coupler too. I don't know why exactly, maybe it's because they can slide around, but they work. go to home depot, buy one 4'' coupler, and put in in your worst snake's tub. I'll mail you a deli cup so you don't have to eat a full sleeve of them if it doesn't work out. I would be surprised if you continue to have problems. I had plenty of dumped bowls before I switched over, and the only one to flood her tub in a year and a half was a cranky and gravid female who just wanted to be a destructive ass that day.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Not very often. Everyone gets held a few times a week for cleaning but other than that i don't bother them much.

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Maybe messing with two or three a bunch to see if that changes their water bowl flipping behavior?

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Originally Posted by Coleslaw007

I kinda missed this thread, but I definitely see my snakes drink fairly often with perfect humidity.

These are the ones I buy at Dollar Tree, they're great. Haven't had anyone manage to tip one. You can order them and pick up in store, I've never ordered a case personally, just bought individually from the store
http://www.dollartree.com/Sturdy-Sto...2654/index.pro

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We had a Dollar Tree open up nearby last year so I decided to stop in and check out the pet water bowls since having extras around is never a bad thing. I saw the ones in your link but wasn't too impressed as several on the shelf had cracks.

I considered these round black plastic bowls - http://www.dollartree.com/Heavy-Duty...?zipCode=60436 - but they smelled weird, almost like a chemical/rubber smell so I wonder if they offgas a bit?

I did pick up some of the large size melamine bowls - http://www.dollartree.com/household/...3610/index.pro - as they seemed pretty durable and are lightweight. Also the base is wider than the top, which should make them harder to tip over. They don't hold a ton of water, but since I check everyone twice daily and top off water as needed that shouldn't be an issue.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I considered these round black plastic bowls - http://www.dollartree.com/Heavy-Duty...?zipCode=60436 - but they smelled weird, almost like a chemical/rubber smell so I wonder i.

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I use these ones. Mine never had a weird chemical odor.:confused:
Never had a smell at all really.

They are great for sub adults and younger. They are much too light for the adults and get tipped often.


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My ghost rarely seems to drink,but always drinks after a big meal,always..on occasion when he comes out at night to explore,I'll see him drink water,even just do a quick full body swim through it.

I give my ball a large shallow water dish (exo-terra? I think) no problems at all. I feed him out of His tank though and the dish is kinda heavy and ,because its shallow, usually spills a bit when it is taken out so...

This probably wouldn't work for your snakes, but I use Ramekins, similar to these:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Serveware/15819193

They are cheap and somewhat heavy. Perfect for my snakes.

However, I do have an idea for you - not sure if it would work. I give most of my snakes a (somewhat small) PVC pipe that they love to squeeze themselves into. Not only is it adorable behavior that I get to watch, but I think they spend a lot of time arranging and rearranging themselves inside it (or just sitting contentedly inside the tube). It is an easy way to give your snakes something they like to do, in case the tipping behavior is boredom. Just an idea! :)

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Originally Posted by AllieKin

This probably wouldn't work for your snakes, but I use Ramekins, similar to these:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Serveware/15819193

They are cheap and somewhat heavy. Perfect for my snakes.

However, I do have an idea for you - not sure if it would work. I give most of my snakes a (somewhat small) PVC pipe that they love to squeeze themselves into. Not only is it adorable behavior that I get to watch, but I think they spend a lot of time arranging and rearranging themselves inside it (or just sitting contentedly inside the tube). It is an easy way to give your snakes something they like to do, in case the tipping behavior is boredom. Just an idea! :)

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I use those exact Ramekins too. No tipping since getting them in summer! Love it.

Sent from my hot spot

My big girl has one of those big exo terra naturalistic bowls, so no tipping there. The little one is using a Pyrex bowl, since she is too small to tip as of yet.

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I have quiet a few tippers myself, and it seems as if a generous portion of the ones who don't tip drag the papertowel into the bowl. What I've found is that any container must have straight sides or should have side expanding outward from the top so they are wider at the base. And the wider and shallower the better. I also quit filling more than about half full.

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Originally Posted by Darkbird

What I've found is that any container must have straight sides or should have side expanding outward from the top so they are wider at the base. And the wider and shallower the better. I also quit filling more than about half full.

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Target has plastic dog bowls for about $3 that are a good bit wider at the top than the base. The way they're designed you can also cut a hole in the side so it does double-duty as a hide. I've got BP's up to 1200 grams that stuff themselves under these bowls, and without spilling a drop of water.

Sometimes when I'm cleaning I pull the water bowls first and clean the snakes, then I clean the rats, and by the time I get back to the snakes and the bowls are clean there is no chance I'm putting my hand in there. They smell the rats from cleaning and all go into feeding mode.


When I go back to put the bowls in a few days later, it is EXTREMELY common for me to see 80% or more of the snakes go directly to drink from their bowls for a while. This happens every time. I have a picture on my phone of every single snake in a rack with their head tipped into the bowl drinking.


The area of Africa that they live is NOT a desert. They definitely need water available.

I can tell you from experience that Ball Pythons do need water. I have a friend that was getting in to breeding BP's and he had about 10 of them. After about a year he stopped taking much care of them. He still fed them regularly but every time I went over there all the water bowls were empty some of them for a month or more. Sometimes the snakes were visibly dehydrated sometimes not. A couple of them ended up dyeing from it. I always ended up cleaning and filling them and they would go right for the water within minutes of me filling the bowls. I know that they can go quite awhile without water but they do need to drink even when they are eating regularly. He has since gotten rid of all his pets and I have told him never to get anymore.

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Originally Posted by kameo37

Well, I'm certainly no expert, but here goes...
I don't know about the tipping thing, but how about taking the water bowl out before feeding? That way at least you won't have a wasted rat.

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lol so true!

The only thing I could think of is to like hot glue the bowl in place but that would make cleaning harder and I move my bowl closer to the heat for shedding.

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I'd like to think any captive animal would have constant access to fresh water! Mine like to drink. They really do take after their mami! :gj:

We use a separate container for feeding, so we don't have the issue with either of our bps putting their prey in the water. We have ceramic water dishes that they can't tip, but they do get in to go "swim", so we just make sure that there isn't enough water in the dish to overflow when they play.