Necessity is the Mother of Invention!

Well we've had a bit of an ongoing problem with the ASF's chewing their water bottles. I've tried to cage the bottles in, they climb the caging and manage to chew holes in the bottle anyways. I thought about purchasing the more expensive glass water bottles for rodents but have heard bad reports on them often being defective.

I'm one of those odd people that don't throw away things that might one day be usuable (it's the Scots blood in me) so I've always just unscrewed and tossed the working bottle spigots into a drawer in the rat room. Figured someday I might have a busted spigot on a good bottle or something.

Well today one of our two ASF's colonies destroyed another water bottle and I needed a fast fix that didn't involve running way across town to the only pet store that sells glass bottles.

Amazing what you can come up with isn't it!

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...terBottle1.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...terBottle2.jpg

Laugh all you want but hey it's working perfectly! The beer bottle fit the spigot just fine - we added the tape just to make sure it's a perfect fit and won't leak - it fits my bottle holder - and the rats are loving it! Works beautifully, the water drops are coming out perfectly, it's bubbling up correctly when they drink and not leaking when they aren't. Best bit it cost me all of 5 minutes of my time and used up something that was destined to take up room in my recycle bin anyways.

I'm lovin' it! :banana:

Mmmm...now there's some gutloading for you...beer rats!

Necessity is the mother of all invention..

Now Jo did you pour the beer out first cause those rats look like they are having way to much fun with it to just be water. :D

Now get to work on a way to keep mine from chewing out of the freaking tubs. GRRRRRRRR

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Originally Posted by cassandra

Mmmm...now there's some gutloading for you...beer rats!

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LOL, nah I washed the bottle out first hon.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Now Jo did you pour the beer out first cause those rats look like they are having way to much fun with it to just be water. :D

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Pour out beer! In this house! With a half-Irish husband! Do you want to see me divorced! Poor brave Michael did his duty and drank the beer just to be able to help the poor rats out with a new bottle. Isn't he ever so nice! LMAO :P

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Now get to work on a way to keep mine from chewing out of the freaking tubs. GRRRRRRRR

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All of my ASF's are in old glass tanks. I've had a couple get loose when I didn't grab them fast enough and boy do I never want to have a bunch of them chew their way out! Which reminds me, I need to patent my handy dandy empty margarine container ASF rat catcher before someone else does! :D

Looks like a very good solution. I remember Matt's solution of putting an aluminum can over the water bottle. Apparently the beverage industry has a wide variety of uses! :giggle: :gj:

Nice.... rigged up stuff is the best.

Is that the old water bottle on the floor of the enclosure?

Great job Jo - and Mike - he's a keeper! Forcing himself to drink that beer and all!

I know Robin! Poor, poor man...sacrificing himself like that for the benefit of the wee ratties. :rolleyes:

That's an old hard plastic hamster tube from some long ago and long deceased pet hamster. I told you I never toss away anything that will someday have a good use. :D

Yep Christie I remember Matt's pop can bottle cover idea. I always thought that was quite inventive.

Molson Ice?


my favorite......can i come live with you? you can call me rattie if you like!

Wow! I don't drink beer (I'm a whiskey girl), but my landlord sure does. I think that once the snow melts, I should go a-scoutin' for some empties out there! I have a ton of spigots that I saved from chewed plastic bottles (I use glass not but did not always) and this is a great ideal jo!

Good job... I have a glass rodent water bottle in with mine and haven't had a problem.

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Originally Posted by reediculous

Molson Ice?


my favorite......can i come live with you? you can call me rattie if you like!

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LOL, not sure what brand - I never drink the stuff so don't pay much attention to brand names really. You can come live here if you don't mind cleaning cages and running errands! :D

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

Wow! I don't drink beer (I'm a whiskey girl), but my landlord sure does. I think that once the snow melts, I should go a-scoutin' for some empties out there! I have a ton of spigots that I saved from chewed plastic bottles (I use glass not but did not always) and this is a great ideal jo!

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Thanks Jen, seems to be working out just fine so far. I'm just waiting to get the Most Redneck Rodent Keeper Award now LOL.

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Originally Posted by Rapture

Good job... I have a glass rodent water bottle in with mine and haven't had a problem.

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Glad yours is working. I'd just read a lot of posts here or there around the net about people having problems with the glass bottles acting up and not letting the rodents get any water to drink so I was very leary about running out to buy one. I've only been able to find one pet store in town that sells them and often only in a huge size, so this beer bottle seems to fit the bill quite nicely for me and the little ASF's.

Great idea Jo. Since I'm not a beer drinker . . . does the spigot screw on to the top of the beer bottle (are there threads on the bottle) or does it just push down with a solid "fit"?

I've done something similar, though my Multimammates got a malt vinegar bottle :)

Water bottle chewers were a pain. Ever since I switched to auto watering systems, there have been no chew throughs. I always used my old glass vodka or gin bottles after the chew throughs and they works well at a bigger size than a beer bottle. Glad its working!

another option would be to attach the bottle to the outside of the cage,i've tried this and it works well.around the hole that the sipper goes thru you can epoxy a steel washer on the inside of the cage.

i just got some ASFR's about a month ago,the snakes love them but they are nuts to handle,thank God for tweezers!

Petco sells an egg shaped water bottle that they can not chew through. I used these for a long time prior to going with an auto water system. I actually think the ASF's will still chew through your bottles eventually. I tried something similar to what you did and they chew through the plastic part that screws onto the bottle.

http://www.petco.com/product/5415/LM...er-Bottle.aspx

in what i described in the previous post the only thing that's exposed in the inside of the cage is the steel washer with the sipper tube coming thru the hole in the washer.it's impossible for the rats to chew on the plastic cap at the other end of the sipper tube.hope i explained well enough so you can get a visual.have fun !

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Originally Posted by twh

another option would be to attach the bottle to the outside of the cage,i've tried this and it works well.around the hole that the sipper goes thru you can epoxy a steel washer on the inside of the cage.

i just got some ASFR's about a month ago,the snakes love them but they are nuts to handle,thank God for tweezers!

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My ASF's are in big glass tanks so I have to have the water bottle inside with them. So far they've managed to chew every plastic rodent bottle known to mankind LOL.

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Originally Posted by Alice

Great idea Jo. Since I'm not a beer drinker . . . does the spigot screw on to the top of the beer bottle (are there threads on the bottle) or does it just push down with a solid "fit"?

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Sorry I missed this question Alice. Actually since the original post I did find an issue with the beer bottles. The fit to the spigot wasn't quite perfect (threads didn't line up perfectly) so sometimes there was a bit of dripping. I've since changed to glass Crush pop bottles and they work perfectly, their threads match up exactly (plus we love Orange or Grape Crush LOL). Since I can get those for about a dollar, drink the pop and have a very nice glass rodent water bottle out of the deal...I'm very happy! :)

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Sorry I missed this question Alice. Actually since the original post I did find an issue with the beer bottles. The fit to the spigot wasn't quite perfect (threads didn't line up perfectly) so sometimes there was a bit of dripping. I've since changed to glass Crush pop bottles and they work perfectly, their threads match up exactly (plus we love Orange or Grape Crush LOL). Since I can get those for about a dollar, drink the pop and have a very nice glass rodent water bottle out of the deal...I'm very happy! :)

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I love orange crush! Thanks for the advice.