Disposable deli cup water bowls

[OhhWatALoser]

I've hit a point in my life were even finding time to wash water bowls is tough. So looks like I need to finally get some disposable water bowls. I've heard a lot of people say they have a hard time finding the right deli cup that will fit correctly in pvc. So to save me some trail and error, what deli cups do I need to get for what size pvc?

[Sunnieskys]

I would call Brian at BHB. He used deli cups and pvc and his supplier is in your area. You guys are somewhat close.

[cchardwick]

You can get deli cups from ARS Caging online in packs of 500. Once you get them bring one in to Home Depot and look in the plumbing section, it's actually a big PVC coupler that you want. There is a size that is close but doesn't fit quite right and the deli cup falls in the PVC a little, if you look around you'll find one that fits perfect. I was in the same boat you are in (no time) and I saved all my deli cups. Now I finally found the time to wash them all. I use dish soap and bleach and have reused them at least a dozen times and after washing they still look brand new.

[SDA]

JKR has a nice write up on cups for hatchlings and adults including sizes of cups and pvc couplers

[OhhWatALoser]

So those delicups at the website he mentioned were 2-3x more expensive compared to others even after adding in shipping. If this is going to be how I do things for now I still wanted to explore other options. So I tried a few local delicups I found, nothing fit and standard fitting besides the 4inch threaded coupling which are 7 bucks a piece...so yeah no. So I went with a different approach, bought the cheapest 8oz delicups I could find (I use 8 oz sized bowls currently for everything) cut a bunch of holders for them out of 4in pvc, 14 bucks a stick and I get over 50 out of a stick. Chucked em up in a lathe and bored out the extra needed to make em fit.

Result is now I can get 1500 standard sized deli cups for 100 bucks shipped (cost per cup gets cheaper the more you buy) and spent 60 bucks on holders and a few hours cutting and boring. Now I'll see how they work out in practice.

Without having access to a lathe, getting the ars cups were probably the best deal I saw, 4 inch couplings are less than 3 bucks, for anyone else looking.

[Kara]

I don't use anything smaller than 4", but I also don't keep ball pythons. Once you have your sizes figured out, check TSK Supply if you want to support a herp-related business. If pricing is your main concern, check out the deli cups on webstaurantstore.com for a price comparison. They're pretty economical - I get everything from 4" diameter, 8oz cups for my young bloods, to 7.5" diameter, 32oz cups for my adults from them.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Check for deli cups at your local restaurant supply store.
I buy a bunch of my stuff from Ace Mart. Some isn't cheaper than online pricing BUT its less than a mile from my house and open on Saturdays.

[cchardwick]

My retics knock over the deli cup holders and cups full of water. Had to go with spill proof dog bowls for those guys. Deli cups work great for ball pythons though.