Drinking Bottles & Water Bowls for Gerbils in the Gerbil Webshop

You can buy Gerbil Drinking Bottles & Water Bowls easily and quickly at DRD Rodent Shop ^® The Gerbil Webshop for your Gerbil!

Gerbils need a drinking bottle to drink hygienically. However, a good drinking bottle is a challenge because Gerbils are real rodents! This should be taken into account when choosing and positioning the drinking bottle. If there is a lack of gnawing material or toys , the Gerbils can start gnawing on their drinking bottle. The best option for Gerbils is therefore a glass drinking bottle.

Which drinking bottle is suitable for Gerbils?

Gerbils are real rodents and will gnaw a plastic drinking bottle in no time. That is why we recommend a glass drinking bottle for Gerbils. This one is 100% rodent resistant and lasts a long time!

Why are there plastic drinking bottles in the Gerbil category?

Yet we also have plastic drinking bottles in this Gerbil category, why? This is because there are also accommodations for Gerbils with a roster section. This grid section sometimes covers the entire top of the enclosure and sometimes only partially. A plastic drinking bottle can then be attached to the grid on the outside, so that the Gerbils cannot reach it to gnaw it.

Not all Gerbils gnaw the drinking bottle. Some Gerbils leave the drinking bottle alone, we hardly believe it, but our customers indicate that some of the Gerbils do not. We have left the plastic drinking bottles for all these sweet and good Gerbils, but we recommend the glass drinking bottles for the rascals!

Why a Drinking Bottle for Gerbils?

The most well-known way of giving water is the drinking bottle. This is easy to attach to the enclosure and gives the Gerbils access to their drink throughout the day. A drinking bottle is also very hygienic, as no dirt can get into it. It is very important that the drinking bottle is cleaned regularly, otherwise algae and bacteria can grow in it. These micro-organisms are harmful to the health of Gerbils.

✔ Hygienic
✔Always access to water
✔ Controllable water intake

Another great advantage of a drinking bottle is that you can control the water intake. So you can see how much your gerbils drink and that is important to keep an eye on their health. Animals that are sick and no longer drink are especially vulnerable and can quickly endanger their lives due to dehydration.

Can a food bowl be used as a water bowl for the Gerbils?

It is also possible to give the Gerbils water from a drinking bowl. It is very important that the drinking bowl is changed several times a day and placed on a stable surface. Placing a water bowl on the ground cover is unfortunately not an option because the Gerbils will then undermine it.

Is a water bowl dangerous for young Gerbils?

Yes, a food bowl used as a water bowl can be dangerous for young baby Gerbils. This is the case when a litter is born and the young already start to walk around a bit, then there is a chance that they end up in the water bowl with all the consequences that entails. If a nest is available, we recommend placing the water bowl on a plateau where the young cannot reach and only offer it when the young are big enough to drink independently from a water bowl.

As can be seen in the image above, the drinking bottle for Hamsters can be hung in two ways. We also use this example for the Gerbil! One way forces the Gerbil to stand on its hind legs and the other way gives the animal the opportunity to drink on four legs. What is better? Can you also hang the drinking bottle somewhere in between? We answer all your drinking bottle questions!

How Do Gerbils Drink in the Wild?

Gerbils get a large part of their moisture from their diet . Seeds, plant parts and insects already contain some moisture. That is also possible at our house. After all, food always contains a little moisture, there is no such thing as completely dry, otherwise it would be dust. If you also give your Gerbils green food, for example, they will get a larger part of the required moisture from the green food. You may then notice that your Gerbils drink less. That's because he gets enough nutrition from his greens. Live insects such as mealworms also contain a lot of moisture. Nevertheless, it remains important to always offer a water source in the form of a drinking bottle or a water bowl.

Another way Gerbils drink is by licking or catching the dewdrops from plants with their paws. This requires the Gerbil to stand upright and they do it well! A Gerbil, unlike a Guinea pig, is made to stand upright. His whole build is geared to this and so standing upright is a natural posture of a Gerbil. Drinking from a drinking bottle actually mimics the animals' natural way of drinking.

Drinking from a water bowl seems a natural attitude, but in the wild Gerbils rarely come across puddles from which they drink. After all, it is very dry in the desert and moisture has to be sought in other ways.

Can a Gerbil get a neck hernia from drinking from a drinking bottle?

No absolutely not. No case has yet been documented and in practice this is not possible. In our blog " Neck hernia due to drinking bottle in rodents & rabbits " we explain further why this is not possible.

How high should the drinking bottle for Gerbils be hung?

As we mentioned earlier, the drinking bottle can be hung in two ways , namely slightly higher so that the Gerbil has to stand or slightly lower so that it can drink on four legs. Both ways are good, but everything in between can be annoying to the Gerbil because he can't stand on his hind legs and also just not on four legs, so it's just not.

We know this can be a challenge with ground cover, so it can be helpful to hang the drinking bottle in a place with a stable surface. So a place where the Gerbil is stable, for example a plateau or in a sandy part of the enclosure.