>Re: drippy water bottles, I keep a heavy ceramic bowl part full of water
>just below the water bottle.  This catches any drips and also lets them
>drink from the bowl if they want...so far I've found that ALL of them
>prefer the bowl to the water bottle, though the bottle still gets
>occasional use.
 
Water bowls are especially important for older ferrets or ferrets that are
on medicines (for instance Lasix).  Getting water from a bottle requires
more effort than a bowl and a ferret may not drink as much as it should.
 
My ferrets have both options and I monitor daily for wet blankets and moldy
food resulting from water dripping from the face.  After all, dunking the
entire head in the water bowl is expected behavior for many ferrets!
 
I scrub the bowl and replace with fresh water twice daily.  The bottles get
fresh water twice weekly.  They are scrubbed with a bottle brush at least
monthly and more often if possible.  Both bowls and bottles (also food
dishes and litter pans) get sterilized with a weak bleach solution in cool
water twice a month.  It's a small amount of time to help keep my guys
healthy.
 
          -Carla
[Posted in FML issue 2551]