Hello all,
 
This is in response to Carol Owens' post about Lixit flip top water
bottles.  I purchased one last year because of its HUGE size - my (seven,
at the time) ferrets were/are very active, and drink a lot of water as
a result.  I would often come home after a long day of work & find them
having finished two moderate sized water bottles, so I decided it was
time for a size upgrade.  I brought home the new bottle & filled it, put
it in the cage...and waited for the gleeful investigation of the new
technology.  They all approached it, sniffed it, tried to lick it...
and all became visibly frustrated with trying to figure it out.  I
finally managed to teach one of them (RIP, little Shivvy BaldBum) via
demonstration to use it by pushing the stem in with her nose, but she
ended up inhaling more than she got to drink When asked their opinion
of the bottle, the ferrets carefully considered, & held up their signs;
the bottle got a resounding "zero" out of a possible ten points.  The
booby prize for such a low score?  A graceful little turd placed
oh-so-carefully under the spout of the bottle.  I got the point.
 
The bottle did not go over well with the mustelids...and when it came
time for the hoomin mommy to clean it, it ended up getting pitched out a
window!  I think this bottle is designed for someone who wants to fill it
while it's still attached to the cage.  I prefer to remove the bottles
from the cage & put them through the dishwasher to eliminate bacteria,
algae, etc. - as a result, this was not an approach I favored.  I have
developed the habit of removing all the water bottles at once when I
clean the cage, and inverting them so that the spouts point upward.  This
usually eliminates the leakage from the tip of the spout we all know so
well.  Perhaps it's because I'm rather absentminded, but by the fourth or
fifth time of doing this with the FLIP TOP bottle and getting completely
doused, I still hadn't learned.
 
Although the opportunity to lick water off of my legs & feet excited the
ferrets to no end, I had had enough.  One warm summer day, having just
given myself a ferret-water shower, I decided that enough was enough.  I
sidestepped the dancing dooks, opened a window, and tossed the bottle
into my back yard.  Later on that week, when my then-fiance was mowing
the lawn, it was accidentally shredded.  Whoooooooops!  A fitting end
to that piece of junk.
 
In summation; avoid this bottle like the plague.  The ferrets didn't care
for it, & I was consistently annoyed with it.  Buyer beware!
 
Jessica
 
 
Jessica L. Manson
15 Monmouth St. #2
Boston, MA 02128
(781) 718-3885
[log in to unmask]
www.whimsyphoto.com
[Posted in FML issue 4798]