Can Degus Drink From A Bowl

Degus, like any other pet that you can keep need a source of water for them to drink from.

If you keep degus then you actually have more options than if you were to keep most other pet rodents. Some of those options include water bowls and water bottles. So, can degus drink their water from a water bowl?

If you decide that you want to use water bowls in your degu’s cage for them to drink out of instead of water bottles then that’s absolutely fine. Putting a water bowl in their cage is safe to do as long as you’re using the right ones.

It’s not always an easy transition going from using a water bottle to a water bowl but it can be done.

How Safe Are Water Bowls For Degus?

When you first put it in there they may not know exactly what it is, especially if they’re used to drinking from a bottle.

Just because they don’t know what the bowl is used for yet, doesn’t mean that it’s unsafe for it to be in their cage.

That’s because degus are smart enough to not intentionally hurt themselves. Generally, degus will be curious but also cautious when anything new is added to their environment.

Because of this, you’ll most likely see your degus study the new object up close and then back away many times.

They’ll continue to do this until they figure out what it is and what it’s used for. So that, along with putting the right kind of bowl in their cage is what makes it safe to do.

What Kind Of Water Bowls Can You Use?

When it comes to using the right kind of water bowl in your degu’s cage there are a couple of things you have to consider first.

The first thing that you have to consider for your degus is what the bowl is made out of.

Degus like most pet rodents love to chew on everything they can. That includes the bowl that you put in their cage to drink water out of.

That being the case, you’ll want to make sure that you’re using a bowl that’s harder for them to chew on.

Anything ceramic will do a great job of this. If it’s made out of ceramic then it will be harder for your degus to try to chew on it.

Chewing on ceramic doesn’t give the same feeling as other softer materials that they like to chew on.

Once they figure out it isn’t as fun to chew on the ceramic bowl they’ll stop and go back to what they used to chew on.

What Size Bowl Should You Use?

The second thing you should consider is the size of the bowl. If you get a bowl that’s too big it could cause issues in their cage.

A bigger bowl means there’s more of a chance that the water could spill out and make a mess in the cage.

If that happens and it’s not cleaned up, it can leave the cage damp and that can lead to mold over time.

If the bowl is too small then it may not provide enough space for multiple degus to drink at the same time.

If they don’t have enough room to drink it can lead to unnecessary fighting. So getting the right sized bowl comes down to how many degus you have and how big their cage is.

Getting Your Degus To Drink From A Water Bowl

Getting your degus to drink from a bowl can be a long or short process depending on your degus.

One of the best ways to get them to drink from the water bowl is by using their natural curiosity.

Once you put the bowl in their cage, spike their curiosity by splashing the water around a little bit.

That will get them to come over to the bowl to see what it is. Leave them with their new bowl, but still watch them so you can be as safe as possible.

This will give them the chance to check out the new object in their cage without any distractions. Their curiosity will take over and they’ll spend some time around the bowl until they’ve gotten used to it.

After a while, once they’ve figured out its water in a bowl that they can drink out of, they’ll start to use it regularly.

Monitor Your Degus When The Bowl Is New To Their Cage

When you put something like a new water bowl inside your degu’s cage, make sure to always watch them.

The main reason you want to watch them with their new bowl is simply because of safety.

Even though it’s safe to have a water bowl for your degus, you’ll still want to keep an eye on them to make sure everything is going smoothly.

By watching them you’ll also get to see how well they interact with the bowl and when they start to drink from it.

After a while, once you’ve seen that they’ve started to drink from it you won’t have to watch them as much because they have now become used to it.

All Degus Are Different And May Not Like Or Want To Drink From A Bowl

Remember all degus are unique and they all have their own different personalities.

That means that one degu might take to drinking from a bowl very easily, while another one may take a while to come around to it.

Some degus won’t even want to drink their water from a bowl and that’s perfectly fine.

If your degus don’t want to drink from a bowl then you’ll have to settle on a water bottle.

Again, degus like to chew on everything so if you’re using a water bottle make sure to get a chew guard with it.

Each degu will take different amounts of time to be comfortable with the bowl, and that’s normal. The good part is once one degu starts to drink from it, the others can see them doing it.

They’ll have an example of what to do with the bowl and that will make it easier for them to start drinking from it as well.

If your degus take a long time to start drinking from the bowl or take a while to get used to it, that’s fine too.

They’ll do it at their own pace and there’s not much as pet owners that we can do to speed the process up.

Any time you try to teach a pet something new it can take some time and repetition, so patience is important. Give them some time, and once they used to it, drinking from a bowl will be a normal part of your degu’s life.