Water bottles for mice: always fresh water, even in a small enclosure

Mice drink small sips, spread over the evening and night. So they must always have access to clean, fresh water. For mice, a water bottle is the most practical solution. Mice constantly dig and drag bedding and nesting material around; an open water bowl is therefore filled up within a short time. A bottle with a spout keeps the water clean and the floor dry.

In this category you will find small drinking bottles in plastic and glass, holders for the bottle, a cooler and a cleaning brush. For glass enclosures there is the aluminium water bottle holder with magnets from Zooply, our own brand. With it you hang a bottle on a glass wall without drilling or sticking.

In short

• ✓ Give fresh water every day and clean the bottle thoroughly at least once a week.
• ✓ Check every day that the ball in the spout moves freely and water comes out.
• ✓ For mice, choose a small bottle of 75 to 250 ml; that way the water stays fresh.
• ✓ Hang the spout low enough for a mouse to reach it comfortably, but not in the bedding.
• ✓ In a group or a large enclosure, provide a second drinking spot.

What will you find in the Water bottles category?

Zooply Aluminium water bottle holder with magnets

The water bottle holder from Zooply is made for glass enclosures, such as a terrarium. You place the holder against the outside of the glass, with the magnets on both sides lined up properly opposite each other, and slide the bottle in from above. According to the product information the holder works on glass up to 4 mm thick, the thickness of the Zooply terrariums. With thicker glass the magnets may not be strong enough. The holder fits the Classic drinking bottles of 75 ml and 150 ml. The bottle itself is not included. That way the bottle hangs securely, you can easily take it out to fill it and the glass stays intact.

Classic plastic water bottles

The Classic water bottles are made of transparent plastic, so you can see the water level clearly. The 75 ml is the smallest bottle and suits one mouse or a small group. The 150 ml is handy for a group or if you do not want to fill the whole bottle every day. There is also a 320 ml bottle in this category; according to the product information it is made for rabbits. For mice it is large: the water stays in the bottle for a long time before it is empty.

Glass water bottles with bracket

The glass water bottles from Trixie come in 125 ml and 250 ml. They hang on the mesh with a bracket and have a floating indicator, so you can quickly see how full the bottle still is. Glass picks up smells and deposits less quickly than plastic and is easy to clean thoroughly. It is heavier, though; so hang the bottle securely.

Holder, cooler and brush

The bark wood water bottle holder from Trixie (ø 18 × 30 cm) gives a bottle a stable place in the enclosure. For mice it is fairly large; it mainly fits in a roomy enclosure. The Beeztees Drinking Bottle Cooler (18 × 8.5 × 8.5 cm) is a sleeve with cooling gel that you first put in the freezer and then slide around the bottle. According to the product information it is made for 600 ml bottles, so not for the small mouse bottles. With the cleaning brush from Savic you can reach into the neck and the bottom of the bottle, where deposits form first.

Which size suits your mice?

Mice drink little per day. A large bottle seems handy, but the water then stands still for days, becomes lukewarm and deposits grow in it more quickly. That is why a small bottle is better for mice. Choose a size that your mice drink empty in a few days, and still refresh the water every day. For one or two mice, 75 to 125 ml is enough. For a larger group, choose 150 or 250 ml, or hang two small bottles in different places.

Hanging the bottle properly

Hang the bottle so that a mouse can reach the spout when it sits upright or stretches a little. A spout that hangs too high takes effort. If it hangs too low, it touches the bedding and the bottle drains into the litter. Note: mice dig and raise the floor in places. So check regularly that the spout is still hanging free.

Do not hang the bottle above the nest, the food bowl or the hay spot, so that a drip does not wet anything. Choose a spot out of the sun. With a wire cage, preferably hang the bottle on the outside with only the spout pointing in; then your mice cannot chew on the plastic bottle. With a glass enclosure, use a magnetic holder or a stand.

Check every day

A mouse is small. If a spout gets blocked, it has no water, while from the outside the bottle looks full. So when refreshing the water, press the ball with your finger: a drop should come out. If nothing comes out, the ball is stuck due to limescale or an air bubble. If a trickle comes out or the bottle drips by itself, the spout is leaking. In both cases, solve it straight away or temporarily give a small, heavy bowl of water.

Also check whether your mice are really drinking. A water level that drops while the floor underneath gets wet means a leaking bottle, not thirsty mice.

Enough drinking spots in a group

Female mice live in a group and often have a clear pecking order. With one drinking spot, a dominant mouse can keep the spout occupied, so that a mouse lower in the pecking order finds it harder to drink. So in an enclosure with more than a few mice, hang two bottles in different places, for example one at floor level and one by a platform. That is also a safe backup if one of the bottles gets blocked.

Cleaning

Clean the bottle thoroughly at least once a week. Rinse it with warm water, brush the inside with a bottle brush and also clean the spout and the cap. Then rinse generously; mice smell soap residue straight away. If you see green deposits, the bottle is probably hanging in too much light or you are not cleaning it often enough. You can dissolve limescale in the spout by soaking the spout briefly in water with a little vinegar and then rinsing it very thoroughly.

Water in summer and winter

Mice cope badly with heat. In summer, keep the enclosure out of the sun and refresh the water more often, because lukewarm water is less popular. In a cool room, such as a shed, the spout can freeze in frosty weather. That is why mice should preferably live indoors, in a room with an even temperature.

Useful combinations

A good drinking spot belongs in a well-furnished enclosure. These categories complement it:

• Food bowls: a heavy food bowl, well away from underneath the bottle.
• Mouse food: Zooply Mouse Food; anyone eating dry seeds and pellets must always have access to water.
• Bedding: Zooply bedding that absorbs a spilled drop well.
• Cages: an enclosure in which you can hang the bottle securely.

Frequently asked questions about water bottles for mice

How do I teach my mouse to drink from a bottle?

Most mice already know a water bottle from the shop or the breeder. If a mouse is not used to it, press the ball a few times so that a drop hangs from the spout. For the first few days, also put down a small, heavy bowl of water. If you see the level in the bottle dropping while the floor underneath stays dry, your mouse is drinking from it.

Would a water bowl be better?

For mice a bowl is less practical: it quickly fills up with bedding and can tip over or be emptied by dragging. It can work as a second drinking spot or temporarily if the bottle is not working properly. In that case refresh the water in a bowl several times a day.

My mice are chewing the bottle. What now?

Plastic bottles sometimes get chewed. Hang the bottle on the outside of the mesh, with only the spout pointing in. In a glass enclosure the magnetic holder from Zooply helps, because the bottle then does not hang loose in the enclosure. A glass bottle can also be a solution.

Does the Zooply holder fit every terrarium?

According to the product information, the magnets hold a bottle on glass up to 4 mm thick, as with the Zooply terrariums. With thicker glass the magnetic force may not be enough. The holder fits the Classic bottles of 75 and 150 ml.

How do I know if my mouse is drinking enough?

When refreshing the water, note how much has gone from the bottle and whether that stays roughly the same. If a mouse suddenly drinks much more or much less, and is also lethargic, eats poorly or loses weight, contact a vet with knowledge of rodents.

Buying water bottles for mice at Knaagplaza

At Knaagplaza, the webshop of 't Knaagplein, you will find small drinking bottles and holders that suit mice, including the magnetic water bottle holder from Zooply, our own premium brand that we use every day for our own animals in the shop and the breeding facility. That way your mice always have clean, fresh water within easy reach.