# Rats Not Drinking



## A.ngelF.eathers

I wasn't sure if this should go in Behavior or Health, so I'm shoving it here.
For the past three years my boys have drank from bowls, they've been fine with it. Water bottles just don't work with them. 

However, as of late, they haven't been drinking as much. The bowls go all day untouched, or tipped over (then ignored when I refill them.) It's getting worse, too, and I'm starting to worry. 
Kalabar went all day without drinking yesterday... and today. 

I've resorted to giving them grapes to get them to drink something. Once I even put a bit of fruit water in theirs to try and entice them to drink. Instead they went diving, digging in the water for fruit pieces that weren't there. 

Kalabar will lick water from my finger though. 

I just don't know why they won't drink. 


Any ideas? Thoughts? How can I get them to drink? why aren't they drinking?


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## 1a1a

No ideas about the lack of drinking but you could try, as a contingency plan, offering them fresh carrot. http://australianratforum.com/forum/showthread.php?8095-Going-away-for-4-days scroll down to sdaji's post, he extols the virtues.

Good luck sussing any underlying problem.


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## Kinsey

Give things like grape and watermelon to help them stay hydrated, at least until you find out why. Maybe your water tastes funny, or the bowls have absorbed some smell or taste that isn't nice?


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## TobyRat

I would try some bottled drinking water. If you are giving them tap water, perhaps something has been added to the water supply, changing the taste of it. Also try putting some peas or other veggies in it to help attract them.


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## A.ngelF.eathers

Thanks for all the input, guys.
I gave them some carrots this morning, then when I could, I gave them some bottled drinking water and they practically went swimming in it. I guess my mom's just going to have to share her water now, Lol


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## jadeangel

I buy bottled water by the gallons and that's all I give my girls, I actually had an incident where I lost two of my girls because I refilled their water bottle and later that night is when they announced the "boil your water" notice, but it was too late >.< I'd rather spend a couple extra dollars a month on gallons of water than possibly loose my babies due to something being wrong with a broken water main or anything else


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## ratjes

Are you sure they don't drink? Did you measure it?


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## A.ngelF.eathers

I don't mind it either, but my mom does. She'll have to get over it though.

~

And yes, I know they weren't drinking. I don't have to measure to know that. They started turning the bowl away and turning it over or just letting it sit.


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## halfmoon

When I'm worried about dehydration, I cut up some watermelon or cucumbers to get a little extra fluid in them. It's tasty, so they don't even realize that it's good for them.


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## smesyna

Have you considered water bottles? You can more accurately tell how much the level has gone down, and they can't get tipped or get dirty.

Have you done the pinch test to see if they are dehydrated? If they truly aren't drinking I'd be worried about an underlying issue causing them to not want to drink.


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## A.ngelF.eathers

"For the past three years my boys have drank from bowls, they've been fine with it. Water bottles just don't work with them."
They destroy bottles, climb them and often times never drank from them. They just didn't work with them

And to repeat my other post 
"I gave them some bottled drinking water and they practically went swimming in it."

They're fine now. Bottled water is working perfectly for them.

I'm home with my rats all day. All hours, all minutes. I sleep between the hours of 3:00 a.m and 6-8 a.m and they're usually asleep during that time. They were leaving their water completely untouched or tipping it over like bratty children whenever I put in for them. But the bottled water in their bowls is fine now.


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## Terpsichore

I was told a long time ago at a fish store, that cities will increase the amount of chlorine they put in the water during the summer months. Perhaps this is why your boys started to dislike the taste.


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## smesyna

A.ngelF.eathers said:


> "For the past three years my boys have drank from bowls, they've been fine with it. Water bottles just don't work with them."
> They destroy bottles, climb them and often times never drank from them. They just didn't work with them
> 
> And to repeat my other post
> "I gave them some bottled drinking water and they practically went swimming in it."
> 
> They're fine now. Bottled water is working perfectly for them.
> 
> I'm home with my rats all day. All hours, all minutes. I sleep between the hours of 3:00 a.m and 6-8 a.m and they're usually asleep during that time. They were leaving their water completely untouched or tipping it over like bratty children whenever I put in for them. But the bottled water in their bowls is fine now.


No need to be rude. When I'm busy taking care of spam and trying to help people, sometimes I might overlook a small part of a thread.


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## lilspaz68

I missed it too Smesyna.

I got stuck on people offering Sdaji advice...UGH. Keep that man far from us. He's a feeder breeder in AUS that for some reason is revered.


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## Kiko

I have heard mixed things on him, mostly that he himself is sorta 'controversial' because he breeds rats for snake food :/
Other then that I know nothing.

Does chlorine matter? I give my rats tap water, and our water is chlorinated and no one has ever refused to drink it?


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## Terpsichore

I was thinking that maybe due to especially warm weather or another factor that the chlorine might need to be increased more than usual. A lot of things are added to tap water, depending on the water source, so maybe one thing or another increased. I just assumed that something must have changed about the water taste for everyone to stop drinking it. Or maybe the bowl absorbed some bad flavor and is contributing it to the water.


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## Janet04

My two drink from the water bottles. But it is so hot in NY right now I give them plain lettuce that is 100 percent water just to be sure they get there fluid. Carrotts and purple grapes also.


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## ratjes

If they destroy the bottle, as you said, have you thought about attaching it to the outside of their cage with the nozzle through the bars?
It can't be that difficult......


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## A.ngelF.eathers

I'm not stupid. They live in a home-made cage, the wire is not big enough to accommodate a bottle nozzle and I have no intention on breaking the wire or cutting it just so they can lick a little ball and get water out of a drippy bottle >_>


So, I'm not trying to sound rude and thanks to those who gave me advice, but my rats are drinking now. They enjoy the bottled water and I don't plan to use tap water again. kthnx


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## smesyna

Please, don't get defensive over well intended suggestions. We only know what you post, so if you don't mention that you can't fit a water bottle through your cage, we don't know not to suggest it.


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## A.ngelF.eathers

I read the post above my last one as it was implied that I don't know what I'm doing. 
Besides that I posted several times that they're fine now. If I hadn't want advice on how to get them to drink again I wouldn't have started this thread at all but after the problem's been solved I don't see a reason behind constantly being told what I'm not doing. The original post wasn't even about bottles.

So, again, thanks for the advice that helped me solve the problem.


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## lilspaz68

Kiko said:


> I have heard mixed things on him, mostly that he himself is sorta 'controversial' because he breeds rats for snake food :/
> Other then that I know nothing.
> 
> Does chlorine matter? I give my rats tap water, and our water is chlorinated and no one has ever refused to drink it?


The chemicals may have changed, making it different smelling/tasting. If you don't want to buy bottled water, invest in a small water pitcher/filter system like a Brita.


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## jadeangel

The chlorination really depends on where you are. It's been breaking over 100 here for the past week (with the heat index it got to 117 today and was 120 yesterday) and when I run water from the tap I can actually smell it >.< It seems like a swimming pool, which is why I give my girls bottled water, because I'm paranoid like that.


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