Flipping water bowl

[jerseygirl]

Jersey has taken to flipping her water bowl FREQUENTLY.  This has happened about 6 times in the last week.  It’s the bowl she normally favours too, in the living room.  Has anyone else had episodes of this behaviour and known the cause?

[Beka27]

Can you get a heavier bowl? If she just started doing it, I wonder if she just figured out she CAN do it, and now it’s become a game to her? Does she have to have a water bowl in the living room?

[BunnyLiz]

Episodes-yes. Know why-no. Rose did it everyday for the longest time. I just stopped putting so much water in it, put in a little 3-4 times a day. So if she did spill it on purpose it wasnt a bunch of fun. Because it didnt make a mess and it didnt get me mad. I stuck a few extra rugs (Think it was place cloth place mats really) under the bowl to catch the tiny spill and changed them alot. She stopped after about 3 weeks.

[riibu]

A few too many episodes like this is why I swapped the water bowl for a crock that locks to the side of the cage.

[jerseygirl]

I am looking to get a heavier crock because yesterday I smashed the one she normally has in her ‘room’. She does time to time flip that one I think when bugged by something. If she spills her water, it’s more often that one.

The one in the living room is a metal dish and she drank most of her water from this one. I’m afraid if I don’t have water there for her, her intake will drop. I guess she’ll learn to go back to her area for water.

She had tossed it before and there wasn’t too much water, so I figured it was getting too low and she let me know about it! But this past week, I hear her toss it, refill it and before too long, she’s done it again. I have put things under the bowl in the past, to collect any spills, but then she would just try remove it from underneath so it was actually more encouraging. Generally, it remained in the room in a corner no worries – til now. I put this metal bowl in her room last night to replace the other and so far it’s remained undisturbed.

I am going to have to remedy this by securing or changing the bowls as I don’t really thing I can address the behaviour. I’m just perplexed as to why she’s started doing this.

[MooBunnay]

I agree with Beka, I bet she just figured out that she could, and she got a good reaction from Mom so she decided it was a good idea They are extra smart about that stuff.

I also have the bowls that lock onto the side of the cage. You can often find those at pet stores – I think I found them in the small animal section – but try the bird section as well, and the cat/dog sections if you can find them in the small animal section.

[jerseygirl]

I don’t have a cage so I can’t use that type. I did pick up a glazed pottery all-in-one dip bowl & plate 2nd hand. It’s great, heavy enough it can’t be moved and if I spill water myself, it collects on the plate part. She had been leaving the other bowl undisturbed the last few days. Think maybe she was bored. Maybe I didn’t let her outdoors when she wanted or something. I have been cutting back on that some. Definately understand the reaction thing. I only ever see these behaviours when I’m home. I can leave her in the house alone all day without anything amiss.

[Beka27]

Could you construct a “fake cage wall” out of a couple NIC grids and somehow attach a water bowl to that? Just a thought… Wendy does something like that for her hay rack even tho Pepper is free-range.

[bathtubhippo]

ringo has a pair of matching bowls–one for food and now one for water (recent change, he still has a water bottle but ignores it now). they aren’t all that heavy, and he loves to push and knock around his food bowl, so i figured using the matching one was going to be a short-term fix until i got something heavier. fortunately, he hasn’t tried to move or knock it over at all!! BUT we looked at some really heavy ceramic bowls and also some of those big double dog/cat bowls that we could use for water on one side and veggies on the other side. so at the first sign of flippage, we’ll probably go in that direction. i do know for sure that if i put a towel or something under the bowl to catch spills, ringo would try his hardest to pull and/or dig the towel out and cause a big mess!

[Sage Cat]

He, he, he – this is part of the reason I have the “fancy” bowls in a stand!

My buns have tried to flip the bowl, but can’t.

 

[Hedi]

Sage Cat those are SO cute! Where did you get those?

Anyways..what I was thinking..Jersey..what I always use for pet food/water bowls is those Corningware white souffle dishes. They are 5.5″ in diameter and they are fairly heavy. My buns used to pick stuff up and throw/push it around and still will if they can pick it up. I know they sell them here in sets of 2 or separately at like Target, Walmart, etc. Now in Aussie land..I have no clue…although I dont guess you were asking for dish suggestions were you?! lol

I think the buns do this just to be brats. Why else would they do it? Why would they want to to spill food or water on the floor? Now all my buns have the really small soufflee dishes that are like 3″ diameter for pellets so they are lighter and easier to at least push around and with the hard floor downstairs they can push it around and it makes noise. So I personally think they do it for attention. “Im hungry” or “I want out” or “im bored” or “i just want to make noise” lol

[jerseygirl]

I’m definately going with that theory – it fits my girl. They do it because they discover they can. Then it’s just brattiness. The dip plate/bowl is working out well and I’ve removed the lighter metal one from the other room. She adjusted well. The Newbie has largish heavy crocks too, because apparently he took to turning his bowls over too.

[Sage Cat]

I got those years ago at Pier One. There was even a matching pet bed – but, I could not go that far.

[dmh426]

once Soph started flipping, i moved on to a water bottle! I do looove those bowls in the stand though. hmm…

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