Water is absolutely essential to hamster health. Their bodies may be small, but due to their tiny size, they have a much higher metabolic rate than larger animals and therefore need a constant water supply daily. In captivity, however, can they learn to drink water as they do in the wild?
Hamsters do learn to drink water, but they instinctively know how to drink water. In captivity, when sources of drinking water are different from the ones in the wild, they know where to find water and how to drink it because their sharp sense of smell enables them to know where to find it.
If you’re worried that your hamster doesn’t seem to be touching its water or that your pet doesn’t know how to use a water bottle, we’ll talk about how to teach your hamster how to drink water in captivity, as well as some reasons why hamsters may not drink water.
How To Teach Hamsters To Drink Water
Before attempting to train your pet to drink water the way it should inside its cage, bear in mind that hamsters instinctively want to drink water and know where to find it. So don’t stress too much about teaching your hamster how and when to drink.
Even if you don’t show your pet where the bottle is, it will smell the water, approach the bottle, and lick it when the thirst kicks in.
However, aside from their sense of smell enabling them to locate water, hamsters also have a natural way of drinking water, which is digging in the ground and licking where water can be found. This means that other means of drinking may take some training.
From a Water Bottle
A water bottle is the most convenient way of providing water to a hamster. Not only can it be fixed inside the cage, so there’s no spillage, but it also keeps the water clean and holds much more water than a bowl does.
It also ensures that your pet only drinks as much water as it needs and that the hamster doesn’t get wet in the process. When hamsters get wet, they’re more prone to catching a cold and developing other health issues.
When a hamster is new to its cage, however, it may need some help to learn how to drink from a water bottle suspended from the top of its cage.
Here’s how you can train your hamster to drink from the bottle:
- Spread a treat on the bottle’s nozzle. This will lure the hamster to come close to the bottle and lick on the nozzle. Once it licks the nozzle, water will come out. As your hamster does this repeatedly, it will learn that that’s the way to get water out.
- Place the nozzle in your hamster’s mouth. If your hamster refuses to go near the bottle, take the bottle out and put the nozzle on the hamster’s mouth to encourage it to lick. But if this doesn’t work, you might try something else.
If your hamster refuses to drink water from the bottle even after training it for a few days, perhaps it’s time to consider using a different means of providing water to your pet. You may also use a syringe to get your pet to have a few sips of water if it hasn’t had a drink after a day.
From a Water Bowl
If the water bottle doesn’t work, you can try to put a hamster drinking bowl inside the cage. Some hamsters just don’t take to the water bottle and like the bowl better instead. One obvious reason is that the bowl is much easier to use for a hamster.
To teach your hamster to use a water bowl, you can do the following:
- Choose an appropriate bowl. The bowl should be shallow, as you don’t want your hamster to drown when it goes to drink. It should also be chew-proof, with a small opening. If you can find one with a movable lid, much better.
- Place the bowl on a platform. Putting the bowl on a platform prevents food and other debris from mixing with the water. Ensure your hamster has easy access to the bowl even when on a platform.
- Change the water daily. Even if you put the bowl on a platform, there’s always the possibility of other debris getting into the water, so to keep the water clean, change it at least once daily.
Your hamster will know to go to the bowl to have a sip when thirsty.
So unlike with a bottle, there’s no training required for a hamster to learn to use a bowl. Still, you must ensure that your pet does not drink dirty water and that the bowl does not get tipped over when your hamster plays.
If your hamster does tip the bowl over, take your hamster out immediately and dry the cage thoroughly. You may also opt to use a heavier bowl, such as one that’s ceramic or glass, to prevent water from spilling.
One other option is attaching the water bowl to the outside of the cage in a way that your hamster still has access to it but is not able to tip it over.
Reasons Why a Hamster Is Not Drinking Water
It takes only about three days for dehydration to be fatal to a hamster, but even before that, you’ll notice signs of dehydration when your pet doesn’t get the recommended 10 ml (0.03 oz) of water per 100 grams (0.22 pounds) of body weight.
But if your hamster refuses to drink water for more than a day, take it to the vet. Here are some of the reasons why hamsters refuse to drink water:
- Anxiety or stress: A hamster that was just re-homed, is in a new cage, in the same space with a large animal, or experiencing some other stressful situation can be so anxious to the point of refusing to eat or drink.
- Unfamiliarity with the water bottle: If the device is new, it’s natural for a hamster not to be inclined to touch it or know how to drink water from it. Take time to teach your hamster.
- Changes in diet: What you feed your hamster affects how much it drinks, or doesn’t drink, water. If you just switched to a different hamster feed, there’s a possibility that it won’t be interested in water for a short while.
- Illness: A sick hamster will most likely be lethargic and refuse food and drink. You can try to give your hamster some water through a syringe, but take it to the vet if you notice other symptoms, like diarrhea, rough coat, and disinterest in grooming.
- Eating water-rich foods: Another reason why your hamster could not feel the need to drink water is if you recently fed it foods that are rich in water, like cucumbers. Remember, though, to give your pet a balanced diet, and keep treats to a minimum.
Conclusion
As in humans and other animals, drinking water is instinctive for a hamster. If your pet is hyperactive, it will drink more water than usual, so you’ll want to provide a constant water supply.