Can Hamsters Drink Out of Bowls? [9 Ways On How To Do It]

Keeping hamsters at home can be challenging. They take time to settle down and find comfort. One of the hamster owners’ biggest challenges is feeding their pet hamsters appropriately. While they can eat different foods, including nuts, they may have difficulty swallowing bigger items due to their size. Feeding liquids to hamsters can be equally tricky if done incorrectly. Can hamsters drink out of bowls? Do they spill while drinking water?

If these are some of your top concerns, we have all the details you need to know. Hamsters can drink out of bowls depending on the bowl size and orientation.

Let’s dive into further details to find out more.

Table of Contents

Choosing Bowls for Hamsters

Hamsters are friendly, small creatures who like to spend their time playing, burrowing, and eating. While pet experts know the feeding practices of hamsters, beginners may have many concerns.

One of the top concerns is choosing the best bowls for hamsters. They can drink out of a bowl only if it meets their demands.

When you head out to buy bowls for your pet hamsters, you may want to be careful about your choice. Hamsters may not be comfortable drinking from the bowls that suit other pets.

Since hamsters are petite and soft, you may want to choose shallow bowls with soft edges. Such bowls are safe for hamsters and restrict water from spilling inside the cage.

You can find a variety of bowls in different sizes in your nearby stores. Before you pick one, you may want to check if your hamster can comfortably drink from the chosen bowl size.

Larger bowls with soft edges may not be appropriate for dwarf hamsters. They may find drinking from a heavy bowl difficult, increasing the chances of spilling.

Click to know: How Long Do Robo Hamsters Live?

Why Use a Bowl for Hamsters?

Hamsters can have varied responses to different feeding practices. Some hamsters take time to learn to drink water from water bottles and small containers.

When you get a pet hamster, you may want to closely monitor if it drinks from a water bottle or resists it. Like babies, hamsters express their discomfort and problems through their behavior.

If the water bottle does not work, you may try using a bowl to feed water to your hamsters. Again, you must choose the right type of bowls for your hamster cages.

Getting a large bowl for a dwarf hamster would be like giving an infant a water jug. Moreover, inappropriate choice of food and water containers can affect their diet and health.

If your hamster fails to make sense of water bottles, you may want to train it with a small water bowl. The bowl’s large surface area and shallow nature make it easy for hamsters to drink from them.

You may continue to place water bowls inside your hamster’s cage until they learn to drink water from a bottle. In most cases, pet hamsters stick to the training of their owner.

Another factor that supports using bowls instead of bottles is the cage type. If you are using a bin cage for your pet hamster, you may be unable to mount a water bottle in it.

In such cases, bowls are ideal for drinking water. They have much lesser height and weight, making it favorable for dwarf hamsters to drink out of them.

In rare cases, pet owners are sensitive to pet noises. Smaller pets like hamsters can make noise while drinking water from bottles due to their elongated structure.

If you are sensitive to such noises or have trouble sleeping, you may opt for a water bowl for your pet hamster. Hamsters can drink water from the bowl without making any disturbances.

How to Train Hamsters to Drink Out of a Bowl?

You can train your hamster to drink out of a bowl. When you get a pet hamster, you may not know much about self-management. You may have to feed hamsters, set up their bedding, and do more until they are familiar with their environment.

While this is true, the first few days are crucial for your hamster. If not trained properly, hamsters can be messy and annoying, leading to frequent bedding and cage changes.

On the other hand, training them to eat and drink in the early stages can save them from such trouble. You can train your hamster to drink out of a bowl in many ways.

The most common challenge for hamsters in the early days is to find their food container and water bowls. Since they are new in the cage, they take time to develop a routine without assistance.

To help them get used to it, you can set up trails of nuts or grains leading to the water bowl or food container. Hamsters can eat grains and follow the trail to locate the bowl.

If your hamster spends most of its time on its bedding, you may want to create a trail from the bedding area to the feeding area.

After a few assisted feeding sessions, your pet hamster can get used to the environment and continue to manage food and water by itself.

If your hamster drinks minimum water from the bowl, you may try replacing it with a smaller one to monitor the behavior change. If it continues to resist, you can try bottle-feeding methods.

Setting Up the Hamster Bowl

If you want to know how to set up the water bowl for your pet hamster in the cage, we have covered some essential details you should remember.

Location of Bowl

You first need to work around finding an appropriate location for the water bowl. If you have a small cage, you may have limited space to make feeding, littering, and bedding arrangements.

You can try plenty of settings in large cages to place the water bowl. A good rule of thumb is to place it on a flat surface, away from the bedding and litter can.

If the appropriate location has an uneven surface, you can place a small wooden slab or box beneath the bowl to avoid tipping it over.

Placing Pebbles

After finding the appropriate location to place the hamster bowl inside the cage, you may want to add a few pebbles inside it to prevent it from tipping.

You may use round, clean pebbles to avoid hurting the hamster’s body and health. If you use a small bowl, you may add smaller pebbles to avoid bumping into the hamster’s head.

If you need customized hamster bowls for drinking water, review some online resources to find your perfect fit.

Filling Fresh Water

Once the pebbles are inside, you can add fresh water to the bowl. While filling the bowl, you may check if the pebbles take up too much space inside the bowl.

In such cases, removing a few pebbles and refilling the bowl can be an ideal solution. Once filled, you may train your hamster to drink from it.

If it drinks comfortably, you can sit down and relax. However, if it shows resistance to drinking from the bowl, you may try choosing a different hamster bowl and try again.

Also check: Can Teddy Bear Hamsters Live Together?

Water Bottle Or Bowl – Which Is Better?

Water bottles and hamster bowls can serve the purpose equally well. While true, your hamster’s training and behavior determine the optimal choice.

Generally, pet owners prefer water bottles over bowls due to several reasons. Water bottles are elongated containers with a closed top. They are less likely to be contaminated.

Conversely, bowls provide a sufficient surface area for drinking water, but they are likelier to be contaminated by food and dust.

Since hamsters can catch viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases and transmit them to humans, water bowls may require regular cleaning and disinfection.

Although water bottles provide a smaller surface area for drinking water, they minimize the chances of germ and viral contaminations.

If you can take the time to disinfect and clean your hamster’s bowl regularly, you can opt for bowls instead of bottles.

On the other hand, a busy routine may make it difficult for you to regularly clean the water bowl in your hamster’s cage. In such a case, you can opt for a water bottle for your hamster.

How to Buy Hamster Bowls?

The answer may relieve you if you wonder how to buy hamster bowls. Hamster bowls are readily available in pet accessory stores, pet food shops, and pet clinics.

You can also find them in online stores and place an order for doorstep deliveries. Before placing an order, you may contact the seller to check the bowl specifications.

If unsure about the bowl type and size, you can reach out to a pet expert or your pet’s vet to seek guidance. We would recommend refraining from the hit-and-trial practices to avoid any troubles down the road.

Summing Up

The above information can help you choose a suitable water-feeding container for your hamster. Hamsters can drink out of bowls. You only need to find the appropriate type to train your furry pet about water drinking practices. You can refer to some expert online resources to explore more feeding options for different hamster breeds.