I've had my babies just under 2 years. About 3 months ago my 6 year old female Gizmo started gaining tons of weight out of the blue and was hissing when she pooped. My vet checked her out and gave her some meds for a week and told me to up how much she drinks but I can't get her to drink enough water! I tried pedyolite and none of them drank it so my vet had me flavor the water with an oz of apple juice. That worked but since I stopped none of them drink enough. I'm trying to get enough liquid into them with fruit and veggies but I live in a hot dry climate and I see in their coats that they need more! Any idea? I don't want to be giving them apple juice water forever it's not good for them. HELP!

what kind of water source are you using? traditional water bottle with ball and tube?

Yeah I have 2 of them so they won't argue over it. I tried to go to a dish as well but they just pee and poop in it

Try water silo's.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-4pc-Set-Pet-Bird-Cage-Water-Drinker-Food-Feeder-Waterer-Clip-For-Aviary-Cage/222917834371?hash=item33e6f03683%3Am%3AmWocdd7NWzrfhyywuUZ-FtQ&var=521740691288&_sacat=0&_nkw=WATER+SILO+BIRD&_from=R40&rt=nc&LH_TitleDesc=0


I have a minimum of 2 and sometimes 3 or 4 of the large water one ( the 2nd one in the picture ) on each cage at different levels (1 high, 1 in the middle and 1 as close to the floor as I can get it ) Which is great in warmer weather, or if one of the gliders ever falls ill and can't climb to get to water.

You get 4 of them for about 4 bucks, which is cheaper than one, small, hard to clean one at pet stores that doesn't hold much water , I use a big bottle brush but you can fit a dish washing scrubber in it too.

its made of durable plastic, no leaks, no ball and tube that can malfunction
( leak a lot or not allow any or enough water out ) no seals where bacteria and slime can build up .

These are reallllllly handy if you ever have a glider in a e collar, you can put food in one ( liquid staple ) and water in the other so the glider always has access to food by itself with the cone on.

I have noticed since switching to these my gliders drink a lot more than they did with traditional water bottles and I don't have to worry if the ball and tube are working properly.

Are you using bottled water or tap water for them ???

Thanks I'll get those silos. I use tap water. I never considered bottled water

I'd suggest switching to bottled water too then. There are a lot of pollutants, bacteria etc... in tap water and the ph balance can cause issues if it's off, I'm just learning about the ph myself.

I have been dealing with a bacterial infection with some of my gliders, one of the theories we have is I was giving them tap water and my water may have been the root cause.

We have switched to bottled water for everything pertaining to the gliders from washing their water bottles with it, washing the cages and toys with it etc... it's a huge undertaking and lots of jugs of water. A friend of ours has a PH unit hooked up to their water that they can adjust, so I also have water from them that I use for the actual drinking water and in their food to see if that helps break the chain and get rid of this infection.

The flavor is better from bottled and most often it's filtered, which may help them take in more

I use small little water bowls in my cages, two in each, and don't have a problem with them pooping or peeing in them. They prefer the bowls over the silos and water bottles. I have them at two different levels towards the top of the cage on shelves. These are the ones I use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0763Q5YVL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My glider didn't know how to drink from her bottle(her previous owners didn't seem to notice?) We switched her to a bowl and just change the water every day. A little bit more extra work but shes worth it.

My sugar gliders went to the bathroom in their water bowls too, until I put the bowls in a higher place in my cage.
Alternatively, I feed my gliders HPW Plus with 1 cup of 'Bolthouse Farms: Green Goodness', it's a healthy, multi-fruit, juice drink and it has a dark green color. You can see if your gliders will drink that mixed in with their water and if your gliders like it, you might be able to lessen the amount of juice in the water to perhaps a few drops, because the color will show in the water.