FAQ: Bowls & Feeders for small pets

A bottle keeps water clean, but some animals prefer drinking from a bowl and drink more from it. Many owners use both, especially for rabbits and guinea pigs.

It keeps hay dry and clean instead of trampled into the bedding, and the animal eats it a little at a time all day. A rack is especially useful for rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and degus, whose main food is hay.

For most small pets a heavy ceramic bowl or a stainless steel bowl that clips to the bars works best. Rodents often chew plastic bowls, so those suit only short-term use or animals that do not gnaw them.

A ceramic bowl is heavy, so the animal cannot tip it or drag it around, it cannot be chewed, and the glazed surface is easy to wash. Choose one without cracks and with a food-safe glaze.

Rodents often chew plastic bowls, and swallowed pieces of plastic can harm digestion. Bacteria also collect in scratches, so a chewed or scratched plastic bowl should be replaced.

Yes, stainless steel bowls do not break, cannot be chewed and are hygienic. Because they are light, models that fix to the cage bars or sit in a holder suit small pets best.

Thick glass bowls are heavy, hygienic and do not absorb smells, so they can work. But they can break if the animal pushes them around or a bowl falls off a shelf, so place them on the floor.

Wooden bowls get chewed quickly, absorb moisture and are hard to wash. They suit dry food short-term at most, and ceramic or metal is better for water or vegetables.

No. Bacteria and food remains collect in cracks, and chipped edges can cut the tongue or a paw. Replace a cracked or chipped bowl with a new one.

Yes, choose bowls with a glaze meant for food contact that does not flake. Decorative or poor-quality glaze can release substances the animal does not need.

They can work if the dish is heavy, stable, the right size and free of cracks, such as a small ceramic bowl. Avoid light, tall or decorated dishes.

A hamster needs only a small, heavy bowl with low sides that holds a day’s portion of food. For dwarf hamsters choose an even smaller, lower bowl so they can reach the food easily.

A guinea pig needs a medium, heavy bowl with low sides so it can put its head in comfortably. A separate wider bowl for vegetables is useful, and several guinea pigs need several bowls.

A rabbit needs a larger, heavy ceramic bowl it cannot tip over. For large breeds choose a wide bowl, and the water bowl should hold enough for the whole day.

Rats are clever and playful, so they tip over or carry off light bowls. Heavy ceramic or bar-mounted metal bowls work, and several rats need several bowls.

Mice need small, low and heavy bowls so they can reach the food easily without scattering it. In a large bowl mice like to sit and soil it.

A chinchilla jumps a lot, so a heavy ceramic or bar-mounted metal bowl suits it. It is worth placing it on a shelf or above the cage floor so it stays clean.

Degus gnaw a great deal, so plastic bowls are unsuitable. Choose a heavy ceramic or metal bowl they cannot chew or tip over.

Low sides let a small animal reach the food comfortably without stretching, especially youngsters and older pets. A bowl that is too shallow gets more scattered, so the height should match the animal’s size.

Pellets scatter less from a deeper bowl, while a shallow one suits vegetables and older animals. Often both are useful: one for dry food and one for fresh.