Thursday, February 27, 2014

Lixit Glass Bottle Recycle Kit - 7/16" Tube Size (Medium)

Earlier, we posted about a water bottle system that we absolutely love: The Lixit Glass Bottle Recycle Kit. There was just one problem. Lixit recommends the small kit for rats and many online reviewers agreed, one saying that the larger sizes are too wide for rats and the rats won't be able to move the ball. So we ordered the small kit and installed them. But the 5/16" tube size in these kits is just a little too small for our rats.

Our rats are used to the 12 oz Super Pet bottles with a 3/8" tube. The small Lixit tubes are closer to the 6 oz Super Pet bottle tube size. If your rats use the smallest Super Pet bottle, then they may be fine with this size, but most of us use the larger size. My rats got frustrated with the narrow tubes as they did not release the water fast enough. But everything else about the system was great.

So we decided to go ahead and order some stoppered tubes in the medium (7/16") tube size. This is slightly larger than the Super Pet 12 oz tubes, but we were hoping not too large.

We received them the other day and, thankfully, this tube works perfectly for our rats. None have a problem operating the wider tube and the water seems to flow just like they are used to. The larger tubes still fit perfectly in the mounting kit (I imagine it is the same mounting hardware for both tube sizes). They are easy to fill, they have not leaked so far, and the mounting hardware supports the bottle better than the Super Pet bottles were supported. I am not sure why Lixit recommends the smaller size for rats, but I highly recommend using the medium-sized kit instead.

Comparison of Lixit Tubes with Super Pet Tubes


I am convinced this water bottle solution will be the best solution for our rats, but I will continue to update with my thoughts as time goes by.

Related Posts:
A Better Water Bottle: Lixit Glass Bottle Recycle Kit
Installation Instructions for the Lixit Glass Bottle Recycle Kit
Lixit Glass Bottle Recycle Kit: Tube Update
A DIY Mount for the Lixit Recycled Water Bottle Kit


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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 26, 2015 at 11:44 PM

    I have a DCN cage, and recently installed 2 of the medium watering kits. Love them, and so do the rats. But did you find that the tube made the cage bars "stretch" apart a bit when pushed through? I'm hoping this will not over time damage the cage. Thanks for all the great info!

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  2. RatropolisJuly 30, 2015 at 1:44 PM

    Yes - the bars do bow slightly to let the tube through because even though the bars are spaced 1/2" apart, the bars have thickness themselves, so the space is slightly less than 1/2", and apparently also a little less than 7/16". I have been using these for almost a year and a half and that hasn't damaged the cage so far, but it is impossible to say what could happen over time. On the Martin's cages, I actually intentionally bow the bars with a pliers to make the bottle very easy to insert and remove.

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