Ceramic vs plastic bowl

[FernieB]

What do you use?

Current Bun normally has a ceramic bowl (which he can throw if he wants) but I dropped it last week . So he has borrowed the pigs plastic salad bowl until I get him a new one. He is having a whale of a time slinging this one around as it's so much lighter so he will definitely need a heavier ceramic one. I was thinking of getting the pigs a ceramic one too as they do sometimes tip their plastic food bowl over but was wondering if they'd be okay reaching the food as they have short legs and no neck to speak of . Are they just going to flip it over on themselves?

Hi Fernie, hope you are OK -

My girls would love putting their paws at the edge of their ceramic bowl and delve in - I decided that with such a heavy one they wouldnt be able to move it around so much and spill it all over the nice clean hutch :( - however when I got a large two storey hutch, was petrified one them would knock it out onto the heads of the girls below - so ended up resorting to metal/stainless steel type ones, easier to clean and they could also get their paws around that as well! . Idon't think a plastic bowl would have worked with so many of them to flip it over. :)

The 70 boars have an assortment:

deep metal dog bowls
shallow metal dog bowls
plastic big plates
ceramic wide plates
a couple of oven roof shallow plates from IKEA (much cheaper than Pet plates)

They have NO problems getting in though we didn't use the huge dog bowls when GP3 was a tiny piglet because he'd have sat in it (and annoyed the bejesus out of GP1 )

The only one I'm not keen to swap is the heavy ceramic one that they have for water - if they have the light one they tip it up,

When we had the two original boars, I gave them a plate of grass. GP1 was straight in there. GP2 came up Om nom nom nom and flipped the plate up into his brothers face
Little git

My two boys have a ceramic one that they are forever tipping over. Drives me bonkers after I spend aggges making it nice and tidy for them and it's a state again within ten minutes .

Thank you chaps. I shall have a look tomorrow. I am definitely getting Current Bun a ceramic bowl as he can easily throw everything else (and does usually at 2am).

I may get the pigs a metal bowl and see how they get on as I'm fed up of them tipping their plastic one over and then looking at me hungrily because their bowl is empty. At least when Current Bun does that he hoovers up.

I noticed in Wilkinsons they have metal ones with hooks to attach to side on cage/hutch, looks pretty secure. May be worth checking out.

Fernie if you look on my profile my lovely Fatimus RIP is pictured paws up on one of her many food bowls . A shallow ceramic bowl with cute pictures of a Dutch guinea pig.

The Fortified pigs also have small ceramic deep rabbit bowls and they're never had trouble getting to the food.

Fortified - I am off now to buy my boys a ceramic bowl like Fatimus (they liked the photo ). Have to get one today as Current Bun has just thrown the plastic bowl again. There were nuggets everywhere - I suspect I shall still be finding some at Christmas.

Smoothpig has tipped up his new ceramic bowl . I had thought it might be too heavy for him but he is a very hefty pig.

Fernie, that was Smoothpig's way of telling you to put more food in the bowl to weigh it down

When I got my very first pig (in 1975 ) the PetShop owner saw the cute bowl I had chosen (tiny like a ramekin) and said "Buy a dog bowl, guinea-pigs like to sit in their food bowls"

He was absolutely right- all of ours sit in or partially on the plates and bowls.
At one stage we had three baby piglets in the food bowl while the nursing sow was trying to get her nose in to eat .

Our GP3 would sit in the bowl, we often found micro-poohs in with the pellets