Looking for imput on Automatic watering for rats?

[dself40]

I was just wondering if anyone could give me some ideas of what they use on the Automatic Watering system for there rodents.I have setup several colonies of mice and rats and built racks for them and have food bins that will last all week looking to put in the auto watering system but havent found one I like.Any help would be helpful...And links please or the website name.Thanks in advance

[Mark and Aimee]

http://www.agselect.com/ED/Category.cfm?&DID=11&CATID=12

They've got everything you need... And probably a lot of stuff you don't need ;-)

[dself40]

Thanks a bunch for the Link Mark and Aimee.I am gone shopping now. lol

[Clay Davenport]

I use supplies from agselect as well. There's no way I'd raise rodents without an auto watering system. The initial cost makes setting up a colony a bit more expensive, but the time saved in the long run quickly makes up for it.

I might offer a couple of suggestions. First, use the bucket as a supply source rather than hard piping it. You will eventually have a flood, it happens to everybody. With a bucket though, the size of the flood is limited to the contents of the bucket. You can imagine the result if there is a continual water source.
You can supply your own bucket and just buy the valve from agselect and save a few dollars.

The second thing I have found is that I had some sort of slime that would develop inside the water lines. This would clog the lines and prevent the rodents from getting water. It required removal and disassembly of the valve and purging the lines to get the water flowing again.
My water source is untreated well water, so if you're on municipal water this may not be an issue.
I found a table spoon of chlorox in the 2.5 gallon resevior eliminated this problem. When I refill the bucket, if I can still smell a faint scent of chlorine, I don't add any until the next refill.