Presenting your water bottles in conjunction with replacement parts and bottle brushes presents your business as a one-stop solution to bottle problems. One glance at an online discussion group for hamster, guinea pigs, ferrets and other small animal hobbyists and you’ll see the need for problem solving solutions to the dilemmas faced by these consumers.

The Problem:
Leaky bottle caps.

Your Solution:
Provide replacement rubber o-rings for the lids of the bottles you carry. They are often found near the garden hoses in lawn and garden stores, but work perfectly for stopping drippy bottle lids. Buy them wherever you can find them and sell them individually for a few cents. Every small mammal customer with a leaky water bottle – and that’s most of them – will thank you for the quick fix. If that doesn’t dampen the drip, recommend a new bottle.

The Problem:
Difficult to clean nozzles.

Your Solution:
Stock every size of bottle brush you can find. Some people have exacting standards for their pets and want a brush to reach every nook and cranny in the bottle. Even the tiniest of brushes will find a market with someone who insists on cleaning every inch of their pet’s most important device.

If a customer wants to be sure every space gets scrubbed free of algae and harmful bacteria, suggest a tablespoon of coarse kosher salt added to the bottle filled halfway with water. A vigorous shaking and thorough rinsing should cover the bases.

The Problem:
Bacterial overgrowth.

Your Solution:
Boil, burn and desiccate microscopic pests into oblivion. Animal saliva, bits of food and other waste often find their way into a pet’s water bottle.

Concerned owners are always looking for ways to ensure their animals remain safe from these harmful pathogens. Three methods are effective in destroying these invisible bugs.

Boil: if the plastic is of the high-temperature, polycarbonate variety, boiling it in water for up to five minutes kills most bacteria.

Burn: also, the acidity of vinegar proves too much for most bacteria. After a 15 to 20-minute soak, harmful agents should be long gone.

Desiccate: UV rays from the sun also destroy many organisms that thrive in darkness. Placing the bottle in full sun for a few hours should suffice.

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