Unsolicited Advice: Ceramic bowls

Storms are settling in here, which means it's the perfect time to write. The last few days have been a blur of long walks, floor time with various pocket pets, and running errands. So, it's nice to take a minute and type a few things out.

When it comes to food dishes, ceramic bowls are where it's at! And I'm not talking about just the rodents; I mean everybody.
There are two main reasons why ceramic is used in this house - unchewable and easy to clean.
When selecting bowls for rodents, you have to choose something they can chew. Plastic is a big no-no, especially for chinchillas. Hiddleston, my oldest chinchilla, is using the same ceramic radish dish that my chinchilla from college used. It's a bowl with a lot of miles and a lot of meals, and still, it's in perfect condition.

The Guinea pigs have two ceramic bowls - one for their Oxbow food and one for their fresh veggies. Now, sometimes, I hide their green pepper slices and chunks of celery around their enclosure for some mental stimulation, but for the most part it ends up in a little cat dish I found. Originally, this dish was Chili Pepper's Christmas present this past year. However, you'll find that when you have a few rodents in separate cages, things get moved around. One critter might like that pet's food dish better or this piece of furniture fits in that one's cage easier. I don't think Chili has noticed or cared. He got a much bigger dish out of the switch, so he's pretty happy. His current dish was supposed to be in the Guinea pig cage. The dish mounted to the side of the cage so it cant be knocked over. However, because of the mount, the dish was much too tall for Guinea pigs. It was a pretty simple switch there.

Even Bindi and the cats have ceramic dishes. Bindi isn't a chewer, even when she's bored, so I had no worried about her gnawing on her food bowl. Still, it's a really nice bowl, and I wouldn't dream of replacing it. Now, the cats have a one-of-the-kind masterpiece created by me. About three years ago, I made this triple bowl at a paint-your-own-pottery place. The sticker said it was a serving bowl platter thing. I saw a three-cat food dish. I painted each bowl for each of my three cats at the time - Sparta, Castiel, and Rameses. Each got his own color, the initial of his name, and a symbol to go with his name on the bottom of the bowl. Sparta has a Spartan sword and shield. Castiel has the "Supernatural" TV show symbol. Rameses had the Eye of Horus. Sadly, Rameses is no longer with us after traveling over the Rainbow Bridge nearly a year ago due to a heart defect. I remember him with love each time I see the bowl.

Ceramic is also easy to clean. The edges and surface are smooth so there's no tough scrubbing. I even have an easy time when something, like wet tomato seeds or a wet lettuce flake, is stuck to it.
If you'd like more information, as well as cons to using ceramic, check out this cool webpage with all you need to know about ceramic!