I purchased this birdbath after seeing how 1 of our parakeets kept trying to stick her entire head into the water silo (we sometimes hold the tube without the base up to the birds so they can drink from it before we hang it up). Our parakeet does use the bath every now and then. We do have to splash our fingers in the water to get her attention at times. Our other parakeet doesn't bathe in it at all, as he seems to prefer getting sprayed. When the bath isn't being used to hold water, I like putting shredded carrots into the bowl, or other veggies, since it's nice and wide. For some reason, our birds won't eat carrots from their food dishes, so the bath made a good veggie bowl. Anyways, onto the product itself: Pros ========= -Very sturdy. The plastic is thick, and you can tell that it's made of quality materials. -Easy to install. We have cage with square mesh walls, and the bath installed fine. The plastic plates on the back have ridges that help it stay put whether you're using horizontal or vertical bars. -Easy to remove bowl! The bottom of the bowl has a raised line of plastic that you have to line up with the slot on the holder. After that, you just twist it until you hear a click. It's very very easy, although I can see where one might have some difficulty putting the bowl back in if it's filled with water. I replace the bowl while its empty, so I just throw it on the base holder and shuffle it for a few seconds until I get the parts lined up right. And then I fill it using a cup. No biggie. Cons ======== -It's a little bulky. I wouldn't recommend this for a smaller cage. I have a pretty large cage, but between the branches and toys, it was hard finding a good place for the bowl. I'm not sure why the bath needed to be on such a large pedestal, but whatever. :D -I didn't deduct any points for this, but I would have liked to see a screw cap fastener instead. That way, you can hide the unsightly screw, or prevent scratches from bumping into it if the cage is in a location where you might walk past and graze your arm on something sticking out. Screw caps are also easier to screw than the little metal thing that comes with this set. -Because of the locking mechanism on the bottom of the bowl, you can't set it flat on a surface, which means you can't put it down anywhere if you have water in it. I didn't mind, since I carry the bowl straight from the cage to the toilet for emptying, and after I clean it, I return it to the cage empty and then fill it after I lock it. I have a cup next to the cage specifically for filling the bowl, so it's not a big hassle. -A little shallow. Filling it to the top seems like a good depth, but when the birds jump in, the water overflows a bit, so I now fill the bowl around 2/3 full. It doesn't seem like a lot of water, but I don't think the birds mind. On the plus side, the height is good for perching on the rim for some veggie eating! Updates: I've had this bath for around 9 months now, and it's holding up wonderfully. The fastener still holds very tightly. I clean the bath daily, and I love that it's easy to clean! Both parakeets prefer drinking out of the bath instead of their water tube now. The one still won't bathe in it, but the other loves running through the bowl. Every now and then, I get lazy and put the bowl in with the water already in there. If I'm lucky, I can hold the bowl steady enough to not slosh the water out while I feel around the base to line up the parts. Luckily, my cage setup is forgiving with water splashes, so it's not a huge deal. I can see this being annoying if you're a very busy person who doesn't have time to fill the bowl with a separate glass, or if you have a setup where slight spillage will be an issue if you plan on putting the bowl in with water already in it. Anyways, still loving the bath!
