This is overall the best water bottle on the market.
I have been using this type of water bottle - most of them purchased under this brand - for 27 years. In fact, I still have an old water bottle that says "Quick Quench" on the side. They don't make things like they used to, folks...but I digress. We'll get to that.
I have been raising rodents for as long as I have been using these bottles. I use these Lixit water bottles almost exclusively. I currently own 106 of the 5 oz water bottles and 40 of the 10 oz water bottles. About half of my water bottles are the exact ones being sold here (the other half, older versions, possibly other brands). I wash most of the large and about half of the small water bottles every week in hot soapy water and use a bottle brush.
I have used these water bottles for a wide range of small animals, from the smallest to the largest, from the most common to very exotic. I have also used them for a variety of bird species, from poultry to parrots. Basically, they work for any animal that can drink out of a water bottle. They will also work on virtually any habitat.
This bottle's first downfall is that it can't be mounted on the outside of a cage. However, it can still be hung from the inside of the cage. Which brings us to this bottle's second downfall: the nub on the end of the water bottle which you use to attach a wire hanger can be accessed and chewed off.
The good news is, there is a solution to this problem. You could throw the water bottle away, and continue to replace it and/or find a different one. OR, you could purchase a metal Lixit chew guard/water bottle holder, which comes in two sizes that fit each size water bottle perfectly.
One other con to this water bottle is the awkward, downward-pointing sipper tube. It's awkward, and some animals don't like it. Guinea pigs and hedgehogs especially despise having to use these water bottles. However, this problem can be mitigated by hanging the water bottle at an appropriate height.
The water bottle comes with a single small wire to hang it, which can be bent at different intervals to achieve different heights. If necessary, paper clips can be used to add more length to the wire. It's good to know that the 5 oz water bottle won't work on anything that is shorter than 8 inches in height. It works best on habitats that are 12 inches high.
The reason this bottle has a downward sipper tube is because of its genius escape-proof design: a pill-shaped water bottle. This design makes it extremely difficult for most animals to climb or perch on the water bottle. It also makes the water bottle so chew-resistant that I have never to this day had an animal be able to ruin one of these by chewing it. For not being glass, this water bottle is amazingly tough. Coming from someone who has had a lot of rodents and raises chinchillas, that is something to be said.
There is another reason this design is genius, and it only comes to light when you're washing dozens of water bottles week by week. Because of the wide neck and wide cap, it is extremely easy to wash these water bottles. Bottle brushes glide in and out, accomplishing the job in seconds; they can be rinsed in a flash because the water dumps right out. They can be filled just as easily thanks again to the wide neck. The only con this design produces is that the caps are a little difficult to wrench off, especially on the larger sized ones.
This is the most leak-proof water bottle I've ever used. As long as there are no cracks in the bottle or the lid, the gasket is correctly in place, and the cap is screwed on snugly; it won't leak, no matter how much it gets knocked around. However, it is good to note that if it gets completely knocked over, it will leak when hung up again if the bottle is less than half full. It will also leak if bedding/debris gets lodged in the sipper tube, or if there are sudden temperature changes.
This water bottle will also leak if there are cracks in the water bottle, which is this bottle's last downfall. Over time, the plastic will become cloudy and brittle, and the bottle will develop cracks along the threads where the cap screws on. At first, the cracks are small, and the water bottle just inexplicably keeps leaking. But, if you press around the inner rim of the top of the bottle, you might notice a split in the seams. This cracking issue seems to be especially prevalent in the larger size.
If it weren't for this thread cracking issue, these water bottles would be worth their weight in gold. They're still amazing - but it's really unfortunate that I have to replace them periodically. I would say they only last a few years at best. I had to throw away five this week due to cracked threads, which is why I'm here looking for more and leaving this review.
