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bobo · 01-01-2015, 11:16 AM

Hey everyone! i just got my hamster's new cage and I thought I might as well do a detailed review on it~

Here's a small back story~ This is my first hamster so I made the mistake of purchasing one of those National Geographic Exploration Loft starter kits and it was WAY too small for my Syrian hamster. So I ordered this cage from the UK (since I live in the US and I can't get it here) and got it at a pretty darn good price. However, it took nearly a month to arrive so my little hamster had to deal with the tight space until I got it. Granted, after that fiasco, the seller stopped shipping to the US >.<; cough*

Anyways, here are some pictures!

And the pro and cons~

PROS

Size - Of course, most of us get this cage because of the size. This cage was a lot bigger than I imagined. Though the description of the cage says 80 x 50 x 50cm (32 x 20 x 20in), the actual cage portion is 35cm (14in) in height and the extra 15cm (6in) is the little penthouse that sticks out. Regardless, this cage is still MASSIVELY big for my Syrian hamster. With the attached layers, she has plenty of room to explore and run around. Like literally, on her first day, she was frolicking in joy in the cage. It truly was a hamster heaven for my little Winnie :3
Accessories - I absolutely LOVE the accessories this cage came with. A penthouse, tubes, perfect size wheel, toilet with little shovel, two hideout huts, two ramps, two food bowls, a water bottle, and the two layered floors. Even with all this stuff, I was able to stuff my hamster's old toys, critter bath, corner tray and wooden ramp with plenty of space left in the cage.
Good Quality Material - At first I thought the quality of the cage was kinda bad since it felt pretty light versus the cage door on my previous cage. But it actually makes it easier to move around / clean and it has secure handles on the side to keep the top of the cage locked in. My hamster isn't much of a biter, but if she was, I doubt she'd be able to chew / cause an issue on the bars.
Endless Customization - The great part of this cage is the fact that you don't have to use everything it comes with and you can customize it the way you want. If you don't like the penthouse, that's ok, you can take it off and you can still close off the hole. Same goes with the tubes and the ramps. Bars on the cages go both horizontal on the long 80cm side and vertical on the 50cm with a open slit going horizontally on the top of the 50cm side. This gives you the variety of clipping onto your own additional things.

CONS

Price - Most common con for this cage is definitely the price. I cried a little watching my money burn for this cage. But in the end, I think it was well worth it for the size. Mostly because most of the cages in the US are way too small and if you tried to get a bigger one, you'd only find ones for guinea pigs / rabbits with bars being way too far apart for hamsters (this cage has bars 1cm apart btw!). As for the price, I got this cage for GBP 101.65 or roughly $160 USD including international shipping. Other common searches have this cage for around $200-300 with shipping so... yeah... it can be difficult to get outside the UK.
Accessories - Funny how a pro can also be a con. I only have two accessories I have some issues with.
First, the ramps are way too steep and doesn't have enough friction to grip onto. They were more like slides than ramps lol. Unless you plan to fill the cage with like... 3 inches of bedding, it can be very difficult for hamsters to climb up on. I noticed my hamster got fed up with the ramps and just climbed straight up to the floor with all her mighty front-leg hamster muscles. In the end, it's just easier to replace those ramps / add wooden ramps to make it easier for your hamster to get up to the next floor.
Second, the lock on the wheel doesn't really stay locked. It twisted and fell right off when my hamster started running on it. In order to prevent that from happening, I used a little hairstyle to secure it in place and that was fine. I also added a bit of olive oil to the axel to make it less squeaky and more smooth. Otherwise, this 7.5 in wheel is fairly decent and is a perfect size for my baby syrian hamster.
Cage Instructions - Oh wait, there isn't any. As you can see in the picture above, this cage comes with no instructions on how to assemble everything. It's not a major problem though. The most confusing part was just the tubes, but other than that, it wasn't that difficult to put together since you can just stare at the picture and figure it out.
Cleaning - I haven't gotten there yet but I can tell this cage will take forever and a year to clean. Due to the size, it does use a lot of bedding so prepare for that. Additionally, I noticed my hamster LOVES to curl up, sleep, store food and poop in those tubes =v=. That's the worst part to clean but luckily those tubes break apart in half so you don't need a bottle brush or anything. My only worry is that my Syrian hamster is only about 5 months old and may get too big for these tubes. As you can see in the tube picture above, she's already somewhat snug in there.

OVERALL SUMMARY
Here are my final thoughts on this cage. It's a great cage for Syrians and definitely dwarf hamsters as well. It truly does live up to its "hamster heaven" name but the price is the only major downside. Otherwise, if you can find a cheaper similar size cage with bars not too far apart for your hamsters, you can easily modify it to make it be just the same. It's only the penthouse and tubes that add extra variety to the cage. The price is probably mostly because of all the random accessories you might end up replacing with your own stuff anyways.

Hopefully this review helps and if you guys have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave them here

Lastly, I'll leave you guys with a video of my hamster entering the cage for the first time.

http://youtu.be/hP6XyvKz690

01-01-2015, 11:16 AM
bobo Newborn Pup Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: CA Posts: 10	Hamster Haven Metro Cage - review Hey everyone! i just got my hamster's new cage and I thought I might as well do a detailed review on it~ Here's a small back story~ This is my first hamster so I made the mistake of purchasing one of those National Geographic Exploration Loft starter kits and it was WAY too small for my Syrian hamster. So I ordered this cage from the UK (since I live in the US and I can't get it here) and got it at a pretty darn good price. However, it took nearly a month to arrive so my little hamster had to deal with the tight space until I got it. Granted, after that fiasco, the seller stopped shipping to the US >.<; cough* Anyways, here are some pictures! And the pro and cons~ PROS Size - Of course, most of us get this cage because of the size. This cage was a lot bigger than I imagined. Though the description of the cage says 80 x 50 x 50cm (32 x 20 x 20in), the actual cage portion is 35cm (14in) in height and the extra 15cm (6in) is the little penthouse that sticks out. Regardless, this cage is still MASSIVELY big for my Syrian hamster. With the attached layers, she has plenty of room to explore and run around. Like literally, on her first day, she was frolicking in joy in the cage. It truly was a hamster heaven for my little Winnie :3 Accessories - I absolutely LOVE the accessories this cage came with. A penthouse, tubes, perfect size wheel, toilet with little shovel, two hideout huts, two ramps, two food bowls, a water bottle, and the two layered floors. Even with all this stuff, I was able to stuff my hamster's old toys, critter bath, corner tray and wooden ramp with plenty of space left in the cage. Good Quality Material - At first I thought the quality of the cage was kinda bad since it felt pretty light versus the cage door on my previous cage. But it actually makes it easier to move around / clean and it has secure handles on the side to keep the top of the cage locked in. My hamster isn't much of a biter, but if she was, I doubt she'd be able to chew / cause an issue on the bars. Endless Customization - The great part of this cage is the fact that you don't have to use everything it comes with and you can customize it the way you want. If you don't like the penthouse, that's ok, you can take it off and you can still close off the hole. Same goes with the tubes and the ramps. Bars on the cages go both horizontal on the long 80cm side and vertical on the 50cm with a open slit going horizontally on the top of the 50cm side. This gives you the variety of clipping onto your own additional things. CONS Price - Most common con for this cage is definitely the price. I cried a little watching my money burn for this cage. But in the end, I think it was well worth it for the size. Mostly because most of the cages in the US are way too small and if you tried to get a bigger one, you'd only find ones for guinea pigs / rabbits with bars being way too far apart for hamsters (this cage has bars 1cm apart btw!). As for the price, I got this cage for GBP 101.65 or roughly $160 USD including international shipping. Other common searches have this cage for around $200-300 with shipping so... yeah... it can be difficult to get outside the UK. Accessories - Funny how a pro can also be a con. I only have two accessories I have some issues with. First, the ramps are way too steep and doesn't have enough friction to grip onto. They were more like slides than ramps lol. Unless you plan to fill the cage with like... 3 inches of bedding, it can be very difficult for hamsters to climb up on. I noticed my hamster got fed up with the ramps and just climbed straight up to the floor with all her mighty front-leg hamster muscles. In the end, it's just easier to replace those ramps / add wooden ramps to make it easier for your hamster to get up to the next floor. Second, the lock on the wheel doesn't really stay locked. It twisted and fell right off when my hamster started running on it. In order to prevent that from happening, I used a little hairstyle to secure it in place and that was fine. I also added a bit of olive oil to the axel to make it less squeaky and more smooth. Otherwise, this 7.5 in wheel is fairly decent and is a perfect size for my baby syrian hamster. Cage Instructions - Oh wait, there isn't any. As you can see in the picture above, this cage comes with no instructions on how to assemble everything. It's not a major problem though. The most confusing part was just the tubes, but other than that, it wasn't that difficult to put together since you can just stare at the picture and figure it out. Cleaning - I haven't gotten there yet but I can tell this cage will take forever and a year to clean. Due to the size, it does use a lot of bedding so prepare for that. Additionally, I noticed my hamster LOVES to curl up, sleep, store food and poop in those tubes =v=. That's the worst part to clean but luckily those tubes break apart in half so you don't need a bottle brush or anything. My only worry is that my Syrian hamster is only about 5 months old and may get too big for these tubes. As you can see in the tube picture above, she's already somewhat snug in there. OVERALL SUMMARY Here are my final thoughts on this cage. It's a great cage for Syrians and definitely dwarf hamsters as well. It truly does live up to its "hamster heaven" name but the price is the only major downside. Otherwise, if you can find a cheaper similar size cage with bars not too far apart for your hamsters, you can easily modify it to make it be just the same. It's only the penthouse and tubes that add extra variety to the cage. The price is probably mostly because of all the random accessories you might end up replacing with your own stuff anyways. Hopefully this review helps and if you guys have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave them here Lastly, I'll leave you guys with a video of my hamster entering the cage for the first time. http://youtu.be/hP6XyvKz690 Last edited by souffle; 01-14-2015 at 09:13 AM.