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Pebbles82 · 04-14-2019, 01:01 AM

The Barney cage would be a good compromise

It's cheaper than the Alexander and has more floor area. It's £54. The Alexander looks nicer (possibly) with it's curved roof, and it does have almost a full level extra, but I found the extra 4cm depth of the Barney (even though it doesn't sound much) makes it easier to fit a lot of the larger stuff in and still have plenty of floorspace.

20cm extra length doesn't sound much, but with the extra height you can use the roof space as well to attach things.

Now depending on how you want to set it up it may be swings and roundabouts with the Barney and Alexander. The Alexander comes with everything except a wheel. Three shelves, a ladder (which can also be used as a fourth "joining shelf" to make almost a full level) and you just need the wheel. However you are limited as to where you can put the wheel - usually centre back - and still have the shelves - and that can mean missing out the centre shelf at the back (or putting it at the front).

The Barney has a flat roof and you can put the wheel wherever you want. You coild even screw your wood wheel to the top to make more floorspace/substrate under the wheel - like this

See further down this page

suspending wheels

This is the Barney cage - it comes with a good sized house for a syrian and a good shelf. I have it for our Syrian. Painting the inside of the house with plastikote is a good idea so it doesn't get pee-stained. I also paint the shelf but ourhammy has never pee'd on it (of course he probably would have if I hadn't painted it!).

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r_cages/189303

20cm more doesn't sound much, but with a bit more height and a bit more depth it does make a big difference to useable space. The base is also quite deep and can be filled with substrate (with the 7mm bar spacing the substrate doesn't fall out).

I have a comparison photo here. Our Syrian was in a Hamster Heaven equivalent cage before upgrading to the Barney. Identical cage just different bar spacing. (Savic Mickey 2XL).

Just bear in mind the Barney wasn't set up on this photo - I had just stuck a few things in it before working out the best set up. Also mine has different coloured bars (grey instead of black) but the same otherwise.

Attachment 48184

This is what it looked like after being set up

Attachment 48185

What I did find is you do need some overhead cover with the extra height, as well as the shelf, so I found the hanging rat sputniks worked well for that and maybe other things tied to the roof. That partly depends on the hamster. Our current syrian loves the Barney but does like to move around with some overhead cover and have something to sit under, or they can feel a bit exposed from above.

With the Alexander you have plenty of overhead cover with the extra shelves. So that's why I was saying the costs need weighing up as although the Alexander costs more, you don't really need to buy anything else. The Barney costs less - and if you have plenty of toys and extra shelves as well you also may not need to get anything else. But if you did find you needed more "overhead toys" you could end up spending as much on the Barney.

04-14-2019, 01:01 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Is it worth upgrading? The Barney cage would be a good compromise It's cheaper than the Alexander and has more floor area. It's £54. The Alexander looks nicer (possibly) with it's curved roof, and it does have almost a full level extra, but I found the extra 4cm depth of the Barney (even though it doesn't sound much) makes it easier to fit a lot of the larger stuff in and still have plenty of floorspace. 20cm extra length doesn't sound much, but with the extra height you can use the roof space as well to attach things. Now depending on how you want to set it up it may be swings and roundabouts with the Barney and Alexander. The Alexander comes with everything except a wheel. Three shelves, a ladder (which can also be used as a fourth "joining shelf" to make almost a full level) and you just need the wheel. However you are limited as to where you can put the wheel - usually centre back - and still have the shelves - and that can mean missing out the centre shelf at the back (or putting it at the front). The Barney has a flat roof and you can put the wheel wherever you want. You coild even screw your wood wheel to the top to make more floorspace/substrate under the wheel - like this See further down this page suspending wheels This is the Barney cage - it comes with a good sized house for a syrian and a good shelf. I have it for our Syrian. Painting the inside of the house with plastikote is a good idea so it doesn't get pee-stained. I also paint the shelf but ourhammy has never pee'd on it (of course he probably would have if I hadn't painted it!). https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...r_cages/189303 20cm more doesn't sound much, but with a bit more height and a bit more depth it does make a big difference to useable space. The base is also quite deep and can be filled with substrate (with the 7mm bar spacing the substrate doesn't fall out). I have a comparison photo here. Our Syrian was in a Hamster Heaven equivalent cage before upgrading to the Barney. Identical cage just different bar spacing. (Savic Mickey 2XL). Just bear in mind the Barney wasn't set up on this photo - I had just stuck a few things in it before working out the best set up. Also mine has different coloured bars (grey instead of black) but the same otherwise. Attachment 48184 This is what it looked like after being set up Attachment 48185 What I did find is you do need some overhead cover with the extra height, as well as the shelf, so I found the hanging rat sputniks worked well for that and maybe other things tied to the roof. That partly depends on the hamster. Our current syrian loves the Barney but does like to move around with some overhead cover and have something to sit under, or they can feel a bit exposed from above. With the Alexander you have plenty of overhead cover with the extra shelves. So that's why I was saying the costs need weighing up as although the Alexander costs more, you don't really need to buy anything else. The Barney costs less - and if you have plenty of toys and extra shelves as well you also may not need to get anything else. But if you did find you needed more "overhead toys" you could end up spending as much on the Barney. Last edited by Pebbles82; 11-27-2022 at 06:45 PM.