Warning - Dwarf Hamsters and Savic Cambridge Cages

[Dusty!]

I just thought I should let you all knwo that I had a svic cambridge for my chinese dwarf hamster Dusty (not with us any more:(), he loved it and there was so much space for him, however the warning is that the space below the hook of the doors was big enough for him to squeeze through!
He couldn't fit through the gabs between but he could fit through here:
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy6/WalnutandBell/cambridgedoor.png

So as a solution we put wire round it (he never chewed it) and he then could not get out:)
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy6/WalnutandBell/DSC09007.jpg

[souffle]

Thanks for the advice Dusty and welcome

[Hope]

Hi Dusty and welcome to HC!

Thanks for the warning :-)

[fluffymunchkins]

Chinese hammies are slim little things

Thankyou for the warning x

[racinghamster]

Door latches can cause issues with mice aswell. What I do is, I cut out a strip of plastic from an old ice cream tub, margarine tub or similar ( about two/three inches square). Cut or melt a `slit` in this where the door latch would fit through. Once the slit is made, place this over the door latch and the plastic then lies flat against the cage door and blocks the hole! :cool:

Because it`s flat and secured through the metal latch by the slit you have made, the hamster or mouse can`t chew it. You just have to make sure when you open and close your cage door that the plastic is flat and secure and not slack. You can actually melt a few holes in each of the corners of the piece of plastic and use thin cable ties to tie it into the door bars to secure it well so that it does`nt move.

[RobeyOs]

This is an excellent review!! Photos, reasoning, and fix, everything enough to convince me not to purchase this product. Thanks for the headsup!

[Faerydae]

I had the same problem with the cage (not the same cage) I kept my first two hamsters in, they were robos but couldn't get through the bars apart from that bit on the door :/

[Camdenita]

Well...I just found my little Winterwhite behind the couch...
I have a Savic Peggy cage for my two girlies and it's the second time that she escapes - probably from the space below the hook of the door! I can't find any other place in the cage that she could squeeze through! Tomorrow i'll buy a zoozone, even though i don't like it that much. I don't want this to happen for a third time! It's totally freaking me out!

[MandyP]

Thanks for letting us know. I am thinking of putting a winter white in there but may change my mind.

[Debbie]

I had my dwarf in a Savic for over 2 years and I'm surprised she didn't find this little hole as she was such an active little soul and climbed and chewed and was all over the cage! Maybe she just wasn't that smart! LOL
It's always useful to know problems like this so we can prevent the same thing happening to our hamsters if we have a similar cage.

[Pickalilly]

Thanks - that probably saved someone from wasting 60 pounds!

[Cartoonist]

I reported this, with your link, to my contact at Savic. Thanks for posting this! I bet that will be reported to their product division to fix this in future.

[Cartoonist]

I got a reply, saying that this cage is only meant for syrian hams, not dwarf. Apparently, they are going to write an article about it on their website and facebook. I wonder if they should put a print on their cages then, saying what type of animal it is for, one that doesn't come off. People who buy cages don't always know this.

[Iluvhamsters]

It would be a good idea if they did put this on their cage, a lot of people don't think to research things like that so info on the cage would help them make the right decision :)

[Cartoonist]

Indeed. Plus, people buy second hand cages, they usually don't go with the original packaging.