Debi1987
08-15-2014, 01:17 PM
Wanted to do a cage review of the Habitrail Ovo range as know this cage gets quite a lot of bad press for being really tiny and having a lot of faults.
I own a Savic Micky 2xl cage which is a big cage and it houses three female dwarfs (mother and two daughters) but when I was looking for a second cage to house a male Campbell dwarf and his son I needed to find something slimmer as didn't have the space for another cage like the Savic Micky. I struggled to find a cage that would fit on my units. They were either really tiny or far too big so I started looking at the Ovo. Watched lots and lots of videos on youtube and went back and forth on the idea for at least a week. I finally ordered the Ovo suite which came with a Maze, transport pod, a den, hideout/food bowl and water bottle.
This alone I agree is far too small for two dwarfs and feel that Habitrail should not be advertising this as a suitable cage, I added two other mazes, a mini maze, another den and another transport unit. Even after ordering all the extras I think it only still cost me around £60/£70 with buying most items off ebay (new from a shop)
I've had this cage now for 5 weeks and I must say I've grown to love it, it looks fab and everyone that sees it comments on how nice a cage it is. It is really well made and the locks that hold it all together are very easy to use.
My two dwarfs seem very happy in this, they love the little dens and the mini maze which had a cardboard thing in it to chew is a big hit. The whole front of all pods open up which make accessing your hamster very easy. Even though we are now in summer and have had a few very hot days there doesn't seem to be a problem with ventilation and I've not experienced any condensation on the inside of the cage.
Cleaning it was easy, most of the time I just need to empty each pod which takes me about 10 minutes to get all bedding out all the pods, and give it a quick Hoover and then put clean bedding in, really only have to clean one tunnel that they tend to pee in every few days. Cleaning takes me about 25 minutes in total which don't think is bad at all. I've gave it one really good clean where I popped everything in the shower, that took me 50 minutes to empty dirty bedding, take it all apart, shower it all out, dry it, put it back together and fill it. I think I will only need to go this every couple of months though.
The water bottle - again everyone says this is really bad and leaks. Mine has not leaked once, as long as you fill it all the way to the top it won't leak, actually leaks far less than a normal water bottle. Another thing people have said is their hamster can't use it. My dwarfs have had no problem at all using it, I even put in a normal water bottle as was worried they wouldn't be able to use the ovo one but they chose to use the ovo one over the normal one so took that one out.
Overall I think it's a fab cage as long as you buy enough units. Mine are all on one level since dwarfs aren't the best climbers.
I own a Savic Micky 2xl cage which is a big cage and it houses three female dwarfs (mother and two daughters) but when I was looking for a second cage to house a male Campbell dwarf and his son I needed to find something slimmer as didn't have the space for another cage like the Savic Micky. I struggled to find a cage that would fit on my units. They were either really tiny or far too big so I started looking at the Ovo. Watched lots and lots of videos on youtube and went back and forth on the idea for at least a week. I finally ordered the Ovo suite which came with a Maze, transport pod, a den, hideout/food bowl and water bottle.
This alone I agree is far too small for two dwarfs and feel that Habitrail should not be advertising this as a suitable cage, I added two other mazes, a mini maze, another den and another transport unit. Even after ordering all the extras I think it only still cost me around £60/£70 with buying most items off ebay (new from a shop)
I've had this cage now for 5 weeks and I must say I've grown to love it, it looks fab and everyone that sees it comments on how nice a cage it is. It is really well made and the locks that hold it all together are very easy to use.
My two dwarfs seem very happy in this, they love the little dens and the mini maze which had a cardboard thing in it to chew is a big hit. The whole front of all pods open up which make accessing your hamster very easy. Even though we are now in summer and have had a few very hot days there doesn't seem to be a problem with ventilation and I've not experienced any condensation on the inside of the cage.
Cleaning it was easy, most of the time I just need to empty each pod which takes me about 10 minutes to get all bedding out all the pods, and give it a quick Hoover and then put clean bedding in, really only have to clean one tunnel that they tend to pee in every few days. Cleaning takes me about 25 minutes in total which don't think is bad at all. I've gave it one really good clean where I popped everything in the shower, that took me 50 minutes to empty dirty bedding, take it all apart, shower it all out, dry it, put it back together and fill it. I think I will only need to go this every couple of months though.
The water bottle - again everyone says this is really bad and leaks. Mine has not leaked once, as long as you fill it all the way to the top it won't leak, actually leaks far less than a normal water bottle. Another thing people have said is their hamster can't use it. My dwarfs have had no problem at all using it, I even put in a normal water bottle as was worried they wouldn't be able to use the ovo one but they chose to use the ovo one over the normal one so took that one out.
Overall I think it's a fab cage as long as you buy enough units. Mine are all on one level since dwarfs aren't the best climbers.