100cm Barney refiew

[Bertiebobbins]

Thought I'd post this as the other Barney review is for the 80cm one, and it has since been updated to be 100cm long.

Both my hams have a Barney cage. The dimensions at the widest point is 100 x 50 x 45cm (LxWxH). I got them from Zooplus, the regular price is £59.99 but it's often on offer for £49.99 which includes free delivery. This a good quality, well priced cage I'd highly recommend.

Firstly, the cage comes in a whacking great box, which doubles as a handy hamster playpen for taming! The mesh arrives complete as it doesn't fold away for storage.

The cage comes with a wooden platform, ramp and a decent sized wooden corner house with a door big enough for a Syrian, which is quite unusual for a cage specifically for hamsters! (Shown in Glowy's cage, Nibble has a different house). The wood isn't treated, so you might want to plastikote it (I didn't). The cage also comes with a decent sized wheel which would be fine for a baby Syrian or a dwarf (8" ish). Again, this is unusual for a hamster size cage, and great as a starter option. I can't comment on the quality of the wheel as my hams both have other, bigger wheels.

The bar spacing is 7mm, so would be suitable for bigger dwarfs and Syrians. The bar quality is really good, and there are no big gaps which might let out a small ham. The mesh on the top door overlaps the cage wires so no gaps there.

It comes with two plastic handles to attach to the cage top, and two clips to attach the wire to the base. The cage has fittings on the base which the long sides clip into securely, so you only need two clips on the short sides. It's pretty heavy to lift around once you have the ham and all accoutrements installed, you'd need two people to lift the whole thing really so it's certainly not a portable cage.

The cage has two very small front doors (bigger arms could easily get stuck in them lol!) and one very large top door. Nibble's previous cage (Alaka) had two big doors, top and front, and although I'd love a big front door I'm not missing it as much as I thought. I was able to set the cage up for Nibble easily, transplanting his old setup to the new cage exactly the same, so access isn't an issue. The other reason I wanted a front door was because I know hams don't like thinks coming from above, and our baby Glowy wasn't yet 6 weeks before he went into the Barney and I didn't like the idea of always looming down from above whilst trying to tame him. However this hasn't been a problem, he doesn't mind me reaching down from above, and he will happily march right out of the small doors already.

The cage base is deep enough for a decent layer of substrate - both hams have 3 bags of Carefresh in there and manage to dig themselves lovely tunnels. Glowy nests in the substrate and hasn't had to pile any up, he just dug straight down.

As you can see from the pics, there's plenty of room for a big wheel, both are 11" trixie wheels. Glowy's has the stand resting on two bendy bridges and cable tied to the cage (he likes to move his wheel around!) and Nibble's has the stand attached to the top of the cage with cable ties. Both arrangements seem to work well.

This cage offers lots of space to be able to offer your ham plenty to do. Glowy has a climbing arrangement by the Sputnik as he likes to climb, Nibble has a couple of sputniks linked together as an extra level, as he isn't a climber at all. By the way, the purple tubes from p@h fit perfectly in the openings for the rat sized sputniks, and even the biggest Syrian hams can use them (Nibble, I'm looking at you!), all the others I tried were too big. I like them because the hams can't fall off them!

Overall, I'd highly recommend this cage. I changed Nibble from an Alaska because the quality of the Alaska isn't great. For £15 more (the Alaska is usually £35) I'd get this because the accessories are better quality, dimensions are better, bars have smaller spacing and overall it's a better quality cage. It doesn't take up that much room either!

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w49/paddyhorseuk/Mobile%20Uploads/image1_zpszdjqxpri.jpg (http://s173.photobucket.com/user/paddyhorseuk/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image1_zpszdjqxpri.jpg.html)

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w49/paddyhorseuk/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsypuivpcu.jpg (http://s173.photobucket.com/user/paddyhorseuk/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsypuivpcu.jpg.html)

[Coco61]

This is a very good review by BB. I also have a new Barney and can add only a little.
First, it does not come with protection inside the box. Below is the damage to mine. Thanks to earlier advice on HC I acted at once and took the photo below. I emailed zooplus the same evening and received a reply next morning. I was offered £25 credit if I wanted to keep the cage. My husband managed to fix it as there were 3 pieces broken and it needed duct tape reinforcement underneath but is fine now. So mine was half price!

[Coco61]

Next is my set up now. I did not use plastickote as I knew it was not needed.

[Coco61]

Finally, another view. I transferred Mocho's 2 storey Guinea pig house which is on the right and his main food bowl is upstairs so he can eat under cover! The house that comes with the barney now sits on the shelf and is his secondary feeding area where treats can be found. There is plenty of space for all sorts of hidey places and toys. 2 sputniks and rat tubes between make an excellent safe upper area.

[Bertiebobbins]

One of mine came in a box battered to heck but totally intact, the other had a big dent to the bars in the top corner which couldn't have been caused in transit as the box was totally intact, it must have been there when it was boxed before zooplus got it. You can see the dent in Glowy's pic in the top back right corner. I got a 50% refund for that one too!

[Pebbles82]

Great Barney reviews and photos!

[Coco61]

I knew I had forgotten one thing! I use the classic water bottles. No problem with the hamster heaven bars at 1cm. The barney is 7mm spacing and so the water bottle spout forces the bars slightly out of alignment when hung up.

[Bertiebobbins]

I use a red classic mouse bottle for Glowy and notice it forcing the bars apart a bit, doesn't bother me and I don't push it through the same bars every time. Nibble has a blue classic universal bottle which doesn't push the bars apart so much.

[Pebbles82]

I have 7mm bar spacing on Charlie's Savic Mickey 2XL. He was very nervous when he was a baby and hated the scraping noise of the bottle going through the bars, so I used a bottle stand inside the cage and am now using this Ferplast Drinky 75ml bottle which has a clip that clips to the inside of the bars - works well if you're interested.

Fpi 4660 Drinky75 Drinky B. (http://www.portonaquapet.co.uk/-M42882?gclid=CjwKEAiA1JuyBRCogJLz4J71kj0SJADsd6QR8 XfB0EwR7wLpzJWFrHuI_85XtgNxN46leFUCKZyFdRoCM-7w_wcB)

[Coco61]

I actually bought a living world water bottle and holder at the same time as the cage (free postage!) I have not used it yet while Mocho is young and fit and can go up the slope to a bottle. My idea is to stand it inside the cage when I think he needs something lower and nearer to his house.

[virtualkeith]

Very nice review Bertie!

[Bertiebobbins]

I've put the ferplast bottles on my to get list after Charlie's cage tour!

[Wookiee]

Fab review, I'm still pondering upgrading to a Barney from the Alaska.

We originally bought a PAH cage (I know...) and it had a clip on bottle holder, which we now use with the Alaska and a red classic bottle, as the metal hook that came with it was driving me crackers, whichever side I hooked it!

[Bertiebobbins]

I've just upgraded Nibble from the Alaska to the Barney, and I wish I'd just got the bigger cage to start with - I thought I couldn't fit the 100cm in, but it's not that much bigger but does offer a noticeably large space for the ham. Also it's better quality so better value for money, my Alaska started breaking pretty quickly, bars bending irreparably and bars coming away from the frame.

I started out with a weeny small cage aswell, I think the majority of us probably did!

[Pebbles82]

Me too - we started out with a Rotostak 3 story thing. Within the first week or two I thought Charlie seemed a bit lethargic and started searching for info about hamster cages and this forum kept coming up! Within 3 weeks he had grown quite large and got stuck in one of the vertical tubes - so I ordered a cage late at night for next day delivery. I rearranged the living room to make space for an 80cm cage and by the time I'd finished I actually had space for a 100cm cage - I have regretted ever since not getting the 100cm Alexander in the first place! At the time the Barney was 80cm. I ordered that and the Savic Mickey 2XL. The Savic cage arrived next day so I kept that. The 80cm Barney took 5 days to get there and I could see it was a slightly bigger cage - the extra few centimetres depth and height make a difference, never mind the length. But too late, I'd already started using the Savic. The Mickey 2XL is a great cage - if it was the size of a 100cm Barney!

It's all about perspective. You think an 80cm cage looks huge. And then you get used to the look of it, it doesn't seem so big and then a 100cm one doesn't seem that big either! I'm craving 120cm cage now lol.

[flowerfairy]

Great review. I love Woodstock's barney cage.

Shelf on the left with a ceramic water bowl on (near the front left door)
Corner litter tray with chinchilla sand under shelf (back left of cage)
The lovely wooden house front right of cage near right front door
cardboard box full of fitch behind the house
trixie wheel back centre of cage
hammock above the house (he hasnt seen it yet)

Loads of fitch over most of the cage, up to the brs. Bendy bridges protect the wheel from being fitched over!

Going to try hanging the wheel from the roof. Great tip.

[Pebbles82]

Charlie's Wobust wheel is hung from the roof and spins much better like that! You just take the wheel off the stand, slot the spindle of the stand through the top bars (a few bars from the back - needs to be clear of the base so it doesn't rub against it), then reattach the wheel to the spindle. I have 3 cable ties attaching the base of the stand to the top of the cage to keep it steady and it's firm as a rock like that. At first I put loads of cable ties on but that wasn't good, it meant the wheel hung at a funny angle - three cable ties was just right to hold the right bits of the stand in the right places and let the wheel hang at the right angle (I think sometimes the base isn't completely flat so fastening down all round means the wheel doesn't hang straight).

Here's a photo of what I mean - although our stand is bigger as it's a 30cm Wobust wheel rather than a 27cm Wodent wheel. Is yours a Wodent or Trixie wheel? I wasn't sure how strong the stand was on the Trixie wheel for staying attached to the wheel - the one I had pulled out too easily.

I think the only place to attach the stand to the roof in the Barney is either at one end - ie back side of the cage, or maybe only left or right end of cage - so as not to get caught up with the top door.

[Bertiebobbins]

Mine have the trixie wheels. I wasn't sure about hanging the stand as I wasn't sure if the wheel attached securely enough to the stand, but so far so good and I check it every day. I had it hung from the bars without the stand in the Alaska. I'm getting him a wobust wodent wheel soon tho.

[Wookiee]

Bertiebobbins, how did you find the Trixie wheel hung from the bars? I tried this but it didn't seem to spin as freely as it does on the stand. On the other hand, it's annoying me having to have an area of sloping substrate to accommodate the wheel on the stand - I'm have to use a small bendy bridge to stop a landslide.

I want to get a wodent wheel but my husband might actually kill me as I only ordered the Trixie a couple of weeks ago. There were no wodent wheels in stock and Chewie was in desperate need of a bigger wheel. Law of sod, they appeared in stock a couple of days later.

[flowerfairy]

Mine is a black wheel with a spiral in the middle cant remember the make. Havent tried hanging it up yet. I like the colour of your wheel Serendipity. Much nicer than Woodstocks black one...

[Pebbles82]

The one with the swirly spiral is the Trixie wheel. I didn't get a choice of colour with mine - pet planet was the only place that had the Wobust wheel and it arrived very dirty and with the sticker missing! If I got one again I'd get it from Rodipet - price is about the same even with postage and they also have a fairly good colour choice and sell spare parts.

Wookie - is the Trixie wheel big enough for Chewie? The 27cm wodent wheel is slightly smaller. Fine for the average syrian, but Charlie is quite big and I had to go up to the 30cm Wobust wheel.

Bertie - whereabouts in the cage were you able to hang the wheel from? Just wondered how much the top door limits hanging placement.

I actually think the Wobust wheel is safer hung upside down as the gap between the stand and the wheel is then at the top. When it was on the cage floor, Charlie tried to run behind it once and got his leg trapped between the stand and the wheel. He was having a rather frantic moment after our return from holiday and he wouldn't have got trapped if he had stopped trying to run and just gone back the way he came! But he got even more frantic when his leg got trapped and tried to run harder and got stuck. This might not be an issue with the 27cm Wodent wheel as I'm guessing there is less of a gap between the stand and the wheel. Can't remember.

[Bertiebobbins]

The cage bars on top from back to the edge of the top door measure 5.5" and the trixie wheel stand measures 4", so it fits in fine with room to spare.

[Pebbles82]

Ooh that sounds good. The Wobust wheel stand is quite big. Can't remember how big but I think it would need to sit beyond the door.

[flowerfairy]

I have put a large flat stone on Woodstock's wheel base as it kept moving when he was on it and rubbing against the shelf. Its great now.

I took his digging box out as he wasnt digging in it at all and has deep substrate anyway.

Considering a Christmas rat sputnik next ...

[Pebbles82]

That sounds good FF. If you get it from Zooplus, they also sell hemp mats - they're quite large so last for ages. I cut a circle out of one and put it in the bottom of Charlie's rat sputnik so it makes it cosy and he liked sitting in it more after that.

Nests & Nesting Materials at zooplus: Hemp Floor for Small Animals (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/hay_and_bedding/hemp_bedding_small_pets/182988)

[flowerfairy]

Aww a cosy nest liner. Good idea. I have just ordered a wooden wheel for him (black friday and all that). It will match his cage better than the black one!

Finding those teeny front doors annoying though.

[Pebbles82]

Is that for getting things in and out of the cage or for getting your hammy in and out? I think some people put a hand through the top and one through the side, to manoevre things.

[SugarFairy123]

Great cage setup and very helpful review! Thanks :)

[flowerfairy]

Is that for getting things in and out of the cage or for getting your hammy in and out? I think some people put a hand through the top and one through the side, to manoevre things.

Yeah its for manoevres and getting stuff in and out. I just find the doors so fiddly. Mind you I still love the cage. Its so roomy and the top door fits all the big things like wheels and hamster houses.

[Bertiebobbins]

The small doors really are stupid aren't they, it's annoying I can't fit Nibble's food bowl through it, but I try pretty much every day lol!

[Pebbles82]

Bertie - do you have any tips for attaching the handles and the side clips. I may have been having a 'dur' moment but can't seem to work out how to attach the side clips! The handles look like a bit of force is needed. Having said that, the top is so well clipped into the base with those sticky out bits round the top of the base, I can't seem to get it off again lol.

[Bertiebobbins]

I've only put the handles on, and it took some brute force to get them on! The top of the cage is so heavy I found that the big blue clips werent necessary. I use one to pull the cage out of the clips on the base when I need to take the wire bit off.

[Pebbles82]

Ah that last bit is a great idea! Because the back clip on the base is so well clipped in I can't get the top off lol. I guess the blue clips are necessary if you want to pick the cage up by the handles at some point. For now I'll leave them off I think.

[Pebbles82]

A couple of things I'd like to add to your review! The base is great! Really deep! It's quoted as 16cm deep I think, but is deeper than my current cage which has a 16cm base. The Barney base on mine actually measures 17cm at the highest point and seems really deep - with the substrate piled up a bit in the middle I've got at least 20cm of substrate in and it manages that easily without coming out through the sides.

I also think the small doors at the front could be good for sticking one of those long flexible tubes in, so a hamster can come in and out of the cage into a playpen for example.

Pricewise - I think it needs extra shelves and hammocks and sputniks, and that the Alexander might actually work out cheaper due to coming with the three shelves and having less high areas to think about.

Someone once measured the internal height of the Alexander for me and I think it was 45 to 46cm tall (the Barney is 43cm internally) so there's not a lot of difference apart from the Barney having the flat top. The 50cm height quoted for the Alexander must include the handles I think.

Also I think the Barney is basically the Tilo - cage I always wanted! - (which seems to have been discontinued now) but with different contents supplied.

[Bertiebobbins]

I wouldn't be able to lift the whole cage up by the handles anyway, it's too wide an heavy!

I recall I worked out that the dimensions given for the Alexander are a bit misleading because the wire cage is not flat, I think they gave the dimensions for the tallest bit, so it is a bit lower than the barney in the end.

Price wise, I was happy with what I paid £50 I think maybe £40 if it went on a deal, the accessories that came with it were decent - did yours come with a shelf, wheel and house? Personally I'd rather spend the extra £ on choosing my own accessories than buying the Alexander and having to use what came with it.

[GeorgeSyrian]

As above, the water bottle in George's Barney also forces the bars apart slightly, but I wouldn't not buy it because of it. It's an amazing cage with great dimensions and quality for the price. I'm getting another for my new addition :)

One thing though - he struggles using the ramp it came with as there aren't many indents to grip on. I bought a hanging bridge from Zooplus (£1.99 right now) to use as a ramp instead and he's fine.

[flowerfairy]

I made the ramp less steep in Kashi's barney cage. She seems fine with it.

[Pebbles82]

I would be careful about using a hanging bridge (not sure which type you mean though) or anything with chains as hams can get feet caught in chains. I didn't use the Barney ramp - initially I had a cork log wedged part under the shelf - this made a tunnel and also a kind of ramp to climb up to the shelf. But when Charlie got older and found it harder to climb, I had a short shallow ramp at the front of the cage, made from this bendy stick bridge that screws to the bars (keeps it stable) - that worked really well.

BRIDGE HOUSE SHELF RAMP CHIPMUNK,HAMSTER,RAT,DEGU CAGE | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300499955820?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag389/charliethehamster/69d703f7-d08e-49df-93cc-45193527e053_zps0rumxlqf.jpg

http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag389/charliethehamster/a17c893a-44ee-4767-b180-07be812a828e_zpsrvqyi2vd.jpg

The other way he could get to the shelf was through a rat tube tied to the roof :-) It led from a shelf on the back right corner into a rat sputnik, with the rat sputnik sitting over the shelf. That way they can have a roof run and a second way of accessing the shelf - or do circuits! Up one way and back the other way.

http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag389/charliethehamster/ff02683b-b9b5-49ca-ab7e-2fbbbf2e2555_zpsfpnl400k.jpg

Or did you mean this one? They're ok :-) I had one but the end part snapped off :(

Hanging Bridge for Small Pets: Free P+P on orders £29+ at zooplus! (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/accessories/bridges_stairs/bridges/36593)

Or some people stick lolly sticks on the ramps to give fooholds

[Pebbles82]

Incidentally I did have a go at attaching the handles and snapped one of them in the process! So it permanently has no handles now.