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Old 12-23-2011, 04:04 PM   #1
Hamtastic
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Default F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura) Review

F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino Linea Natura

I have waited for a very very long time to obtain this cage and had high expectations for it. It is a duna-style cage made by an Italian cage manufacturer F.O.P.:
FOP Prodotti per animali - GABBIA TAMBURINO LINEA NATURA

Its dimensions are 75cm x 47cm x 33cm (29.5" x 18.5" x 13" tall), and at that it is slightly bigger than ZooZone1, Duna Multy, Gaber Rex, and some other cages of its class. I've owned 2 ZZ1s, and the size difference is noticeable. This cage is also less oblique, i.e. the tray and the top are more square like rather than rounded trapezoidal.

So far, I am very happy with this cage (and Isabel is too)! F.O.P. makes it in a standard white color "Gabia Tamburino", and this new olive/brown coloring is from a natural line "Linea Natura", but the two are otherwise the same. Linea Natura items also come with some wooden accessories.

Plastic quality: I would stay it's pretty sturdy, but not as maleable as ZooZone plastic. It's harder and sound resonates through it more. A small negative when assembling and disassembling the cage is the side brackets being a bit on the tight side to clip on and off. In general, the cage design is identical to Ferplast Mini Duna (which I also own, for the comparison). The same sort of clip holding on the sides, and the same kind of a flat top door, secured by two sliding clips.



The distance between the grill bars on the top cover is just 6.5mm, so it's safe for any small animal, even small robos

The bottle opening hole is on the back side of the cage. I have personally taped over mine with strong transparent tape, as I like for my cage to sit tightly against the wall, and also Izzie drinking from a bottle was resonating loudly through the cage. I think I could fix it by putting some plasticky tape between the top cover and the tray to dampen vibrations and might to so in the future. Anyway, the cage is in my bedroom, so I'm extra picky with any extra sources of sound.

The cage is manufactured for Guinea Pigs ("Gabia"), so the accessories that come with it are piggy-sized. There is a very nice brown plastic natural looking food dish, that I'm actually using for Izzie's food, as she's a plump lady; there is a large wooden house-platform (could be used as a second floor platform for hamsters), and a bird-ladder-like wooden hay holder.

The wooden house platform has a ramp, top floor, front with an entrance hole, but no back or left wall, as it attaches with hooks to the cage side. This is actually an advantage, as it really is like a mini second floor platform, where a ham could climb up and also camp out underneath for a cozy large nest. I personally used a Mini Duna shelf for my cage, as my Mini Duna's currently not in use. For anyone interested, the shelf slides in between the top transparent plastic top and the bottom tray and holds very well, better than it did in my ZooZone1.

If you notice on the photos below, I've also spray-painted the grill a glossy brown color in place of the default cream, as I much prefer dark-colored bars for better visibility. You can gauge its size by noting the 8" Wodent Wheel.





This is what it looked like before I changed the color of the top grill (different Wodent Wheel too):



This cage can be obtained in Europe and in the United States. The F.O.P. distributor in the U.S. is AbbaSeed in New Jersey, and anyone interested should call them to inquire about their current selection of Rodent and Small Animal F.O.P. cages. For reference, here's a full list of F.O.P. Rodent / Small Animal cages with Item Numbers:
F.O.P. Rodent Cages
F.O.P. Small Animal Cages

I rate this cage 8/10! (negative points due to it being slightly noisier due to harder plastic and due to tight side clips).
Attached Images
File Type: jpg F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino empty.jpg (63.0 KB, 1098 views)
File Type: jpg F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino front.jpg (55.9 KB, 1099 views)
File Type: jpg F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino top.jpg (82.3 KB, 1106 views)
File Type: jpg Isabel's new home.jpg (59.8 KB, 1105 views)
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Last edited by souffle; 05-12-2012 at 03:05 AM.
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Old 12-23-2011, 04:22 PM   #2
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

wow I want one! I wonder if you can get them in the UK?
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Old 12-23-2011, 04:23 PM   #3
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

I'm sure you can, but maybe not directly from the U.K. I've seen them in France (on sale for 30 Euro!) and I know F.O.P. sells at least in Poland and Italy. So either it can be imported or there's already a U.K. distributor.
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Old 12-23-2011, 05:05 PM   #4
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

:O ohh I shall look into it thankies!
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Old 12-23-2011, 05:11 PM   #5
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

You could contact F.O.P. directly and ask if they could point you to a distributor. This is how I found AbbaSeed: I emailed F.O.P. and they responded
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Old 12-24-2011, 06:14 AM   #6
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

Quote:
Originally Posted by emilyweb View Post
wow I want one! I wonder if you can get them in the UK?
I'm hoping this too. I really like the look of it and it would be awesome for Shy. Plus, I wouldn't have to mesh anything which is a bonus!

Eta: Great set up, Ham!
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Old 12-24-2011, 06:15 AM   #7
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

EXACTLY!! no mesh! and I love it sooo much! I needs one!
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Old 12-24-2011, 07:09 AM   #8
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

great set-up
i need one too xD
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Old 12-24-2011, 11:57 AM   #9
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

I love the cage and how you set it up, too. The darker color on the screen top is such a great improvement. The natural look to the base & accessories would look great in my living room (where my girls live), and much better than a zoozone (which I can't find anyway). I think I need this!
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Old 12-26-2011, 03:24 PM   #10
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Default Re: F.O.P. Gabia Tamburino (Linea Natura)

More photos: the wooden house-platform (which has no back sides, as it's attached with hooks to the tray. Could be used as a platform instead of the Mini Duna shelf + piece of cardboard I'm using now:





Front view with my chubby Isabel in the food dish:
Attached Images
File Type: jpg F.O.P. Wooden house top.jpg (47.7 KB, 1021 views)
File Type: jpg F.O.P. Wooden house inside.jpg (39.7 KB, 1033 views)
File Type: jpg P1010034scaled.jpg (56.6 KB, 1030 views)
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