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Old 01-04-2008, 05:14 AM   #1
Holly
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Default Furry Life's Happy World - Cage Review

I have just got this cage after spotting Internet Nobody's at the Kingswinford Show in December and thinking it looked pretty fab. I had a bit of trouble tracking it down but eventually, thanks to Basia and Internet Nobody I found one on ebay.

Here's a picture of the box:



Slightly odd name, slightly odd box!

Ignoring all the tubes (as I never had any intention of using these anyway) it's a tank style cage that measures approx 62cm x 38cm - that's comparable to the size of a Savic Cambridge and Imac Fantasy (though the Imac has two full levels), bigger than the Gabber Lux and about 8 - 9 cm smaller each way than a Gabber Rex. It has a solid shelf that covers approximately one quarter of the floor area and a wheel that attaches to the shelf. It also has a ventillated "bedroom" area attached to the roof reached via a wire ladder and a water bottle that hangs through a hole in the lid.

Here's a picture of it set up as it's designed (again ignoring those tubes):




The way it is designed to be set up, whilst perfect for a dwarf, is not suitable for a Syrian for one reason: The wheel is too small and, due to the shelf, ladders, roof bedroom and water bottle, there is nowhere to fit a Syrian sized wheel.

Soooo....I've changed the layout slightly!





I've switched the roof and put the bedroom area above the shelf leaving enough space to fit a wodent wheel at the other end. I've had to rig up something for the ladder to stand on as it's too short to reach the floor instead of the shelf so I'm on the lookout for replacement ladders (also because they are wire and I've had to weave cardboard through the rungs).

Pros:
*Nice size for someone with lots of hamsters who doesn't want them in poky little cages but who hasn't the space for massive ones. Great for a single dwarf but I'd like it just a bit bigger for a Syrian really.

*Fab design - I love the well ventillated, space saving bedroom area and I like the fact that, with the shelf switched bar chewing opportunities are kept to a minmum

* Easy clean out as with all tank cages


Cons:
*The water bottle - I'm not keen on the design as it hangs a bit low and I'm worried it will touch the bedding and leak. I think I'll probably drill a hole and attach a normal bottle in the usual way.

*Set up - the tubes are NIGHTMARE. It took me two hours to set up the cage as it is (with minmal tubes ) and my hands were raw afterwards. I had to file the holes where the tubes attach to the lid with sandpaper in the end.

*Entrance to the nest area too small for an adult Syrian. Molly's ok with it now but I'll need to sand the opening to enlarge it soon.

In conclusion (and despite the name!!) I like it a lot, now I just need to wait and see if Molly does! At the moment she is in the process of removing all her bedding from the upper nest area and putting it under the shelf

I'll give her some time to settle in and see how she goes. I may eventually put her in a Rex and keep this for a dwarf or baby Syrians.
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Old 01-04-2008, 05:56 AM   #2
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How much are they Holly. It looks quite studry but I think I would be inclined to agree with you on it being better for dwarfs and baby syrians. I must say the dwarfs seem to like the 'high up' nest boxes. Kipton loves his 'flying' house!
This is a good idea and I think a 'cage review' sticky thread would be a good idea for the forum.
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Old 01-04-2008, 09:28 AM   #3
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It was £25.99 plus £6.99 postage so comparable to buying a Gabber Rex off ebay really. Apparently Internet Nobody was saying that someone had lots of these on ebay last year priced at just over twenty quid including postage and that's when she got hers - I'd consider that a real bargain

Here's the ebay link - it turns out I'd seen it hundreds of times before but dismissed it outright 'cos the picture makes it look tiny and the tubes make it look a bit rubbish:


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUPER-FUN-HAMSTER ... dZViewItem

Molly seems to have settled in ok having built herself a huge nest under the shelf instead of in the bedroom

I'm still not sure she's staying in it as I'm not sure it's quite big enough (the Cambridge and Imac both have more floor space because of their levels - despite being the same size) but I won't move her yet as I want to see how she is in it.

I love the cage design though - I wish someone would make one of exactly the same design that's about 70cm by 40cm - it would be perfect to house a habitual bar chewing Syrian!
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Old 01-04-2008, 09:53 AM   #4
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It looks really interesting - I like the bed compartment too what is the ventilation like? the bar area looks quite small compared to other similar cages - are there any other air holes?
What size is the wheel that comes with it? it looks a bit like a Silent Spinner in that pic...
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Old 01-04-2008, 10:28 AM   #5
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Interesting design and I like the top sleeping compartment idea.... it looks great for a Dwarf or smaller Hamlet.
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Old 01-04-2008, 11:59 AM   #6
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Can't find my tape measure so can't measure the wheel but it's too small for a Syrian. It does move very freely on the spindle though so may be really good for a little dwarfie.

I live in a cold house, sadly, so I'm happy enough with the ventillation - the sleeping bit has 28 largish holes and all the tubes/stoppers have ventillation holes as well as the grille piece. In the summer I'd need to make sure it's somewhere cool-ish I think and definitely not in any sunlight but I do that anyway.


I'm thinking of maybe switching Molly with one of my two fiendish bar chewers - that would be Minnie (Gabber Rex)and Milly (Imac) - so that I can try and wean them off the bar habit - they wouldn't be able to reach the grille on this cage at all. Perhaps I could use this as temporary cage for just that purpose!
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Old 01-04-2008, 02:43 PM   #7
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It does look an interesting cage Julie, and though not big ebough for a syrian, that wheel looks much more sturdy than the ones that normally come with cages. And I do like the fact that even the most persistent bar chewer would have difficulties due to the placing of the bar area.
How easy is the access? (bearing in mind I guess that Molly loves you so much she just climbs into your lap = but for any less amenable boys and girls)
What about the height? It looks about the same height as the Duna single story - is that about right?
Thanks for the info, this is a really useful post
(you are spoiling that little girl bless you )
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Old 01-04-2008, 02:52 PM   #8
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It does look a nice cage, I remember looking long and hard at it last summer when it was £20 before I bought my first gabber rex. It did seem an incredibly good buy but I was a bit worried about the lack of ventilation as we live in a very warm house. Thanks for the revew Holly.
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Old 01-05-2008, 12:15 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spud's Mum
What about the height? It looks about the same height as the Duna single story - is that about right?
It's 29cm high - slightly taller than a Rex making it really hard to reach those bars without a shelf underneath
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Old 01-07-2008, 10:26 AM   #10
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Just an update to say that I've decided this cage is going to become too small for Molly sooner rather than later as she's growing fast - I'm going to move her into a spare Gabber Rex.

I do love the cage though and have decided to use it for our rescue robo who will be arriving at the weekend - I'll post pictures and let everyone know how he gets on with it
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