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Old 03-30-2008, 09:05 AM   #1
Lady Fluff
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Default Ferplast Mary - cage review

Well, I’ve been happily using the Ferplast Mary cage for the last year. I was fortunate to spot this cage crop up on my local Freecycle list, as the owner was upgrading her rats to a Jenny cage so no longer needed the Mary. I nabbed it, and just in time too – within a few weeks, Pumpkin had nibbled the blue clips holding the Imac Fantasy together and would’ve been one escaped hammy if we didn’t have this as backup! So in she moved…
I would say this is an excellent cage. It’s dimensions are D 50 cm x W 80 cm x H 37 cm and has a bar gap of about 11.3mm so it’s ideal for a Syrian, though I’ve not had dwarfs so I don’t know about its suitability for them (but it’s probably fine for all but Robos). It comes with no wheel, but it means you’re not wasting a silly small one like cages normally supply you with. It does come with a tube, bowl and water bottle however (though, as my cage was second hand, these were not included)

This is a stock photo to show it empty.


It has a single panel front door, and a double panel top door. I find the double door to be useful if I want to access any of Pumpkin’s larger toys without taking the cage to bits – something that was always a bit of a problem with the Imac. The wire just clips to the plastic base with 4 secure clips. The plastic base is nice and deep, so you can get a good layer of bedding in there (great for hiding treats like milk biscuits in!) and there’s loads of space for toys in there and still plenty of room for your hammy to run around like a little furry loon!

I like this cage so much that I’ve just got another one (actually bought this time!) for my forthcoming hammy! Prices online vary – I have seen it for as much as £91.55 (yikes!) but I paid £36 from ZooPlus who are currently offering it at a reduced price plus I got 10% off as a new customer. So there’s a massive variation in price around – I certainly wouldn’t pay the top price for it, however great the cage is!

So this is my current setup:




So, in a nutshell:
PROS:
Great size
Easy to clean
Good access to your hammy and toys
Good ventilation

Cons:
Bar chewing is a risk
Quite heavy
Price varies hugely – make sure you don’t get caught out!
Not particularly interesting to look at (not an issue for me as it’s the occupier who makes it interesting as far as I’m concerned, but if you prefer funkier cages, then this probably isn’t gonna be your thing)
Doesn’t come with a wheel (but how many cages come with a suitable one anyway?!)
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Old 03-30-2008, 12:29 PM   #2
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Thats a great review! I know that someone's WW who was about 2 1/2 lived in one of these! So I think WW's can live in it.
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Old 03-30-2008, 01:21 PM   #3
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it looks great. i would've thought the bars were too wide, but seeing your hamster inside, they clearly aren't

how does she fit into that little white house?
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Old 03-30-2008, 02:52 PM   #4
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I've no idea how she fits! It came with the holiday cage I keep down my Mum in laws, but she took to it - which she never did with the brown house (though that has become her toilet lately...), she always just made random outside nests before, or used the built in bit on the Imac - so I nabbed it for her permanently! I always wonder how she squishes herself in, when I empty it there's always masses of tissue and bedding and food crammed in there with her too! And if she's stuffed her cheeks up too much she is sometimes unable to fit, especially if she's pouched a dog biccy on one side and has nabbed something else in the other! Silly girl!
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Old 03-30-2008, 05:30 PM   #5
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wow thats a lovely cage, I don't think I've seen one like that before. You hammy seems to really like it and a brilliant idea.

Sarah x
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Old 03-30-2008, 05:38 PM   #6
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is it alright if i use these pics in my Syrian hamster care guide, Lady Fluff? i'd like to also recommend this cage to people

do you have a hamstery name or another name that i could credit the photo to? (e.g. my imac photos say "courtesy of woodland hamstery")
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Old 03-30-2008, 10:14 PM   #7
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no problem Bunsey, go for it! no hamstery to my name (that will come when I have time in the future, that's my plans!) but if you want to credit them to me, I guess Helen Bickley would be the best thing to go for, it being my name and all!

Sarahh - it's normally sold as a rat cage (though it is too small for a healthy adult pair, I understnd), so that might be why you haven't come across it! The only place I've seen it marketed as a hammy cage is on zooplus.co.uk!
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Old 03-31-2008, 12:57 AM   #8
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Wow the Mary looks great

I've always been put off this cage after reading of someone's experiences with one on another forum last year - they said the ends of the bars were sharp enough to cut and they ended up sending it back. I'm assuming you haven't experienced anything like this?

What about bar chewing? There are some lovely bar cages (usually rat cages) out there but I'm very limited as to which of my hamsters I can use them for - due to the dreaded bar chewing
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Old 03-31-2008, 01:44 AM   #9
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well I haven't found it particularly sharp ended - I know the post you mean, and I was a bit anxious after reading it but as the first one was free, I thought I'd just go for it. The new one, well, I haven't unpacked it yet (it's still at my mother-in-law's at the mo) but if there are any nasty bits then I'll mention it here! I have scratched myself a little, but I do that with almost anything (clumsy bint that I am!), and the few exposed bits are in such a place that it's not exactly easy to do it - Pumpkin's never been injured by anything in there anyway.

Chewing could be an issue if you have a chewy ham - Pumpkin goes through phases where she does and doesn't chew - but when she does, it's always the same patch. No signs of weakness in the cage, and she just seems to like doing it. The noise doesn't bother me - I've got used to it, and don't really hear it any more - though I imagine a cacophony of hamsters doing it would be pretty darn irritating!
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Old 03-31-2008, 11:32 AM   #10
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That's a fantastic and informative review Fluff. Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us all about the Mary
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