Ferplast Mini Duna - Review

[GhostsInSnow]

After having quite a few hammies since I put my last post on here about not liking it apart from a temp/hospital cage, I definitely have changed my opinion on them a fair bit.
I'd not keep a Syrian in one unless very elderly and frail, Duna's have given 2 of my past elderly Syrians a new lease of life and a couple of extra months that I don't think they'd have had in bigger cages.
I also now think they're not too bad for a Single dwarf/chinese. Chinese hammies can often become stressed in large spaces (not true for all obviously) as they are very shy by nature. I had to downsize my previous Chinese hammie to a Duna from a ZooZone as she become stressed with space as she aged. I think it does vary from ham to ham but I definitely think that they're a lot nicer for a single dwarf hammie than a lot of cages out there

[kittokitty]

the mini duna is nowhere near big enough for any species of hamster.

[flowerfairy]

It does seem rather small. But some hamsters feel more secure in a small space so there is not a one size fits all cage.

I

[souffle]

Please remember when you comment on these threads that some of them were posted may years ago such as this one which is from 2008. In 2008 this was one of the larger cages on the market! Please bring it up to date with your own review and your own opinion should you wish to do so.

[GhostsInSnow]

Originally Posted by kittokitty

the mini duna is nowhere near big enough for any species of hamster.

I used to feel exactly how you do hun. But as you own more and more hamsters and see so many ranges of personality it really changes you're opinions. I have a few cages in use now and the size varies from the Mini Duna right up to the Ikea detolf. I cater for my hamsters personality and needs rather than following what everyone else does as I'm personally of the opinion that there's no such thing as one size fits all.
The fact is some dwarf hamsters do get very freaked out by space. I had a Chinese who lived happily in a 100x50cm cage for 18 months and ended up having to move into a Mini Duna in old age because Chinese do sometimes withdraw back into themselves in old age and this happened in a big way with my old girl. The Duna is good for those instances where you have a shy hamster who only wants the essentials and gets freaked out by larger spaces. It's also perfect as a hospital cage/ cage for raising dwarf litters before separation too
I do completely respect your opinion 100% but thought I'd elaborate on mine a little more for the simple reason it's changed so drastically over the past few years

[Fluffagrams]

After having owned several Chineseys, all with very different personalities I'd be inclined to agree with you GhostsInSnow. I had a very lazy boy once who lived very happily in a Mini Duna for most of his life but yet I had a lively girl who was as miserable as anything in one so it really does depend on the individual hamster's personality. It seems that it's the Chinese who can be the most freaked out by space and actually when I first bought James home, I used two different sized cages that were smaller than the one he's in now as 'growing-up' cages and that worked quite well for us. I appreciate that most hamster owners won't know what personality their new hamster is going to have until they've had them a few weeks and they're not all going to have a choice of cages so I'd still be recommending the larger cages if I was asked by someone who was new to hamster keeping.

[GhostsInSnow]

Originally Posted by Fluffagrams

After having owned several Chineseys, all with very different personalities I'd be inclined to agree with you GhostsInSnow. I had a very lazy boy once who lived very happily in a Mini Duna for most of his life but yet I had a lively girl who was as miserable as anything in one so it really does depend on the individual hamster's personality. It seems that it's the Chinese who can be the most freaked out by space and actually when I first bought James home, I used two different sized cages that were smaller than the one he's in now as 'growing-up' cages and that worked quite well for us. I appreciate that most hamster owners won't know what personality their new hamster is going to have until they've had them a few weeks and they're not all going to have a choice of cages so I'd still be recommending the larger cages if I was asked by someone who was new to hamster keeping.

I completely agree hun. They're also invaluable if you're breeding too. I have a stack of them for splitting litters into same sex groups because I suck at DIY so bin cages aren't an option for me lol