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Old 01-07-2008, 03:37 AM   #1
Holly
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Default Gabber Rex - Cage review

Feeling at a bit of a loose end this morning, I've decided to review one of my all time favourite cages - the Gabber Rex. It's also a firm favourite on this, and other, hamster forums.

The Gabber Rex is a large tank type cage measuring approx. 71cm x 43cm - which gives a great floor area for a Syrian hamster or a pair of dwarf hamsters. It's around 26cm high. It costs around £30.00-£35.00 to buy new but often comes up used on ebay.



It comes in varous colours with a large plastic ventillated shelf running the full width of the back, two plastic ladders, a food dish, small house and a plastic wheel:



The wheel is rubbish (with knobs on!) and is IMO only suitable for the bin - this isn't necessarily a bad point just for this cage as almost every cage on the market has a fairly rubbish wheel that is too small for a Syrian and too hard to move for a dwarf. It just worries me that people new to hamsters don't realise this.

The house is also too small and too badly ventillated to be used as a home for a Syrian - I remove mine and my hamsters climb up onto the shelf directly through the gap! The steps aren't really needed by a Syrian but I leave mine in as they sometimes use them.


The roof is covered with a large metal grille - this fits into grooves in the plastic and can be slid sideways to open or remove (a bit fiddly) and there is also a small hinged door:





There is a hole in the shelf to fit the food dish - a good size and great if your hamster usually tips it's food bowl up. For water there is a pre-drilled hole in the side of the lid - we fix our bottles to the side using tape and a zip tie:



Pros:

*Large floor area, not too high so not far to fall. Loads of room for toys etc.

*Shelf makes a great, well ventillated bedroom area

*Ease of cleaning - you can't get an easier, quicker cage to clean out!

*Sturdy construction and well made - I have six of these (soon to be five) and do have a couple with small cracks in the lid - however these don't go all the way through the plastc and don't seem to be getting any worse.

* High enough to fit a Syrian sized wheel - it fits a Wodent Wheel and Savic Jumbo Roly etc.

*Excellent safe breeding cage.

*Can be good for bar-chewers to be kept in a tank type cage. However I will say that all three of mine currently in these cages DO chew the roof bars ...however this can be easier to remedy than in a wire cage. I have made a tunnel out of cardboard tubes which runs the length of the shelf in Mocha's cage - this prevents him reaching the bars, although he sometimes climbs round them! Other people also use heavy tiles or objects placed on top opf the grille above the shelf area.

*Good ventillation without risk of draughts


Cons:

*Wheel and house too small - easily remedied.

*Limited climbing opportunities compared to a wire cage. This can be remedied by adding climbing toys and all of our hamsters in Gabber's climb and swing on the roof bars! I also hang wood chews and treats from the bars - they climb and swing for hours trying to get the treats down!

*The major drawback is how difficult this cage can be to find - it isn't stocked by P@H or any of the major on-line retailers so unless you have a local petshop that stocks them, ebay may be the best bet. It is worth noting that the Gabber Rex seems to have recently been relabelled the Montagna Rex for some reason and there seem to be several new colours.

*I find that a wodent wheel can rattle around in the cage causing noise from banging on the floor and a metallic rattle from the grille moving. This is easily remedied by clothes pegging the wodent stand to one of the ventillation holes in the shelf, like so:



Here are pictures of my different coloured Gabbers:

Red:


Grey/pink:


Green/red:


Blue/yellow:


White/pink:


All in all a BRILLIANT Hamster cage and highly recommended by myself and lot of people here - the "cons" are all easily remedied with a bit of inventiveness and I think it's one of the best cages out there
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Old 01-07-2008, 03:54 AM   #2
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Thank you Holly. A great review. Our all time favourite cage too and a few addition comments from us to follow.
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Old 01-07-2008, 04:15 AM   #3
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That's lovely! I've never had one of these before. If I can persuade the boyfriend, I would love a pair of dwarfs, either Campbells or Chinese. Would the bar spacing be safe for them?

Is that the Junior Wodent Wheel you've got in there Holly? Do you find it easy to interact with your hams by reaching in through the tank lid, or do you take the top off altogether?

Great review! I will definitely be buying one for my dwarfs (if I'm allowed them!)

~Katie
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Old 01-07-2008, 04:27 AM   #4
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We have Winter whites in these and they are fine. Dwarfs cannot reach the roof from the shelf to climb up. Not sure on chinese as they are good climbers. All ours are so tame you just open the door and lift them out. We never put on the side clips as it is easier if you want to get the lid off and no one has ever lifted the lid however the lux lid can be lifted by a syrian. We had to separate our pair of WW brothers due to fighting even in cage this size with all the right props for peaceful life! The wheel is actually OK for a dwarf or we use a silent spinner (medium).
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Old 01-07-2008, 04:31 AM   #5
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Fantastic review, what great setups you have in them! I can't wait to get mine for mummy robo (gosh it's been 4 days and she STILL doesn't have a name )

Ghostofarose - dwarfs won't be able to reach the bars in the top so won't be able to get out It is perfect for them
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Old 01-07-2008, 06:33 AM   #6
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Great review and I have to agree with all of it. I have the same as the one in the last pic, for my Syrian and I/we love it, no problems at all really, well nothing that would put me off buying it again, its great!

Mine was £29.99 from Natural World in Syston, theres also another branch in Loughborough.
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Old 01-07-2008, 10:18 AM   #7
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Thanks for the nice comments about my review - it is a fab cage. I've just edited my original post to add something I forgot - the bit about how I attach my wodent wheels to the shelf.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostofarose

Is that the Junior Wodent Wheel you've got in there Holly? Do you find it easy to interact with your hams by reaching in through the tank lid, or do you take the top off altogether?
Yes it is the Junior - the Rex isn't tall enough to take the Senior but I find the Junior ok for all of my Syrians, so far.

When getting our hams out I tend to take a clip off one side and lift the lid slightly - they all come rushing over to climb out! When taming new hamsters or babies it's best to lift the whole lid off completely - I find removing and replacing the grille a bit fiddly.
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Old 01-07-2008, 12:29 PM   #8
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I have just bought a gabber rex for Aphrodite as I need her tank for breeding. I think the wheel is actually ok she is using the wheel no problem though I might still replace it. The house is fine for dwarfs. but agree it is not good for Syrians.
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Old 01-07-2008, 12:38 PM   #9
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I agree Matty the wheel is fine for dwarfs and we keep it in for them. The house can get a bit stuffy so we leave it in but take the roof off. They like to sit up there in a little tree house and some use it as a potty!
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Old 01-07-2008, 01:53 PM   #10
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Perhaps we had a dodgy one on the Rex we used for our winter whites then - they didn't seem able to move it very well and hardly used it - when I replaced it with a savic roly and a wodent they were never off the wheels!
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