Superpet Crittertrail One

Mr Pudding · 02-07-2010, 06:51 AM

I thought I'd write a review for the Crittertrail One as apparently it's the world's best selling hamster cage.

I bought one of these for my lovely Evelyn mostly because the pet shops near me pretty much only stocked Crittertrail cages and I needed a cage to go and collect her from Babyboos.

I quickly realised this cage is far too small for a syrian hamster. Even though Evelyn was still really young it was clear that this cage was just not big enough. The dimensions of the cage are L16"xW10.5"xH11" or L40.6cmxW26.7cmx27.9cm if you've gone metric.

The cage comes with a wheel which is 6.5 inches (approx 16.5cm) in diameter which again is too small for a syrian, a water bottle (that leaks) and a food dish.

The Crittertrail One is a bit fiddly to put together and if you don't get it right your hamster will escape as I quickly learned. In addition to this the cage door isn't very secure and Evelyn quickly figured out how to open that leading to a couple more escapes although I can't blame her for wanting out of that pokey wee cage. In the end I had to use a suitcase padlock to stop her opening the door. Come to think of it the whole cage seems rather flimsy.

I found the small sleeping compartment didn't have much ventilation so was prone to condensation which I had to wipe away every day to stop Evelyn getting ill. In fact the overall ventilation of the cage wasn't great meaning I had to clean the cage every 5-7 days.

I still feel guilty for keeping Evelyn in this cage. Thankfully she wasn't in there for too long as I bought another, much bigger cage for her. I also made sure she got out the cage at least once a day for a nice long run around my spare room.

In summary:

Pros - The cage can be expanded by adding more Critertrail modules.

Cons- Too small for syrian hamsters, water bottle leaks, flimsy, easy to escape from. You can buy a far superior cage for a little more money or save your money and make a bin cage instead.

One last thing - This cage is now sitting in a cupboard, unused as I wouldn't like any other hamster to end up living in it.

Berkana · 02-09-2010, 03:08 PM

I'm glad someone else agrees on this one! They seem to be v popular with dwarf hamster 'owners' n it makes me sad - they're just so so tiny. In my opinion, they're just not big enough for any animal to live it. Even if you connect them up none of the crittertrail compartments seem to be big enough for a hammy to have a little run around it.

Well done on hanging onto it too - I've got a couple of tiny cages that my rescue animals came in (budgie and a syrian) that I've just left in the cellar as I wouldn't want anyone else to use them - they're just too small.

I wish the pet industry was better regulated - I wish it wasn't possible to sell certain things that are potentially harmful to animals - like tiny cages, wire excerise wheels, choke chains for dogs, shock collars, leads for hamsters etc. (the list goes one!).

gellerbing · 02-09-2010, 03:52 PM

i had the crittertrail discovery delux i think for fudge, decided to put him in a bin cage after a week though as the cage was too small for a syrian, id happily put a dwarf in there though as i think with that particular one they'd be a nice size, i wouldnt put any hamster in the crittertrail one though, theyre so tiny

Fidgetthefirst · 04-10-2010, 12:14 PM

I got this cage for my old hamster Fidget (R.I.P) being a first time hamster owner, i had no idea it was too small, he was a lazy hamster, but still, he needed more room. In the end we bought him a third, nice big cage.

I have to say the cage werent flimsy, and Fidget never escaped once, the bottle didnt leak, but even so this cage is far to small, the wheels too small for a syrian, and it should be banned.

Teddy · 04-10-2010, 12:56 PM

When I was 17 (I'm now 26) I got one for my first 2 gerbils from P@H as that is what they recommended then. It ended badly for them as they escaped in the night and got under a narrow gap under the door and my then boyfriends cat got to one. It was one of the most awful and upsetting experiences of my life and I immediately bined the cage and have never entertained them since. Now I own tanks for my gerbils and proper wire secure cage for Teddy in a locked back bedroom with no gaps or exits. The biggest thing I've ever regretted was buying that cage as the tubes just fell apart they were so flimsy and my gerbs just walked out.