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Old 05-20-2010, 06:05 AM   #1
Cheeky
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Default Zooplus Yuma and Rio Rico Wood Cages

REVIEW: ZOOPLUS WOODEN YUMA CAGE


I ordered the Yuma and it arrived broken so I am sending it back. However, I did attempt to put it together first (to see if I wanted a replacement or just a refund).

The cage looks very solid and nice in the online picture, but in real life.... The wood panels are low quality and prone to cracks. I could see cracks forming in many places in addition to the cracks that already existed. It is really sad, because it is a beautiful cage otherwise, just the wood panels are more flimsy than they should be. I guess when you think about it there's a reason a solid wood cage is only £130 and not closer to £300. I do think it's worth the money in spite of the flimsiness, especially when you consider Hamster Heavens are £100 now. The 'plexiglass' panels are the very thin and very cheap plastic, not the thicker plastic panels you will find on things like cabinets. I can imagine they would get very scratched up within a few months.

Seeing this cage in person has made me want to take up carpentry so that I can make a really nice one out of good solid wood, with thick plexiglas panels! Like I said, I do think that they are charging a fair price for the cages, but they had to use lower quality materials to keep the price down in the first place. If you are expecting to get a furniture-quality cage, this is not it, unless you are talking about IKEA furniture.

The reason that I decided to go for a refund instead of a replacement is that we are moving house in December and I was not sure this cage would survive the move, considering how prone the wood is to cracking and breaking. If we were not moving, I would have gone for a replacement because I think it would be fine just sitting in one place and not being stressed.

I also have a Rio Rico cage of this line that I won on Ebay and I have to say that I would go for the Rio Rico over the Yuma. The reason is that even though the wood panels are still the same cheaper quality, the Rio Rico is made up of square, flat panels inside and outside - fewer 'shapes' and fewer cuts into the wood means the wood is more stable overall, in addition to the fact that the panels are smaller/shorter since the cage is a smaller size. I do not see near as many cracks in the Rio Rico and the panels feel much more solid. You still have the issue of the plexiglass cheap-y panel in the front though. If your ham is not a bar chewer, I would replace this with wire mesh. It makes it look like a bunny hutch but I think it would still look nice.
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Old 05-20-2010, 06:19 AM   #2
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Default Re: Zooplus Yuma and Rio Rico Wood Cages

Thats a good review Fiz. I have often drooled over these cages as they look so amazing. It's a shame that the quality lets it down - but as you said, refelcts the price. Good quality hard wood is expensive. I work for a builders so I know!!

I perhaps will not look at them quite so adoringly now, but if you ever do take that carpentry course, can I be first on your list for one! Pretty Please!!!!!
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Old 05-20-2010, 06:47 AM   #3
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Default Re: Zooplus Yuma and Rio Rico Wood Cages

Wow, that cage looks absolutely amazing! Too bad it's not the quality you expected, though it does look solid in the pictures. I can't get something like that here unfortunately so I guess I would have to build my own anyway but thanks for the review
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Old 05-20-2010, 02:07 PM   #4
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Default Re: Zooplus Yuma and Rio Rico Wood Cages

Well, I may have found an alternative to these cages which looks like it is better-made. Hopefully I will have it next week and i can let you guys know if it really is higher quality. I believe the guy has several for sale at a time. I'm not sure if he makes them himself or has someone else do it, but I will take photos.
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Old 05-20-2010, 03:37 PM   #5
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Default Re: Zooplus Yuma and Rio Rico Wood Cages

That's a shame, they look so good I have seen the Phoenix IRL and it seemed quite good quality, but it was someone else's and there were hamsters in it so I didn't really have a proper poke at it.
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Old 05-20-2010, 04:49 PM   #6
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Default Re: Zooplus Yuma and Rio Rico Wood Cages

the phoenix is about the same size and shape as the rio rico cage, so it probably was made better than the yuma.
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