Zoozone 1 - Review

[NA030LA]

I thought I’d give a review of the Zoozone 1.

This is a cage I would really recommended to any hamster owner.

Here is a picture of the Zoozone 1


Dimensions Outside: 28” L / 18” W



Dimensions Inside: 25” L / 15” W
Inside the cage the floor is level and there is plenty of floor space. The floor space has also been maximised by combining the food dish at the end of the floor. There is also plenty of height on the sides of the cage to keep sawdust inside the cage. Also the plastic it's made out of is very strong and thick and will last a while.



The water bottle is installed outside of the cage to maximise the space on the inside of the cage. In my opinion a good idea as I like to keep more of the space inside as big as possible.





Here is the lid of the cage, a set of bars which are spaced 1" appart. In my opinion the bar spacing is to wide for hamsters and will need to be meshed. "I learnt that one the hard way!" I don't find this a problem but some will find the cage already to expensive to have to spend more money meshing the top. The bars still give active hamsters something to climb swing and chew on which is also good. The ventalation is OK but it could be better. In my opinion a few fan like slots on the side would of been good as it does get hot during the summer months.



There are no doors on this cage. You pop the lid to open it and it fastenes by pushing it down into the plastic lid. I find this closure system to be really good as it stops any escape attempts.



These are the cage clips and they secure the top to the bottom of the cage. The clips are secure so you can lift the whole thing without making a mess. It also makes the cage easy to clean. When the top is detached all your left with is the bottom of the cage which is light and looks just like a cat litter box.

Pros

* Pleasing on the eye.
* Can be purchased in Pink or Blue White and Turquoise
* Can be cheap to buy second hand.
* Spacious.
* Can fit lots of toys in.
* Easy to clean.
* Secure clips on both sides of cage.
* Secure pushdown closure making escape attempts less easy.
* Wire grill makes for easy access to your hamster.
* Cage setup can easily be moved around to give your hamster more variety.
* Space inside maximised. Food bowl is combined at one end of the floor and water bottle is installed on the outside of the cage.
* Sawdust and Poop is kept inside the cage.

Cons

* Made for Guinea pigs.
* Big (if you haven't got a lot of space).
* Bar spacing is too wide for hamsters, so it will need to be covered with mesh.
* Not really suitable for a cage chewing hamster but not out of the question. More cage inspections would be needed if hamster is inclined to chew.
* Sides are quite high, so not that easy to see into.
* Water bottle holder is not that secure and can be knocked off easily.
* Poor ventilation.
* Can get too hot inside during summer.

All in all for the price even brand new you can’t go wrong. But if you like the bells and whistles I’d stay clear.

[internet_nobody]

I have quite a few of these and I absolutely love them, something i'd add to pros is they are really thick plastic, which doesn't tend to crack. I bought a duna multy as I kept recommending them to people as an alternative that doesn't need meshing, and was a little disappointed to find it is made of the same plastic as the smaller ones which is quite brittle and only gets worse as it ages.

Couple of comments on the cons listed - big isn't one :P You can find it online for under £35, so it isn't really expensive, and the ZZ2 has always been available, it isn't a replacement. One thing I would add to the cons (though I have only experienced this with one group of hams in the last 5 years, but know a few who have had issues with syrians) is that those funny little square gaps you can see in the left hand corner on the second pic can be a site where hams start chewing holes, so that's worth bearing in mind for anyone who would buy this cage for a bar chewer.

Second hand they often come up in white, bright pink and turqoise (all with a clear top half, rather than tinted).

[stellanova1]

Great review, I love this cage! I have 2 of them currently in use for my robo and my Russian hamster. I didn't find meshing to difficult and was fairly cheap to do!I love that they come up quite a lot second hand and i got mine for £10-15 each. I have a grey one and a turquoise one. This is Medi the Robo's home
lol at Horace in the background at the top hehe!

[debs]

i have a blue one only thing i dont like is it takes up most off my bedroom lol

[stellanova1]

Originally Posted by internet_nobody

those funny little square gaps you can see in the left hand corner on the second pic can be a site where hams start chewing holes, so that's worth bearing in mind for anyone who would buy this cage for a bar chewer.

Yeah, Medi started doing that..but his nibbles are so little its not really made any difference :P

[internet_nobody]

Originally Posted by stellanova1

Great review, I love this cage! I have 2 of them currently in use for my robo and my Russian hamster. I didn't find meshing to difficult and was fairly cheap to do!

I don't mesh them for the dwarfies as a rule. I do have one meshed as I started putting in tall climbing toys for a colony of campbells to make a better use of the space.

[stellanova1]

Originally Posted by internet_nobody

I don't mesh them for the dwarfies as a rule. I do have one meshed as I started putting in tall climbing toys for a colony of campbells to make a better use of the space.

I guess its a "just in case" thing for me, even though they can't reach :P and its also good to be able to attach toys to the lid...My Medi didn't use them though so got removed.

[Artemis]

I just bought a ZZ1 as it was the largest cage I could carry out of the store (heheh) and I love it! I've found it quite easy to customize and it certainly went together easy enough. I also love the snap closures, feels very secure.

[fluffymunchkins]

Brill review!
I would defintely get one of these if i could, but i have the zoozone2 instead

Anything i could add:
cons - *I think dwarf hamsters sometimes feel a bit secluded as the base is deep, so its nice to have a level in there so they can go up and peer out, i use a trixie guinea pig shelter with a stick ladder ramp.
* It uses up loads of my bedding cause i like to fill it deep

Pros - *loads of room for a variety of toys even high ones which are sometimes a problem in other cages. You can easily rearrange the cage to keep the hams entertained
*It has a deep base for those who like to put lots of bedding in.

I can totally agree with the fact it has really sturdy plastic, my ZZ2 has survived through a guinea pig (only for a bit when it was really cold winter, she was normally in a hutch), gerbils and my robos and we've had it for about 10 years and its still got plenty of use left.

Stellanova - lol little Horace sneaking in on the the action, he wanted to be included too

[mangoandmimi]

Thanks, was torn between zz1 and zz2 but i think will go for zz2 as lid is easier to mesh becuz it doesn't curve lol XD are dimensions for zz1 and zz2 similar or the same...? thanks! great review btw XD