Hi. We just bought a Savic Mickey 2XL as well, for our Syrian hamster Charlie. I chose it after a lot of looking around and having made an expensive mistake initially. We bought a Rotastak Space command and Charlie had outgrown it within 3 weeks. So I read up a bit and found that Syrian hamsters need a big cage. I didn't want the Hamster heaven as Charlie had already had problems with tubes as in being too big for them and nearly got stuck a couple of times. I narrowed it down to the Savic Mickey 2XL and the Barney cage because I wanted something with 7mm mouseproof bars (we live in a rural area and occasionally get mice - didn't want one attacking Charlie!)
I paid £65 for the Savic Mickey 2XL. The Barney was available at a really good price from Zooplus - just under £40 - but I wanted the one big door and there are less gaps in the Savic Mickey 2XL to close up. As Debi says, the bar spacing is 7mm but there are gaps along the top edge that are about 8mm. I made these gaps smaller by using cable ties (the cage now looks like it has eyelashes!). The Barney cage has 3 smaller doors and had lots of gaps bigger than 7mm plus a wooden platform which would need waterproofing - too much hassle! So got the Mickey 2XL, removed the wire shelf, bought the Savic Dune shelf (the corner one that is in the Hamster heaven) (£13) and a 29cm Karlie Wonderland bogie wheel (£10), plus the rat sized sputnik (£
and wooden house (£5). Total £101 - ouch! The cage comes with a sputnik as standard but it wasn't quite big enough for Charlie. The rat size one is huge but fits in fine with plenty of space. It's a great cage. It is a futureproof cage in case you ever get mice or dwarf hamsters, but I would cable tie the edges.
It is really easy to put together. The cage top just sits on the base and then there are two clips you just fold down at either side. The door is nice and big. I am having a problem with water bottles though and have ended up getting a free-standing one to put in the cage. I can fit a water bottle through the cage bars, but it makes such a clatter every time I take one in or out that it freaks Charlie out. I have just got a Getzoo one and also sent for a Ferplast Sippy bottle - I use two small bottles rather than a big one, just in case one fails, and the small mouse ones seem big enough for our Hamster who never empties one.
The cage door is nice and big and shuts very firmly but I do find it can clang and shake the cage a bit when opening it. Also it is quite hard to reach in the back corners to spot clean, so means taking the cage top off for cleaning. On the other hand I can put his ball in through the door easily.
The floor area isn't as big as it sounds. Yes, the cage measures 80cm x 50cm and is 38cm high, but the bottom of the base is curved and I found I lost 2 to 3 inches floor space all round. For example putting the free standing wheel or a house in, you can't put them right up against the edge, they sit forward a bit. This is ok because Charlie likes to squeeze behind them as if they are a kind of tunnel, but means you have to watch the size of things you put in to leave enough floor area. The Dune shelf is great with it. Charlie immediately made his nest in the little dome pod on the shelf, which is bigger than it looks, as it dips down below the shelf. He is a big Syrian and fits in no problem (along with a stash of bedding and food). He just curls up in it.
It has taken time to get the layout right as Charlie needs different levels as he doesn't always like going down the slide from the Dune platform (but goes up it), so have finally got that worked out - with a bench near the platform, and a little flat roofed house near the sputnik so he can get down from it, plus a bridge.
Warning! The Savic Mickey 2XL also comes with some Savic tubing as standard, as an in-cage toy. I left these in thinking they were probably a bit bigger than the Rotastak ones, and Charlie got stuck in one and got very distressed. Luckily we were there and saw it happen and helped him out. So I would chuck them! They would be good for a dwarf hamster or mouse. Not for a Syrian though. I think it is intended as a mouse cage so all the bits that come with it are too small for a Syrian or not suitable. So you are just getting a cage really and need a bigger wheel and a different kind of platform.
I am very happy with it overall, but if I hadn't needed the mouseproof bars I would have got the Barney cage - it is 2cm bigger all round, cheaper (!) at Zooplus, and replaced the wooden platform with the Savic Dune one, plus the Barney comes with a nice wooden house as standard. I wouldn't have minded three smaller doors and a top door can be useful. So unless you need 7mm bars I would go for the Barney cage. The Barney does have 7mm bars but also has lots of 8mm gaps. I have seen it in the flesh and it is a good cage.
The only other cage I could find with mouseproof bars was the Skyline Leon, and I really liked that, but not the wooden platforms. If it had a bigger base and plastic platforms it would be amazing! Photos - note the eyelashes lol!