This cage is a tank-style cage and measures roughly 60x37x28cm. It is large enough for a Dwarf hamster or a baby Syrian. We would not recommend this for a fully grown adult Syrian however, though it is better than some of the Rotastak style/small barred cages on sale.
It is a sturdy well built cage, with a bottom tray of coloured plastic and a clear plastic clip-on lid with a sliding bar panel. Access to the hamster is easy, either through the bars or by removing the lid.
Inside the cage there is a removable plastic platform with ramps leading to the top of the ‘flying house’. They are quite steep and a Dwarf hamster may struggle to get up but our Winter White manages. The ramp is attached to the main tray by removable plastic studs and is quite secure. There are two ladders leading one to the ramp and one to the flying house. They are slatted but our hamster has not had any problem with this, and loves sleeping and nesting in the flying house! I would not recommend this cage for bar chewing hamsters however as they could stand on the flying house top and reach the bars, though our Dwarfs have never done this (we do not find they chew the bars).
The cage comes with a wheel attached to the ramp by a spindle, however this wheel is too small for a Syrian, and can be rattly. We have removed this, and use a ‘Silent Spinner’ wheel instead, however we found this slid around the cage with use, and so have found a way of keeping it in place using a cork, an elastic band and the small hole in the cage which was meant for the water bottle (See pic).
We found that the water bottle hole provided was too high for a Dwarf hamster to reach, so we drilled out our own hole in the base in the middle of one of the long sides. We also drilled out two holes to thread a piece of elastic through.
There is space to fit several toys in this cage ~ we have an igloo house, a sandbath and a climbing stone on the upper level. The cage comes with a large food dish, but we do not use it (ours was originally from a pair who had to be scatter fed and we find they enjoy foraging for food by digging around).
This cage cost £22.99 from a local pet store. I have seen it occasionally on Ebay but I am sure with searching ‘Criceto Bernie Deluxe’ you could find it online (I have seen loads on German Ebay!).
All in all I think this cage is very well designed and also well priced. It is a good size for Dwarf and small Syrian hamsters and is nice and attractive. The accessories are easily usable and the hamsters seem very happy living here. It is easily cleaned and the hamsters are accessed easily which is important during taming. I think this is generally a very good cage for hamsters!
Fop Criceto Bernie Deluxe ~ Cage Review
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