Ferplast Laura - Page 2

**kyrilliondaemon** · 02-18-2012, 08:05 AM

Er... I'm sorry, but I have already explained that shelves are rarely counted when calculating cage space.
The hamster can't use a half-shelf for racing around on safely so they really don't help much with the total size of the cage.

A mini duna is also only regarded as ok for a single dwarf hamster, and thats because the total floor space in one area is just about large enough. Thats not the case with the ferplast laura.
Plus with the idea of a single dwarf, a single dwarf often includes roborovskis and they could never be safely kept in the laura due to the bar spacing being too wide, so that would be another reason to not use it for dwarves. Young russian hamsters (all species) and chinese hamsters could also probably escape.

And yes what dwarves fight over depends on the individual animal, but its safest and generally regarded as the best option to minimise all potential causes for fights from the start rather than regret not doing so later.
Plenty of people do everything right and still have to separate dwarves, so why increase the risk of that happening by using a cage thats too small and has levels?

I also don't understand whats unfair. A load of small levels or compartments are not as good for a hamster as a big open space. A good example of that is that our syrian, Scamp, has over 4000 square cm of space in modular stuff (the amount reccomended for a syrian) but alone that wouldn't be enough, so she has additional areas to give her bigger areas to run around in because hamsters need reasonably sized single levels for excercise. Without those extra areas Scamp would be miserable and probably spend most of her time bar chewing from boredom (its something she can be prone to anyway).

I have to agree with StarlightSerenity and say that I also feel its unfair to put a hamster in a cage thats too small for it. I accept ignorance as an excuse, but once you know that the cage is too small I do feel its unfair to keep a hamster in it.

p_anda · 03-04-2012, 07:28 AM

I can't say I agree with people's logic for not counting shelves as space, but everyone's entitled to their opinion. It's like saying that the first floor in your house can't be regarded as viable/usable space, when it obviously is.

samzyzg · 03-04-2012, 07:42 AM

i did like the cage as such it was nicely built but i actually came to this forum because my syrian looked so tiny in it... i dont think it'd be a bad cage as an extension to be fair, and i have taken out the shelf but put a sand bath in and my syrians dangling toy and i let him go in and out of the cage as he pleases during out of cage time.

**kyrilliondaemon** · 03-04-2012, 07:42 AM

The difference there is that the first floor of your house is a full level and therefore has the same amount of space to run around/move e.t.c as the bottom floor.
Non-full levels are rarely large enough for the hamster to use for much movement - especially not with a syrian and a ferplast laura (and with two shelves in there, where on earth would you fit the 8"+ wheel?)

Mona's Humans · 03-04-2012, 08:01 AM

When i had a smaller cage previously i put another full level in to make space, but even then it was way too small even though each level was 50cm by 40cm. I wouldn't rule out cages with levels again, but i think the laura is too small as it is sold, there's also the issue of the tubing not being appropriate for some hamsters. While i wouldn't completely rule the laura out as a temporary cage, or a taming cage - i don't think it is a viable long term home for any hamster.

StarlightSerenity · 03-04-2012, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by p_anda

I can't say I agree with people's logic for not counting shelves as space, but everyone's entitled to their opinion. It's like saying that the first floor in your house can't be regarded as viable/usable space, when it obviously is.

As said, it's because they can't actualy run on them - they're limited to how much they can move around on them and when they become older they will use them less and less. If you compare a hamster in a large cage with levels to one in a smaller cage with levels (so that they both have similar space if you count the levels) the hamster won't use the levels in the smaller cage as much as in the bigger one - they are ground dwellers, to me levels always seem like a bit of a cop out for people who don't have cages that reach the minimum recommended size.

As humans don't tend to run about their own homes for exercise , or live in them for 99% of the time (ha, this coming from someone who has been housebound for the last year!), the comparison isn't really valid

crazyforhamsters · 05-12-2012, 08:58 AM

I have this cage and i have a syrian and i want to give her the best cage i can afford(i am 13) but my brother(27) bought me this so i'm saving up for the habitrail ovo

Kissa · 05-13-2012, 03:19 AM

There are many more suitable cages that are probably cheaper than the Ovo. The Ovo is too small for a Syrian and doesn't have enough space for a suitable sized wheel, as Syrians need at least an 8" wheel, and most need an 11 or 12" wheel. One cheap option is to get a large plastic box/bin and convert it into a cage. It is a much cheaper way of getting the minimum space a Syrian needs -- 80x50 cm floorspace is the generally agreed good size for a Syrian.

Mosrael's Cage / Bin Cage Tutorial