The Zooplus Alaska cage review.

[Micky93]

The Alaska cage.

The Alaska cage is available from here: Small Pet Cages ? Alaska Hamster Cage: Free Delivery on orders £25+ at zooplus!

I purchased the Alaska cage after acquiring Phoebe, a rescue Syrian, and needed a cage big enough for her size but also that would fit in the space available. The cage dimensions are 84 x 48.5 x 44 cm (L x W x H) and therefore fit with the required minimum cage size recommended by the RSPCA and allow a generous amount of room for toys, wheels, general whizzing about and adapting to suit the needs of each individual hamster.



It comes with a standard dark red base, allowing it to blend in with the surrounding room environment, rather than be a statement piece in itself (i.e. the bright coloured base & shelves of the imac fantasy). The base is also very deep (15.5 cm depth), allowing for a deep layer of substrate, bedding and digging material to be available for the ham to have access to. I would say it is as deep, if not a tiny bit deeper, than the base of the larger Alexander cage (also available on zooplus).

The bar spacing is 0.9 cm and a mixture of horizontal bars at the front and back, and vertical bars on the sides of the cage. The cage comes with 6 metal clips to secure the bars down onto the base safely, and there are two handles on the roof of the cage to allow easy movement of the cage. Whilst not exact on the weight, it is very light and easy to move, unlike the Alexander which is quite heavy in comparison.




There are two doors, one on the front and one on the roof, for access, both of which are large and provide superb accessibility to anywhere inside the cage. Personally this has been amazing for helping bond and tame with Phoebe. On the front door there is a security clip which hangs down from the top of the cage to allow extra confidence in knowing that your ham couldn't open the door and escape.



With the cage you get a black plastic shelf level with a white cat(?) head bed area and silver ladder/slide. The shelf isn't the highest quality, and can come across a tad flimsy, however for the time being I'm more than happy to use it without the fear of it going anywhere and Phoebe seems to like it. The head house is too small for a Syrian though, but I leave it in as Phoebe enjoys climbing on it. Similarly the ladder/slide and access hole may be too small for slightly larger syrians, and therefore an alternative ladder/steps may want to be used, or a different shelf altogether.

Overall I think this is a fabulous cage for the money, and would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I managed to get hold of it for £39 whilst on offer, however current RRP is £49. It is worth keeping an eye on it though as there are often money off deals and it is hardly ever at full RRP price. You also can currently get 10% off your first order with zooplus, or 5% off if you sign up for their newsletter.

Overall Pros:
- Great size, fits with RSPCA standards.
- Huge doors allowing for amazing access.
- Safety clip on the front door.
- Deep base for substrate.
- Can be flat packed for storage.
- Good price, get a lot of cage for the money.
- Lightweight and very easy to move.

Overall Cons:
- Can be fiddly to put together; not helped by useless instructions!
- You will need pliers when assembling.
- Bars aren't super strong, and will bend if weight is applied (suspended Phoebe's senior wodent wheel from the top bars without any issue, however heavy weight such as another cage would be too much).
- Not the most amazing shelf.