Habitrail OVO cages

**ianpallen** · 07-17-2014, 04:19 AM

I have Screech in a large hamster cage with tubes going to the outside and around the back. There is a platform in it where I put her food and where her water bottle is. It is a large pets at home cage. I have just bought a Habitrail OVO suite off ebay and will be buying about 3 more when I have the money to do so. As the cage I have now has the tubes fitted, I will be joining these cages together so there are lots of tubes and chambers for Screech to explore and chose her bedrooms etc. I would have liked to have had a 3ft fish tank or a vivarium to house her, but I think adding more cages together would be more fun for her. I am just hoping the tubes on the P@H cage (which fit the savic tubes) will fit the habitrail tubes.

**kyrilliondaemon** · 07-17-2014, 05:41 AM

Er... The P@H cage tubes almost definetly won't fit the habitrail ones I'm afraid. I do also feel quite strongly (from experience) that its better to give the ham all the space in one big area instead of in lots of little areas. It can work fine but Scamp went from a huge modular setup that she liked to a big cage with slightly less floorspace without any modular stuff and she was way happier with it

SinNyx · 07-17-2014, 06:06 AM

Agreeing with kyrilliondaemon, it may be best to invest in a cage with larger floor space instead, something like the Alaska or Barney off Zooplus. If you like tubes, the Hamster Heaven is also a great cage and you can connect it to other smaller savic cages if you wish. I find hamsters are usually happier in a large space rather than a lot of smaller cages, they can also become quite a pain to clean and hard to get the hamster out of, or lack ventilation and in some cases cause respiratory problems.

BrainGirl · 07-17-2014, 06:49 AM

I have to agree as well. I own several of those ovo cages, both the large Loft and the tiny Suites. Air flow isn't the greatest, cleaning is a pain, and I know from experience that the weight of a Syrian, if they can even fit through the tubes, can be enough to pop them apart at the joint

Hekomi · 07-17-2014, 07:41 AM

Agreed. Plus dwarfs aren't really the best climbers in the whole world.

**ianpallen** · 07-17-2014, 08:34 AM

Thanks for the tips guys. I was thinking of having all the levels on one level so there is no steep climbing. I dont like the idea of a hamster climbing straight up a tube. Tunnels are not built straight down to their hised in the wild. But I thought having the large cage with the tubes leading to oter places would be less boring for her. Screech loves going through the tubes in her cage. The tube goes from the bottom up a slight hillat about 40 degrees and through the side of the cage into a 180 degree then all along the back into another 180 then into the other side of the cage to the platform. I know the savic tubes fit my cage tubes but the rotastak are larger. I have a large 4ft indoor rabbit cage that I am also thinking of making into a hamster cage. If I got some grill to make a lid, like what people use on the home made tubs, I can discard the top part and cut oblong holes in the front and grill them or use perspex and fit with nuts, bolts and washers. I wouldnt use cable ties as they can be chewed.

This rabbit cage is 4ft long x 18" wide. I dont know how deep, but there is plenty of floor space.

Hekomi · 07-17-2014, 08:35 AM

That looks good! You will likely have to mesh it though, as the bar spacing will be too big.

Esmy · 07-17-2014, 08:41 AM

I meshed a guinea pig cage and my mouse loves it. I would use it for a hamster but I don't have good luck with them, as they are almost all bar biters.

**kyrilliondaemon** · 07-17-2014, 08:44 AM

That does look good, although I'd probably just mesh the whole thing instead of discarding the top bit.

I know savic tubes don't fit rotastak ones (at least not without a specific connector that doesn't come with either type of tube) but habitrail ovo tubes are completely different - they have locking connectors that I can't imagine working with other types of tubing.

Tubes as toys are great, its just that modular setups themselves are often not as good for the ham as a single big cage would be

BrainGirl · 07-17-2014, 08:48 AM

I use meshed rabbit cages like yours for my hamsters and they work great! I do use cable ties as well and have never really had a problem. Yes, they can be chewed, but unless the tie is exactly where the ham wants to escape through they're not likely to take notice of it.