Faulty Cage??

[mrsroth]

Can anyone help me out here, we bought our hamster and cage on Friday afternoon from Pets at Home, the cage we chose cost £35. It is your simple wire cage with plastic tray, wheel, large food bowl, large water bottle (well for a hamster) house, 1 level and a tube mechanism. The cage has 2 openings, 1 ontop of the cage, the other on the front side of the cage. What we have noticed since putting the cage together is that the bar of the cage that the side "door" latches onto has already started to bend and leave a little bit of a gap bigger than the rest of the bars. Also, the level / shelf sits on the cage bars with 2 hooks on the side and 2 wider ledge - hook type things on the front and back of the cage, however, with taking the tubes out (because he kept sleeping / living in them) our hamster uses the bars to access the other level until we have a ladder or attach the tubes again. But the level / shelf keeps moving / coming loose to the extent that the hooks are on different bars and the whole level / shelf is crooked. Is this safe? The way that the shelf / level would normally be accessible is via the tubes that don't even touch the shelf / level. If this cage is not safe / suitable would we be able to return it?

[mrsroth]

Oh I forgot, it was the "Laura Large Hamster Home"

[BrainGirl]

Hmm, the dimensions are rather small, I would try to return it or exchange it using the problem with the wires as an excuse if nothing else convinces them and get something bigger. My preference would be a Zoo Zone 2 (I have a Zoo Zone 1, which I used for an elderly hammy) or the Alaska or Barney cages I've seen mentioned on here. So sad I can't get them in this country

[kyrilliondaemon]

I personally would take the shelf out. If you can return it and get a different one that'd be even better
The Laura isnt a cage I'd reccomend and its better to be safe than sorry with hamsters sometimes, if the shelf seems unsafe to you its better out than in the cage really

[BrainGirl]

There were some good ones listed in the Marketplace section that might still be available and hopefully are near you! Just thought I'd mention it as an option

[CreamSyrian]

Yeah, I'd really return the cage seeing as you're having problems with it. Its also a small cage (46x25cm), when you should try and aim for at least 80 x 50cm Pets at home sell the ferplast mary in some stores which is a good size, but its rather expensive at £70. It'd be more cost effective to visit Pet Supplies, Pet Food, Dog Food, Cat Food and Pet Accessories at Zooplus as they have a great selection of suitable cages at fairly low prices. The alaska, for example, is only £39.90. For £5 more than your other cage, you get a large cage measuring 84 x 48.5cm! Hope this helps

[racinghamster]

I agree. If you are unhappy with any little faults, chances are they could prove a danger to your hamster, so return the cage and explain why you are not happy with it (don`t let them convince you otherwise!) and either replace it with a larger cage/tank (although Pets At Home are not good for cages they are mostly too small or modular) and order one from Zooplus or another reputable website who sell MUCH better cages for the money.

If you bought the hamster WITH the cage, I imagine you won`t have a spare cage to house him in if you return this cage, but you could make a Bin cage from a large storage box as a temporary housing until you can order a better cage?

Is your hamster a Syrian or one of the dwarf species?