Which cage?

[Willow Wisp]

just had a quick measure, it was quick because a certain somebody woke up and wanted to eat the tape measure The wonderland wheel itself, (not the stand), measures 91mm depth. If you had all three shelves fitted and the ramp fitted in the Alexander then the gap depth between the joining platform and the ramp is 105mm so in theory the wonderland will fit between the gap. However if Charlie, (or anyone else's hammy who decided to do this), moved the wheel, as my lot occasionally do, they wouldn't need to move it much for it to rub on either the platform or the ramp, you could maybe cable tie it upside down from the big roof door and then put high substrate underneath it to stop them moving it though??
What I wouldn't like about this option though is the entire base of the cage would be obscured from view, platforms around 3 sides, ramp on the 4th side and wheel completely filling up the remaining open section in the middle, so you would have to start removing platforms or wheel etc or the entire top bar section of the cage to access and do anything in the base.

[cypher]

Just having another browse on Amazon & found the smaller Borneo a fair bit cheaper than ebay.
Mäuse- und Hamsterheim BORNEO "L": Amazon.de: Haustier

I really wish I'd found that one before I got the mamble tbh, it's nearly as high, so probably too high for a dwarf & would need plenty of shelves or hammocks for a syrian but would be perfect for a Chinese with the benefit of the good access.
I found another picture of the 2 tier carlos one with a wheel in it, flat on the base & it practically reached the top of the upper base so I'm thinking now that the lower level might be very cramped once you'd put loads of substrate in.
The decision just keeps getting tougher!

[Pebbles82]

Thanks Cypher and Willow! Yes I see what you mean Willow - access to the lower part would be difficult. Lol! I should have just bought an Alexander straight away and not gone round the houses. I think the ideal cage doesn't exist - which is why people make them! Especially when you factor in individual requirements like: large syrian, mouse problem, maximum 100cm floorspace. The Alexander fits all those requirements. So does that two tier one but I really don't like grey lol! Anyway I've come to the conclusion that anything glass is a no no in this household - it would get broken in no time, so that leaves me with standard cage bases really. I did work out that the Barney cage top would almost certainly fit on top of the Imac Plexi 100 base - but that would be way to expensive an option as would mean buying two cages to get one and the Imac Plexi one is about £140 as it is. I might be better just getting a standard cage and a digging box - he might not like digging anyway. Wouldn't it be nice if you could choose the tops to go on the bases?

Have a fluey virus at the moment so not up to much decision-making anyway, but it gives me time to browse and draw diagrams lol!

[cypher]

Sorry to hear you're not well Serendipity, keep warm & get better soon.
All I can say is thank you for dragging us all around the houses lol! It gave me more to think about that's for sure so...
My final thoughts on the matter (for me that is!) are that floor size & depth of base vary very little between all the better cages, excess height is easy enough to reduce if need be, too little height is probably the most frustrating thing there is other than poor access, with a larger cage I think really good access is even more important than with the smaller ones like the alaska or hh, with the mamble even though the doors are a reasonable size & bigger than most reaching things at the back can be a bit of a pain if you need to do it too often & I wouldn't even like to try with teeny doors! So I've come to the conclusion that the Borneo is the best option (again for me, not generalising here!) I'd go for the biggest if I had the room but the 100cm one is a really nice size.
I've had enough indecision so I ordered one & will soon (ish) be able to tell you if it is a great choice or a huge mistake lol!

[Pebbles82]

Ooh you've bought one! I'm tempted myself.

[cypher]

Go on... I dare you lol!

[Pebbles82]

Well it fits the bill. I'm still waiting for a reply about the other two tier one with 6mm bar spacing - looks exactly the same as the Skyline one but smaller bar spacing. They probably won't want to ship to the Uk though. The 120cm one is amazing! I've never seen a cage that big with hamster sized bars - wish I could fit that in.

[cypher]

I was only joking, take your time, it is a big decision to make.
Know what you mean about that really big one, I'm quite tempted to get one as a playpen, the floor space is almost as big as the playpen & as Mickle so often wants to spend the whole day in there it would make life a lot easier for both of us! Have to let my bank balance recover from too much hamster shopping first though

[Pebbles82]

Can't wait to see your new cage though! Yes I'm not exactly rushing the decision, partly because I have a fuzzy head getting over the flu and partly because I was waiting for some inspiration as to what to do - Charlie might have given me some if you see my other thread - he's been digging! A first.

[Piebald]

Is this big enough?
http://www.amazon.de/M%C3%A4use-Hams...TM5BJCRGFEPP61

Not perfect but nicer than the plastic ones?

ETA I back read and see you had a bigger version of this marked.