Skyline Small Pet Terrarium Marrakesh

BeautyandtheBeast · 03-21-2016, 03:37 AM

Hi guys, I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I am, fingers crossed, going to purchase a new hammy on Friday. I will also, obviously, be buying a cage for the little fella. However, it is ONLY a starter cage and I will be upgrading as soon as possible. I really want a glass-aquarium style tank but I'm finding it really difficult to find one that's adequately sized and doesn't come on a stand! What do you guys think of this one? I would go for the larger of the two which measures 96x47x38 cm (LxWxH) and retails for £129.99. Unfortunately I can't copy/paste the link but it's on Zooplus.com and is called Skyline Small Pet Terrarium Marrakesh

Please note: I will be getting a Syrian hamster and I know it would probably be better and cheaper to build my own but I'm rubbish at DIY!

Thank you

Pebbles82 · 03-21-2016, 06:41 AM

I think it's a great tank style habitat for a Syrian. I fancied one for a while. They aren't that tall inside for a Syrian sized wheel, but most 11 to 12" wheels should fit and you'd just need lower substrate at that end.

It's actually about the same dimensions as the Ferplast Maxi Duna Multy - the only difference being the duna multy has a curved base and lid which lessens the floor area slightly. On the other hand the Duna Multy is also deeper than 47cm so makes up for it that way. If you like the tank style cages, that might also be an option and would also be a good habitat for a Syrian Hamster

Cage Maxi Duna Multy

There's also the Living World Eco Habitat which is a bit taller and so could be a bit more versatile for layout - the medium sized one is 100cm and it is also deeper at about 55cm deep. There would be a bit of diy with that I reckon, to mesh the top as the slots are big 2cm ones and I reckon it's not escape proof the way it is. I nearly got that one too! In the end I got a cage because it was an upgrade and our hamster was used to a cage. The advantage of it being taller is you could have quite deep substrate and have the wheel on a shelf or platform, but you could still have quite deep substrate in the Marrakesch as well.

Living World Green Eco Habitat | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

But if you like the Marrakesch, go for it - it's lovely!

BeautyandtheBeast · 03-21-2016, 07:45 AM

Thank you so much for your advice! There's so many lovely options out there, it's hard to choose one. I really like both of these, although I'm swaying more towards the Living World Eco Habitat. It looks so spacious and it has wheels! I probably wouldn't use these at the minute but it's nice to have the option. It's also on offer at the minute and £10 cheaper than the Skyline Small Pet Terrarium Marrakesh. Hm, decisions

Pebbles82 · 03-22-2016, 03:47 AM

I think they are both good options and a Syrian would be happy in either. The Marakesch could stand on top of something - chest of drawers or similar and is ready to go (although I think it comes flatpack but otherwise no diy). I think I would find it a bit of pain stapling mesh to the top of the Eco Habitat. The Marakesch is probably easier to set up as well. With the extra height in the Eco Habitat it has it's pros and cons as you can use the extra height but then you need extra platforms and so on. It is bigger inside floorspace-wise but would also take up a lot more space. I think it needs something waterproof putting inside on the base too, as the base is wood. They do sell some kind of liners for it but I think Correx would be easier and better (Correx/coroplast is cardboard with a plasticised coating). The wood on the Marrakesch is already painted with something waterproof and the base is glass.

So the Marrakesch might work out cheaper as you'd have less extras to buy. I was torn between the two as well, and ended up getting a cage

. But that was only because I was upgrading our hamster from a smaller cage. The other good thing about the Marrakesch is you don't have to worry about fall risks as it isn't too high to fall from the top and a hammy probably couldn't hang from the top easily anyway.

I think for me it would be between the Marrakesch and the maxi duna multi. I think I would go with the Marrakesch - reviewers comment that it looks really good as well (I've read reviews on German Amazon).

shawniyatwain · 03-22-2016, 04:10 AM

Have you considered the ikea detolf? It's a large glass cabinet that turned on its back makes a large tank style cage plus it's only £40, ikea also do something called the kalmar which the detolf fits on comfortably. I personally would say new hamster or fish tanks are very overpriced. Check out erinsanimals review video on the detolf (youtube) it gives a great general idea of the cage

The one downside is you do have to make a lid but there are plenty of easy tutorials

shawniyatwain · 03-22-2016, 04:11 AM

Have you considered the ikea detolf? It's a large glass cabinet that turned on its back makes a large tank style cage plus it's only £40, ikea also do something called the kallax which the detolf fits on comfortably. I personally would say new hamster or fish tanks are very overpriced. Check out erinsanimals review video on the detolf (youtube) it gives a great general idea of the cage

The one downside is you do have to make a lid but there are plenty of easy tutorials

BeautyandtheBeast · 03-22-2016, 04:23 AM

Thank you - the Marrakesh is probably a lot more suited to me, and by the sounds of it, cheaper in the long run. I've looked into the IKEA Detolf but it's not for me. I'm probably going to need assistance putting the Marrakesh together. Maybe I should invest in a DIY for Dummies :L

AmityvilleHams · 03-22-2016, 05:02 AM

People make DIY sound so incredibly difficult but DIY is actually really easy.

Pebbles82 · 03-22-2016, 05:09 AM

The Marrakesch will be flat pack so all holes should be pre-drilled and you should just need a screwdriver

And extra pair of hands can always be a help though. You'll probably need a posidrive screwdriver (I didn't know what that meant for a long time but it's a screwdriver with a kind of 'cross' end instead of a flat end so it has four grooves coming to a point - it's the one that isn't flat-ended basically!

BeautyandtheBeast · 03-22-2016, 05:15 AM

DIY is easy if you have the time and patience - and thank you! I've just had a quick look and we have a posidrive screwdriver. I wish Friday would hurry up so I can go choose my new hammy, the excitement is getting too much now