Crittertrail vs Habitrail?

anniechu87 · 06-05-2016, 12:29 AM

Hi there!

I have a little Russian Dwarf Hamster, thinking of getting a new cage for her, cuz I'm in between places right now and want to have a new cage for her when I move into my new place. My current one is the Crittertrail Extreme Challenge Cage - no complaints really, except for the fact that the big wheel at the top is a bit too bulky for her!

Just curious what your thoughts are with Crittertrail vs Habitrail cages? I also like to add things to her cage, I bought her some new pipes and stuff as well, but want to keep improving her cage!!

freyashamsters · 06-05-2016, 12:39 AM

Any of the units in either of those are unsuitable as stand-alone cages. Modular cages are not recommended as they do not provide one large area of space (I.e. Over 70x40cm) and cannot imitate their natural environment where ty would have miles of open land to free-range on.

If you're in the UK, I'd recommend looking on Zooplus for cages - they have a very wide variety of cages like the Alaska, Barney, Alexander and more!

If you're in the US then I'd recommend either the Goran 82 Rat Cage or the Kevin 82 cage - one has smaller bar slacking suitable for dwarfs but I can't remember which! Petco also do a "$1/gallon" sale about twice a year so you could get a 40 gallon tank for $40!

Or, if you don't mind a bit of DIY, you could make a bin cage or even a custom-built cage!

If you use them as an add-on to a larger cage like the ones listed above I'd go for the Habitrail OVO - the tubes are bigger, they seem to be cheaper and are easier to expand.

anniechu87 · 06-05-2016, 12:54 AM

I'm actually in Canada! Thinking now maybe I can make her a bin cage, but she seems to enjoy the climbing on the cage bars, and it'd be easier to get accessories cuz most are adapted for wire cages.

cypher · 06-05-2016, 01:21 AM

I agree that neither of those options is really suitable for a dwarf, or any ham really, I know it can be hard to get good cages in Canada so if you can make her a good size bin cage she would probably be a lot happier.
They do need a good bit of space, just not open space so plenty of toys & hideouts, they love to dig & burrow too given the opportunity so in a bin cage you could provide the depth, a good 4", they need.
I'm not sure what you mean by her wheel being too bulky for her but they do need a good size, 8" is usually best although the 9" silent runner is about the best dwarf wheel around, it is available in the US but not sure about Canada, you wouldn't really have room for a good wheel in those modular cages, certainly not the habitrail, not sure on the size of the crittertrail.

Pebbles82 · 06-05-2016, 01:35 AM

I'd also say neither! Sorry. A bin cage would be an option and then you can attach the current tubes and the crittertrail to it as add-ons. The main thing though, as Freyashamsters says, is they need a cage/tank with continuous floorspace of at least 70cm by 40cm, to be able to do normal hamstery things, like dig tunnels, exercise, and rearrange things how they like.

If you have an Ikea nearby the largest Samla bin is a good size for a dwarf hamster (but you wouldn't want to go any smaller than that) and it's tall enough to allow for a good depth of substrate for burrowing.

SAMLA Box - IKEA

They also sell the detolf which is a glass cabinet you tip on its side to make a tank - you just leave the door off when you put it together, and make a bit of a lid out of some wood and mesh. If you had one of those you could use parts of the habitrail and the tubes as toys inside it

Some people have a whole detolf for one dwarf hammy. The beauty of it is you can section it into different area - so one area could be sectioned off with very deep substrate as a digging area, and there is lots of space for tunnels, houses and other toys. It's a cheap option for a glass tank as normally they'd be over $100 dollars from what I've seen. Petsmart has a glass vivarium that's about $120 Canadian dollars and about 3 feet long.

DETOLF Glass-door cabinet - black-brown - IKEA

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=de...T4AC0Q_AUIBigB

If you have the wall space, a detolf makes a great hamster habitat. And personally I think it would be easier to make a lid for it than to cut a bin cage and mesh it

If you do go for a bin cage, the front cut out needs to be high enough up to allow for depth of substrate.

Here are some examples of habitrails etc attached to a bin cage - if you like that option. Generally though it's best to go for one large cage rather than lots of add-ons and you might find the add-ons don't get used much. They like to have the wheel, house, and toys etc all in one area where they can free roam a bit.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=de...ed+to+bin+cage

anniechu87 · 06-06-2016, 02:38 PM

Thanks everyone for the replies! I think her next cage is going to be a bin cage

I do have a bunch of tubes and whatnot that I want to attach to the bin though.. any idea how I can do that?

Pebbles82 · 06-06-2016, 03:54 PM

I'm afraid I don't know how people do it but have seen it done a lot - if you look at the photos on that link I posted, some of those will lead to sites where people talk about their cages and how they set them up - that might give some ideas.