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Although this cage has been discontinued, I think it is still a great cage and can sometimes be found second hand!
The cage measures 98.5x58.5x61cm
Pros about the cage:
1) As the cage is perspex there are no bars that little robos could escape from, there is lots of room for bedding!
2) I found it fairly easy to assemble. I just used the allen key that it came with to attach all the pieces together.
This also means it was easy to take apart to store for a while when I didn't have a use for it. It pretty much goes flat as all the pieces are just wood and perspex. The only bits that stick out are the wheels attached to the base.
3) Easy to interact and clean (mostly)
Due to the large top opening I find it is a lot easier to tame and handle my hamsters over the smaller side doors (when comparing to the Alexander cage that I also have)
Furthermore, when cleaning you are able to get into the cage easily to reach all areas. Bear in mind the wooden base but other than that the sides are easy to wipe down.
4) It looks nice!
Especially when nice and clean!
It fits into your home quite well, it looks like something that is somewhat homemade. You are able to see your hamster running around or if they are digging around the edges of the cage.
5) It holds up quite well!
I have had mine for 5 years ish. And there is very little wear and tear, especially since there has been 3 hamsters living in it!
6) Can be moved easily
If you have the wheels on the base you can move this cage around to switch rooms or just to make different areas more available for easy cleaning.
This was specifically useful for me as I keep the cage under a table (used to have another cage on top of the table) meaning I can pull the cage out from under the table easily.
Cons about the cage:
1) It can be quite expensive, especially now it isn't made anymore.
I think if you can do a little bit of DIY, you could make a cage the same size or bigger for the same or less. We just made a guinea pig cage that was 175x70cm which cost about £80-100 for all the materials.
2) It is wooden
As it has a wood base, it can get damaged from urine if not protected. I would recommend plastikote, I didn't use this (wish I did) I ended up covering the base with sticky back plastic. However, if this lifts slightly or gets sand underneath it can lift which means it can be chewed.
And if you don't modify the bottom with something a little waterproof, it can make it a little hard to clean as you can't sanitise.
3) The lid
Due to the large opening, it needs a large lid. This is just one solid piece of some sort of MDF board with holes along for ventilation.
We did a little bit of DIY to make it a little easier, we cut the lid in half, lengthways and added hinges so I can fold it back for daily spot cleans.
It also means that if the hamster can reach the lid with high bedding and platforms, it can be chewed which is a risk for chewers. (To be honest, the whole cage could be a risk for chewers as I have heard reports of hamsters chewing the perspex holes, I guess you just need to know your hamster and what they need in their cage)
4) Water bottle attachments
I, unfortunately, have gone through so many water bottles. At first I used the ferplast sippy water bottle which worked really well with the suction cups. Towards the end it was chewed a little bit and after a few years of use the actual bottle did start to leak. So I switched to a plastic classic water bottle with my newest two hamsters cable tied to the sides of the cage. This worked really well until Boo figured out she could chew the cable ties and make it fall down (to be fair, this is the hamster who had to have two attachments on her Alexander cage as she would knock her water bottle off on there too!). I am now on a water bowl. So this may just be a Boo issue!
I will add some photos of previous set ups, I do need to get an up to date photo of her set up at the minute.
Please take into consideration that some of the set ups are 5 years old and there isn't as much bedding that I would use now.
If I can think of any other elements of the cage I will edit or add them as comments!
Hope this was somewhat useful!
The cage measures 98.5x58.5x61cm
Pros about the cage:
1) As the cage is perspex there are no bars that little robos could escape from, there is lots of room for bedding!
2) I found it fairly easy to assemble. I just used the allen key that it came with to attach all the pieces together.
This also means it was easy to take apart to store for a while when I didn't have a use for it. It pretty much goes flat as all the pieces are just wood and perspex. The only bits that stick out are the wheels attached to the base.
3) Easy to interact and clean (mostly)
Due to the large top opening I find it is a lot easier to tame and handle my hamsters over the smaller side doors (when comparing to the Alexander cage that I also have)
Furthermore, when cleaning you are able to get into the cage easily to reach all areas. Bear in mind the wooden base but other than that the sides are easy to wipe down.
4) It looks nice!
Especially when nice and clean!
It fits into your home quite well, it looks like something that is somewhat homemade. You are able to see your hamster running around or if they are digging around the edges of the cage.
5) It holds up quite well!
I have had mine for 5 years ish. And there is very little wear and tear, especially since there has been 3 hamsters living in it!
6) Can be moved easily
If you have the wheels on the base you can move this cage around to switch rooms or just to make different areas more available for easy cleaning.
This was specifically useful for me as I keep the cage under a table (used to have another cage on top of the table) meaning I can pull the cage out from under the table easily.
Cons about the cage:
1) It can be quite expensive, especially now it isn't made anymore.
I think if you can do a little bit of DIY, you could make a cage the same size or bigger for the same or less. We just made a guinea pig cage that was 175x70cm which cost about £80-100 for all the materials.
2) It is wooden
As it has a wood base, it can get damaged from urine if not protected. I would recommend plastikote, I didn't use this (wish I did) I ended up covering the base with sticky back plastic. However, if this lifts slightly or gets sand underneath it can lift which means it can be chewed.
And if you don't modify the bottom with something a little waterproof, it can make it a little hard to clean as you can't sanitise.
3) The lid
Due to the large opening, it needs a large lid. This is just one solid piece of some sort of MDF board with holes along for ventilation.
We did a little bit of DIY to make it a little easier, we cut the lid in half, lengthways and added hinges so I can fold it back for daily spot cleans.
It also means that if the hamster can reach the lid with high bedding and platforms, it can be chewed which is a risk for chewers. (To be honest, the whole cage could be a risk for chewers as I have heard reports of hamsters chewing the perspex holes, I guess you just need to know your hamster and what they need in their cage)
4) Water bottle attachments
I, unfortunately, have gone through so many water bottles. At first I used the ferplast sippy water bottle which worked really well with the suction cups. Towards the end it was chewed a little bit and after a few years of use the actual bottle did start to leak. So I switched to a plastic classic water bottle with my newest two hamsters cable tied to the sides of the cage. This worked really well until Boo figured out she could chew the cable ties and make it fall down (to be fair, this is the hamster who had to have two attachments on her Alexander cage as she would knock her water bottle off on there too!). I am now on a water bowl. So this may just be a Boo issue!
I will add some photos of previous set ups, I do need to get an up to date photo of her set up at the minute.
Please take into consideration that some of the set ups are 5 years old and there isn't as much bedding that I would use now.
If I can think of any other elements of the cage I will edit or add them as comments!
Hope this was somewhat useful!
