More exciting cage news! Plaza with plexi

[Maz]

So I emailed my contact at Savic updating him on the Blue Cross guidance and telling him how popular the Plaza cage is and we're looking forward to the new 120cm Plaza. He emailed back and said they like to keep up with animal welfare and are also releasing another new cage for deeper bedding. It will be called the Aura 120. It's basically a Plaza 120 but already has plexi for a few inches above the base and before the bars start. And still has a big top door and front door. No info as to when this is likely to be though.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Very exciting news!

 

[Maz]

So no need to buy expensive plexi panels! I wonder how much it will cost though.

 

[Daisy]

That sounds amazing. It reminds of a cage, the name of which I can't remember, but it had a normal base, then a plexiglass panel, then bars.

Edit: Imac Plexi! That was it. https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.0c8f922cd1f2d3a61a2b31fc134f00a7?rik=+PwqJnLhfUcz5A&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

 

[Maz]

I also thought of that cage I used to really want one - but they were actually rat cages and one was way too tall and the other was not quite tall enough and had tiny doors. Plus they were incredibly expensive at the time and hard to get hold of. It did have a good base abour 30cm tall.

I have seen a photo of the mock up of the Aura 120 - It looks exactly like the Plaza 120. Same base (made from recycled plastic apparently) and then it's hard to see how the plexi attaches - whether it's attached to the base of the bars only or if it also attaches to the cage base somehow. It's also how hard to see how tall the plexi part is - maybe 3 or 4 inches. If it's 4" then that would make the base effectively 25cm tall.

Assume it's to allow for 20cm bedding depth at least (and to stop bedding falling out).

 

[Maz]

Actually - it's taller - 62cm instead of 52cm. So basically its the same cage but with an added 10cm of plexi under the bars. So yes it will be about 4" extra plexi height on the base. Putting 25cm substrate in, it would still fall out of the bars ha ha! But 20cm would stay in nicely.

 

[elusive]

Things are progressing! That sounds like it will be an amazing cage when it becomes available.

 

[Maz]

I think so too. It will be huge to handle! But then I guess rat owners get used to that - some rat cages have very large top bars. Which is why the big doors are needed! With my current Plaza I virtually never need to take the bars off with the nice big front door - I can do everything through that - even the labyrinth house goes in and out through that with it's legs on (albeit some jiggling of angle to get it in with the legs on). And I think anything bigger than 80cm, lifting the cage is a two person job! But you can get stands with wheels as well.

The one thing that occurred to me was the cost though. Which is unknown yet. The recently released Plaza 120 was priced more reasonably than people expect (although no cage is that cheap these days). But anything including perspex is usually much more expensive. I think Savic tend to pitch their pricing about right though.

What it does mean is people will have a choice of height with the same cage, depending what they want to do with it and how deep they want bedding in it and what species of hamster it's for.

 

[elusive]

It will be interesting to see how they price it, I don’t see with a company that size & if they do go on to produce a lot the plexiglass adding hugely to the cost but we will see…
Yes, choice! Things have been so limited for a long time to have that choice (if affordable) is great.

 

[Maz]

There still should be more choice. In the Uk we are basically dependent on Savic, primarily, for good cages - now the German cages don't ship here any more. And Ferplast have a good one. The Grosvenor XL might be good for dwarf hamsters but has limited height (but could have a deep end). I would want to add a small door at the front of that though!

 

[Member ID2]

I've seen a Grosvenor XL advertised today for £45 but the 39cm height really puts me off.

 

[Maz]

It's a bit low isn't it? It's the same height as the hamster heaven I think but I wonder if it might actually be a bit lower depending how thick the lift off roof is. It's fine for 6" substrate maybe but not for deeper and more for a dwarf than a Syrian perhaps.

 

[Maz]

So I emailed my contact at Savic updating him on the Blue Cross guidance and telling him how popular the Plaza cage is and we're looking forward to the new 120cm Plaza. He emailed back and said they like to keep up with animal welfare and are also releasing another new cage for deeper bedding. It will be called the Aura 120. It's basically a Plaza 120 but already has plexi for a few inches above the base and before the bars start. And still has a big top door and front door. No info as to when this is likely to be though.

Apparently this one is due to be released in June, providing all manufacturing checks etc are met ok. That usually means it doesn't appear in the Uk till a little bit later, but maybe some time after June

 

[Member ID2]

I can't help thinking that 62cm is too high and find around 50cm perfect. They could have made the base a lot deeper by adding plexiglass to it like i did by adding acrylic panels. Will be interesting to see the new cages and read reviews from reliable sources.

 

[elusive]

I wonder why they think all that extra height is needed too, even with the plexiglass that’s a lot of height above the base.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Extra height could mean adding extra bedding?

 

[elusive]

Difficult though if the height is bars & not the base.

 

[Member ID2]

Exactly. It pretty much limits the use to Syrians because that kind of height is difficult to set up for a dwarf.
I think anybody who wants very deep substrate like for a Robo for example, would opt for a tank and not a barred cage.
Many Syrians don't build tunnels like dwarfs do and need more spot cleaning because they wee more and their wee smells.
I'm curious to see where they place the front door. Above the plexi or above the base.
I'm not knocking the cage and like the idea but think it would be more practical to integrate the plexi with the base rather than adding an extra 10cm of plexi by increasing the height.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Oh I see. I did not realise the height was all bars and not a deeper base.

 

[Member ID2]

Oh I see. I did not realise the height was all bars and not a deeper base.

I'm not sure how it will work but am looking forward to see one.