When properly put together at first, this cage was a decent, interesting home for our hamster.He liked to cruise around it and carefully built his cozy home in the top "petting zone" level.
However, when cleaning time rolled around, we really came to hate its poor design.It is NOT a job for a kid under age 12 or so, so parents hoping to teach responsibility for cleaning up after a pet will be annoyed to find another chore added to their own weekly list.The pieces are cheap plastic, easily broken, and there are many of them.They come apart easily -- too easily -- and are okay to clean, but putting the thing back together is an exercise in frustration even for an adult with a degree in mechanical engineering (like me).Everything must be aligned perfectly or else it falls apart unexpectedly.You don't dare do it wrong, either, or your hamster may escape or have the whole thing collapse on him later.Over time, the punch-out hole blanks and latches holding it together break off and you have to resort to bent paper clips and duct tape to eke out another few weeks' use out of it.
The water bottle, by the way, directly resulted in the death of our first hamster, because it is opaque.A piece of litter got caught in its valve and it drained dry soon after it was filled.We didn't notice because the water was soaked up by the litter and the level inside is not visible.My son discovered his dead pet soon thereafter.One might say that we should have been checking/changing the water daily anyway, but we didn't forsee the problem and our hamster paid for it with his tiny life.For our next hamster we bought a separate, clear water bottle so we could monitor the level in between fillings.
I finally tossed the thing today.I couldn't even give it away in good conscience, even though it cost so much.Our hamster is back in a small but secure and easy to clean cage.There's a marketing opportunity out there for someone!
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Critter Trail Two Pet Home
This crate was the perfet size for my Yorkie. She has plenty of space in it. Its sturdy and easy to set up. A+ item.
I had this item sent to a friend for her birthday party and was amazed -- the product arrived within 48 hours of my order.Unfortunately, it arrived with an invoice and without the least indication of why it was sent... but that's not the end of the world.Arrived in beautiful condition and is really a high-quality, gorgeous project.
I bought this iteam for my two cats, I got it at pet store. My cats went crazy for it, they fight for it. The went Bananas for it..
Do not waste your money on this product. It utterly fell apart within 3 days.
I have owned the two and three story Crittertrail cages for my then 2 gerbils, along with regular wire cages and glass tanks.Now I only have one gerbil and have moved him into the Critter Trail one pet home.He seems happier in it than a regular, bigger wire cage (non-Critter Trail).Neither one of my gerbils liked being in the aquarium tanks either (we had a 20 gal. tank).After trying a variety of homes for my gerbils, I have concluded that they feel more secure in the Critter Trail cages and were friendlier.It is easy to clean, has a deep bin, love the petting/sleeping area at the top and is less drafty than a regular wire cage.I have heard of hamsters escaping from Critter Trail cages though.The original wheel is noisy.All in all, very happy with product.Wish it was a wee bit deeper.
Although this product is marketed as being compatible for mice, it is not 100% true. The problem lies in the spacing of the cage wires. They are just too big. Anything other that a full grown adult mouse will be able to squeeze through. You waste a lot of your time trying to catch lose mice in your house. This is not fun. The Critter Trail Outlook is a much better product for mice.