260 replies to this topic

[Biscotti]

On the Boxo review, I want to confirm that thatpetplace.com does sell Boxo Comfort even though it's listed as regular Boxo (and the picture as well ). So far I've ordered 4x 184L bags from thatpetplace and they are all Boxo Comforts.

[Creative Hamster]

On the Boxo review, I want to confirm that thatpetplace.com does sell Boxo Comfort even though it's listed as regular Boxo (and the picture as well ). So far I've ordered 4x 184L bags from thatpetplace and they are all Boxo Comforts.

Oh really? Thanks for letting me know, I'll change that part!

[Ldoerr]

Great review I might have to try this sometime. 

[Lon]

Lee's Jumbo Critter Krawler

Description: 10" ball available in clear and assorted colors 

Availability: Pet Mountain (if you know of anywhere else that sells this please PM me)

Starting Price:$8.44

Pros: since it is 10 inches it will not ever arch a hamster's back, the clear color the one I own is very clear, assorted colors are very punchi, can be used with other small animals such as small rats, some hamsters like bigger sized balls, and tall enough so if you hold it with the opening face up the hamster will not climb out.

Cons: May be a bit heavy for hamsters, doors can sometimes open too easily, doors can get stuck, some hamsters just don't like balls, if the hamster suddenly stops the ball will still move around a bit, and it's difficult to clean.

Review: this ball is great for large syrians, but hard to clean because it doesn't come apart so it is very bulky if you try to wash it in the sink. the edges near the doors are a bit pointy but easily fixed with sand paper. But hamsters can escape easily and doors can get stuck. this is made with very durable plastic that will not crack easily. But some hamsters don't like the ball, but it can conveniently still be used for travel around the house Very nice colors Overall it is a good deal for the price. 

I would rate this 7.5/10 and Yes I would recommend this

(I will edit this later with pics and possible new info and if I left out any thing please PM me)

Edited by Gunther♥Oats, 04 September 2013 - 02:45 AM.

[Roxyy]

If it's still available I would like to do a review on the Kevin 82....... sorry if it's already been done and I missed it. Thanks

 

ETA:  sorry, I didn't read the directions first....I'll send a PM

Edited by PrincessRoxy, 03 September 2013 - 02:49 AM.

[Ldoerr]

Kaytee Guinea Pig Cage as a Hamster Cage

 

Overview

Guinea Pig and rabbit cages in general make great cages for hamsters as long as you modify them a bit. They are very roomy and allow for a lot of air flow. The bases are deep allowing for several inches of bedding  for burrowing. Even when the hamster pushes the bedding to the side mounding it up higher than the base very little if any will escape because of the modifications you will do. 

 

Modifications

Guinea pig and rabbit cages bar spacing are far to far apart to contain our little ones. You will need to put mesh on the sides and top to keep hammie inside. This can easily be done with only a few things and a little bit of time. I used 1/2" wire mesh but you can also use 1/4". To hold the mesh on zip ties work wonderfully. The only other things you will need are a good pair of wire cutters (these can be found just about anywhere including Walmart and the dollar store). Duct tape will clean the whole look up and prevent you from cutting yourself when you go near the cage. (cut wire hurts). For my cage I used about 10 feet of wire that is 2 foot wide and had some left over. I also used over 100 zip ties so I would make sure that you have at least 150 just in case. Your material requirements might be different depending on the cage you get. 

 

Picture time

That is a large cat cage for size reference. 

 

(sorry about it not being very clean it just came out of storage). 

 

The cage that I have reviewed is this one http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12341303&lmdn=Pet+Type&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo. With these cage the measurements that it gives you are the actual measurements of the cage floor (assuming you fill the base with bedding). This might not apply to some cages so it is best to double check.  

 

Pros *

very spacious

lots of air flow

easy to see what is going on in there

holds a good amount of bedding

not too terribly expensive compared to commercial hamster cages of adequate size.

easy to attach things to the cage because of the mesh 

 

Cons *

can be a pain to put the top on the base because of the meshing that has to be done

if you use the wrong material for the sides the hamster will escape (do not use window screening like I did for the door). 

you can not fit a 12" wheel through the door but a 8" will fit nicely

can take a couple of hours to mesh the cage

 

Overall I would recommend guinea pig and rabbit cages for hamsters as long as you use the right material for the sides and top. I do not use mine any more because of a mistake I made while making mine (window screen should NOT be used as the hamster WILL escape). Some people might already have most if not all the stuff for this cage sitting around already so cost might go WAY down for you. If you want to upgrade your hamsters cage consider this an option

 

* Pros and Cons are for the specific cage that I have. Some might not apply to your cage.

Edited by ldoerr, 10 September 2013 - 08:59 AM.

[HoppingHammy]

Habitrail OVO Cages, Trails, & Accessories (excluding Loft)

VIDEO REVIEW



INFO
Habitrail OVO is a plastic, modular cage system for hamsters. It is widely recognized for its round, futuristic appearance. Because of the small size and lack of proper ventilation, this system is suitable only when used as an add-on, not as a stand-alone cage. The OVO Studio, Blue Maze, and Pink Maze share the same dimensions of 10.5" around the base which equals a mere 86.5 sq. inches. I am unsure what the Loft cage measurements are, but I've heard the Loft is twice the size of the the Studio / Maze cages.

 

The trails (tubes) come apart easily, in 2 sections. They are very spacious and perfectly suited for Syrian hamsters, though they can be used for dwarfs if laid out horizontally. The colors are light tinted blue, green, orange, and pink. The trail connectors create a solid hold and they lock / unlock simply by twisting them. The pod units come apart in sections to make for easy cleaning. The water bottle tends to be useless as it it both leaky and difficult for the hamster to tilt its head up and drink from. This problem is easily remedied by attaching on another type of cage (as you should anyway) and using a different water bottle. There are reported tricks online that help with the leak issue, but personally I do not recommend or trust the OVO water bottle.

 

PLACES TO BUY ONLINE (If you are aware of other places, please let me know!)

US/CANADA: www.amazon.com, www.petdiscounters.com, www.pet360.com
UK: www.amazon.co.uk, www.petplanet.co.uk, www.zooplus.co.uk

 

PROS
- Imitates a burrow system
- Easy to disassemble
- Tubes are large
- Punchi colors

CONS
- Far too small on its own

- Water bottle is leaky
- Very poor ventilation
- Prone to cracking
- Expensive

OVERALL RATING

[FuzzyPolkaDot]

Oh my goodness HH, this is truly amazing! I know how hard this probably was, & you nailed it! You really covered just about everything possible, this couldn't be any better! Very professionally done & super detailed! The tube comparison idea was very creative & quite helpful! 

 

Awww, the floofy Yodel tube action! Look at him just lovin' those TOOBS! I'm so glad there's someone else who shares this obsession! He's so lucky to have a wonderful hammy mommy!

 

This was awesome very well done! I loved the review! <3 (I loved seeing all the punchi toobs & polka dot background in the beginning! )

Edited by ☮FuzzyPolkaDot☮, 14 September 2013 - 10:13 PM.

[Creative Hamster]

Awesome review HH, that music in the video was so soothing, haha! You've done a very professional review, I love the facts you put in the end, I had no idea OVO tubes and what not could do those things :O

[Roxyy]

Kevin 82 Cage

 

What’s in the box:

Blue plastic base

Wire top

2 small food dishes

6 ½” wheel

2 platforms

Tubing that connects the platforms

House hide box

Clips to hold the wire top to the base

 

First, the overall dimensions of the cage are, 32.25" L x 20" W x 14.25" H.  The actual floor of the cage is 30”x18” which equals about 540 square inches (about 3484 square centimeters) of floor space.  The spacing between the bars of the cage are ¼” which would be adequate for a dwarf or Syrian.  The cage comes with a lot of extras, some of which are nice and some that are kind of useless (listed in the pro/con below).  My main complaint with this cage is that, if you are planning on using your own wheel like I did, the platforms make it next to impossible to place it in a reasonable area.  I like to have my wheel facing the front at the back of the cage, so I can watch my hammy run.  The platforms make it impossible to do this with a wodent wheel jr.  So, in order to place my own wheel on the floor where I wanted it, I took out the corner platform and the tubes that connected to it.  The platforms are also pretty much required to be placed where they suggest in the stock photos, which adds to the problem with the wheel.  The food bowls are also incredibly tiny, they’re maybe ¾” by 2” and it would difficult to actually put food into the bowls, they also are meant to be attached to the bars of the cage instead of sitting on the ground.  And if you have a hamster that likes to sit in their bowl and eat, they won’t like these dishes.  The wheel is also going to be too small for any Syrian hamster, however, it would be perfect for a dwarf.  Despite these problems this really is a good cage.  The floor space is much larger than the minimum, which is a huge selling point for people in the United States, since it’s so difficult to find a barred cage that, at the very least, meets the minimum cage requirement.  The base and wire top are easily removable, and the door in front is very large, making spot cleaning and whole cage cleanings easy.  

 

Pros:

• The cage is of minimum floor size. 
• Good ventilation
• Holds a lot of bedding
• The wheel is a good size for dwarf hamsters and is actually quiet
• The door on the front is large, allowing for easy access to clean
• The added platforms are sturdy
• Tubes appear to be larger than kritter trail tubes (would probably be fine for a smaller pet store Syrian, too big for my campbells dwarf to use comfortably)
• The bar spacing is small enough for dwarf hamsters
• Both wodent wheel jr and sr will fit into the cage
• The 6 ½” wheel is good for dwarf hamsters, and is solid, so no feet will be harmed

 

Cons:

• Having both of the platforms in the cage makes it difficult to fit a wheel if you want to use one other than the one provided (removal of either one of the platforms will fix the problem)
• The shelves aren’t easily changed (the corner shelf must be in the back of the cage) and once they’re in they’re incredibly difficult to take out
• The food dishes are incredibly tiny
• At ~$120.00 plus shipping it is much more expensive than a bin cage (or a tank on the Petco $1 per gallon sale). 

 

Where to Buy:

• amazon.com
• thatpetplace.com

 

I would rate this cage an 8 out of 10 stars and I would definitely recommend it to others.

 

Ok, now onto some pictures!  The first is the stock photo that shows everything that comes with it and how they set it up.  The next is a picture of my setup with one of the platforms in there.  It shows the basic size and how many toys, hides, etc. you can fit in there.  The last picture is of my cage with no shelves, which seems to be the better setup for my dwarf.

 

If there is anything I forgot please let me know

Edited by PrincessRoxy, 14 September 2013 - 08:57 AM.

[tbiM20]

Update on the reviews! We've had some awesome additions, but there's still plenty more to do. Is anyone interested? Make sure to read the review guidelines first.

 

I could use volunteers for:

Cheesy Chews, Greenies, Milkbones, Snak Shack Logs, and other edible chew toys (don't forget to check out Tax's great Whimzees review! Consider ingredients and healthiness as well as how much fun it is )

 

Comfort Wheel, Bogie Wheel, and a Wall of Shame review for mesh and wire wheels (remember WOS reviews take a little extra research!)

 

Oasis Bell Bottle, Savic cages, and any beddings or cages not on the list above!

 

Any cool toys or products you have that you really like! Remember, the only reason it's not on the list yet is because you haven't told me about it 

Edited by tbiM20, 18 September 2013 - 08:58 PM.

[nebit]

Seems the board is moving away from milkbones in general, in favor of more high-quality, healthier treats, as milkbones contain a lot of questionable ingredients. It seems like the reviews are mostly for stuff that IS recommended, so maybe a milk bone review is not such a good idea? Or move it to the wall o shame?

[tbiM20]

Seems the board is moving away from milkbones in general, in favor of more high-quality, healthier treats, as milkbones contain a lot of questionable ingredients. It seems like the reviews are mostly for stuff that IS recommended, so maybe a milk bone review is not such a good idea? Or move it to the wall o shame?

 

Hmm that's a good question. I don't use Milkbones so haven't really paid attention to that. Is it that it's poorly recommended, or that it's recommended against? Like, we have a Crittertrail review, but it's just poorly rated, not a "dangerous" product.

[nebit]

Hmm, I would recommend against, but in light of reviews on Crittertrails and the Hartz Play City etc, I suppose you could go for a poor rating (hate to say a poor recommendation because, well, it implies it is still recommended on some level). Although, items like crittertrails and hartz cages, can have a place in a proper set up (as add ons), whereas I probably wouldn't give milk bones a place in the diet at all. There's no need for them, and people wanting to give biscuits, can just choose safer options.

[Lon]

Milkbones also contain BHA debated to cause cancer in animals I would also recommend against it