Cage Amp Accessories Small Animal Habitat

2 reviews for Cage Amp Accessories Small Animal Habitat

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   mtliu – February 25, 2023

   Disclosure: bought for substantially less as an Amazon Warehouse item.I didn’t want to pay full-price for this. When I saw one come up for less due to a damaged box item, I took the plunge. There are two “outhouse” globes – both larger than I thought. This also comes with a nifty 5-way cube connector, one T-joint, two elbows, and two larger straight T-joints. I’ve found it a challenge to find a use for the large T’s, but the other ones get used sometimes.The mice seem to avoid the larger globe, but 3 of them sometimes crammed into the smaller one to sleep. Another cosmetically damaged one came up and I bought it – it was cracked at the joint, but once assembled, fully functional. What I found is that one of my pregnant Mom’s preferred to turn this into her nest – and dragged bedding from all over to completely fill the globe. She birthed the babies in a “Habitrail OVO Maze”. When she found this smaller globe, she moved bedding from all over the cage overnight and culled her litter down to 2 – and moved the 2 to the globe. I can see then kicking around while I took the pictures for this review.I tried 7 different outhouses for my mice. I am keeping all of them and leaving reviews for each one. Four are from Habitrail , 2 are from Crittertrail, and 1 is from Tiny Tales (The Tiny Tales one isn’t on Amazon, but only at PetSmart – short story on that one is it’s spacious, but has the opening at the bottom).The good thing about both globes that came with the Adventure pack is that the entrance is higher than the floor – rather than coming right through the bottom of the floor. The mother mouse probably realized her babies could easily fall down the hole in the Maze and moved them once she was aware of the globe. The other outhouse I have with a side entrance is the “Kaytee CritterTrail Fun-nel Small Animal Outhouse” and another mother chose that as her nest – although she birthed them in there and didn’t cover the entire structure with bedding. Although the Habitrail globe has air holes, I see condensation on the inside. The Kaytee one has no air holes, but so far, I see no fogging up inside that one.Since the floor is below the horizontal entrance way – making the bedding inside naturally stay inside unless the critters purposefully try to dig it out Some of the other outhouses have the entrance from the bottom – which makes the others naturally have the bedding fall through the entrance. The other ones could also have babies wander and fall down the tube – probably why one mother chose to move hers after culling to this one and the other chose the Kaytee.The big globe seems to be too large for the mice’s comfort. I have found that mice prefer cramped spaces when given the choice between a large spacious >1000 sq in cage, >500 sq in cage, or even the >150 sq in ones by Habitrail or Kaytee and the like. When they get into the big spaces, they get disoriented and uncomfortable and zip around from side to side and quickly exit. My mice have access to very large spaces in multiple cages, and prefer to spend most of their time – and birth in cramped spaces like the smaller globe.Some of them even prefer the 5 way connecting cube that came with this kit – sometimes I’ll see two of them cramped in the cube and sleeping – there is one male mouse that prefers to spend most of his time awake in the 5 way cube – he will traverse long distances to the food accessible through the large open area cage – and bring back one or two pieces of food to the small cramped cube – then eat it – then repeat.The Habitrail connecting rings are very secure – but also very tricky to secure and use correctly. If the rings included are not secured or used correctly, the structure falls apart with the slightest lateral movement. I still haven’t been able to master the use of the Habitrail connecting rings – some of them don’t seem to engage at all – are they will grip one tube, but not the other. I prefer the Kaytee or Tiny Tales connecting rings – they are more difficult to affix and detach than the Habitrail, but they are also more secure and there is no question if it’s connected correctly.If another one goes up on Amazon Warehouse, I’m getting it.
   
   

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Frequent Amazon Customer – February 25, 2023

   Yes, the Habitrail OVO system of interlocking tubes and chambers is pretty amazing and this is a great kit to get you started. As you can tell, it is very easy to go overboard and also easy to get confused by what you really need and what to purchase next. The main focus of this review is to get all the things out there that I wish *I* knew before buying, not that it would change my mind!First, the layout. This OVO Dwarf kit is great for Robos, Russians, gerbils and mice. I had a mouse who loved the straight vertical tubes, but my Winter Whites didn’t do vertical. So I simply rotated the T-connectors so they were at an incline (takes double the length of tubes to reach the same height) and all was well. If your little ones don’t like climbs at all it’s really easy to make it all level.If you want to expand your habitat it is much more cost-efficient to purchase new kits like this one, rather than buying tube parts individually. Unless you really need only one or two specific parts for your layout. Not only will buying new kits give you an assortment of tubes and connectors, but you’ll also have some additional chambers to add in.Remember, it’s the chambers that really matter because that’s where your creatures will be doing all of their activities. Tunnels are only for getting from one place to another. Also note that the tunnels are not ventilated so plan your layout with chambers on the ends and throughout to help promote airflow. If you have more than one critter in an enclosure you’ll want to plan your layout as a closed loop so everything has two access paths.The connectors and rings are all universal within this brand and I am very impressed at the quality of design and materials. It’s so simple and effective, just plug two things into a ring and twist. Sturdy plastic and rubber allows them to hold quite a bit of weight and I’ve done some tunnels and even a water bottle or two extended outwards from a cage without even the slightest hint of droopage. In my photo there is a book and a pill bottle acting as a support for a tube leading up to a lookout, but it really wasn’t even necessary. It was just for peace of mind while learning to trust the sturdy construction of the attachment rings.The home included in this kit is large and has many great features like a good running wheel, steps leading up to a built-in food or bath dish, and a cubbyhole home that is large enough for two dwarves (and even my Golden Syrian fits in there). These three features are easily removable, giving you space to place your own shelter or wheel if you wanted.The water bottle worked fine, the transport is perfect for trips to the pet store or vet, and the little den makes a great piece to use instead of a window end-cap.So with all these good things to say, why do I only give this 4 stars instead of 5? Well, my complaints are very minor, but there are several of them.First, if you use the built-in food dish atop the steps for food, there are two problems. The steps are tall and smooth without footholds, and my dwarves sometimes took multiple attempts to try and get up there. A Syrian has no problem, but it can sometimes be a real chore for wee ones. Still, nothing can topple determination and it’s still very much usable in the end…..it just isn’t easy. The home uses a dome ceiling that can open from both the front and the back. The food tray is located in the back, and the back of the dome does not open enough for you to easily change out the food or sand. I can barely fit my hand in there and end up spilling food all over the steps (which my hamsters don’t mind) while trying to change it. I could easily open the front of the dome enough though, except the wheel is in the way of clear access to the food dish and I worry that continuous removal and re-insertion of the running wheel will wear down the plastic piece that connects it to the base.Another problem I saw was in the quality control department. I purchased a few of these and out of the three kits, I received one completely broken ring, one partially defective one, and the cap on one of the water bottles had accidentally been glued so I had to use vice grips to remove it. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought the cap wasn’t supposed to be removed.Lastly, and I don’t know why, but I feel like this kit should have also come with the dwarf version of their 5-way connector. Like I said, these are all petty issues and combined are barely worth subtracting one star. In my opinion this is the greatest modular/tubular habitat you can find on the market for dwarf hamsters, mice, and gerbils. It is very well-made and all so easy to take apart and clean (the tubes can all come apart in halves for washing).It’s very much a good deal for the price too!