Overall, a great cage for an adult Syrian hamster! Probably even more fantastic for miniature hamsters, gerbils and mice. This cage was the best option available. In looking at the Ferplast website, there are many others I wish were available in the US. The overall habitat needed some additions and tweaking but any residence of any type needs that. The combination of the 2 Ferplast cages provides 532.5sq inches which exceeds the minimum hamster space requirements. My hamster frequently runs back and forth between the two, sometimes moving food from one food bowl to another (even though they’re both full, lol) so she seems to be happy. I am a foster parent for the local humane society and my hamster came to stay with me while being treated with medication for an infection. She was such a good addition to the household that I decided to adopt her. Please check your local humane society first. Even for small animals like hamsters, gerbils, mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas and all types of birds. Good things happen when you adopt! With that said, here are my detailed findings on this Ferplast hamster cage. Pros: - Plastic middle level: Walking on wire all the time is bad for hamster feet. They can get sores from doing this. Once I found this out, I started looking for spacious cages that didn’t have wire. This cage fit the bill. While it doesn’t count for the overall size of the cage, I still think it makes her living space better and isn’t causing her harm. - Wire top: My hamster is a climber and this satisfies her need(occasional climbing isn’t like walking on wire all the time). I do not see her trying to climb in the lower level but she previously tried climbing a lot in a glass tank. - Clear, high walled plastic lower level: I can see my hamster running all over the cage, also helps keep the bedding inside - Overall size: 340sq inches isn’t quite large enough for a Syrian hamster but it covers a lot of space and give her a good area to move around in. - Tube option: I’ve seen articles saying that Syrians need 360sq inches and ones that say 460sq inches of ground space. Tube connection was a big selling point as I knew I would need to add another cage for more space. This factor separated this cage from other similar style/sized ones I was considering. - Cleaning: Very easy to take apart and clean. I can also block off the tube connection with the given caps and clean one cage while my hamster is in the other. Or, do 2 at once and let her run around the house in her ball. - Tube size: I previously tried a Kaytee Crittertrail cage and found that my hamster had some trouble with squeezing through the tubes(which were ~1.3”)(she also broke 2 different cage attachments and got loose twice). Ferplast tubes are ~2” and she has no problem running through even with her cheeks stuffed full. - House: She loves it. As you can see in the pictures, she has another housing option which is larger but she prefers the Ferplast house every night. I did need to put 2 rubber bands on it to keep it together due to my hamster’s abilities to lift the top off. This was a simple fix and makes it easier for cleaning than gluing together. - Cage door: Initially I didn’t like it, but I’ve found that I can get everything in and out without any issue. I can also pick up my hamster from anywhere in the cage with no issue as well. Also, the latch works well. The mechanics of opening it leads me to believe that a large hamster won’t be able to break out of it. So, looks are deceiving but it actually works quite well. - Security: I’ve found that hamsters are much stronger than they look. As previously noted, my Syrian has broken 2 attachments and escaped twice from a Kaytee Crittertrail cage. As this Ferplast cage and the Ferplast Laura cage (pink lower level, available on Amazon) do not have attachments these were a perfect choice. With the larger size of the connection tubes, my hamster isn’t putting any strain to get through so I am confident these are not an escape point. As noted with the door, the latch works nicely. It requires me to use 2 fingers to open so I do not see how my hamster could open a closed door. With the previous, Ferplast/Crittertrail set up, she had 2 escapes in 8 days. It’s been 8 days with the Ferplast/Ferplast set up and no escapes. ???? Cons: - Water bottle: Way too small in size. Too risky in case I’m not home daily, which happens. From my perspective, not a selling point for the cage so no need to include it, or increase the size. What I can say, is that I like the water bottle design in that it doesn’t have a spring in the tube, which I have found stops water follow. (Kaytee cages come with a spring in the tube. On a regular size Kaytee bottle you can push the ball all the way up the tube which forces the spring to stay up in the bottle and resolves this issue. I’ve found that Walmart has the old school, no spring design, guaranteed to work and not kill your pet from dehydration at about half the cost. As well as Choco Nose H128 for the no spring design) - Runner Wheel: Way too small for my Syrian hamster. Needed to buy Exotic Nutrition Silent Runner(well worth the $). Also, the space for the wheel is too small for an appropriately sized wheel for an adult Syrian. The Ferplast Laura cage(pink lower level, available on Amazon) is perfect for a 9” runner wheel.
