Small Animal Cage Comparison

In the spring and summer of 2001 we conducted a Small Critter Cage Comparison Study to determine which small animal cages For Other Living Things could recommend and sell. We studied three of the more available brands of accommodations for mice and hamsters; Hagen Habitrail, Penn Plax S.A.M., and Super Pet Crittertail.

First we posted a survey on our web-site inquiring about critter, people, and earth friendly aspects of these brands of cages. People who responded ranged in age from 9 to 49 years and hailed from California to as far away as the United Kingdom. “Thank you” to all those who responded to our survey. Your input was invaluable in our decision making process.

Next we went out shopping for cages to test. For Other Living Things recommends cages with wire sides for ventilation and a solid bottom floor for the health, comfort and general well being of the critter. We had a hard time finding a Penn Plax S.A.M. cage that met these criteria. After purchasing Penn Plax S.A.M. Clubhouse Kit mdl. SAM3, Garden Gazebo Kit mdl. SAM6, Country Club Kit mdl. SAM1, we finally found the Cyber-Space mdl. SAM700, which does have wire sides and a solid floor. It was much easier finding appropriate cages from the other 2 manufacturers. Hagen Habitrail Safari Kit mdl. 62080 and Pets International Superpet CritterTrail 1 both met our basic requirements and were included in our study.

Finally, we tested the cages in real-life use with the assistance of a very nice lady who agreed to have her 2 mice live in a rather unwieldy collage of cages for several months and critique.

Friendly and not so Friendly attributes for People and Critters:

Water bottles are noted separately below.

Habitrail Safari:

Friendly: We liked the solid bottom, wire sides and little ledge area that the cage provides. The wheel is critter friendly providing a solid circle radius to prevent foot injury and attaching to the side of the cage in a manner that won’t hurt the little critters. The bar spacing seemed small enough to contain even the smallest dwarf hamster or mouse. We also liked the connect-ability among Habitrail models. They are well thought out in this respect and easily attach one model Habitrail to another.

Not so Friendly: We didn’t like the degree of difficulty of assembly -gave us college-educated types a run for our money. It took nearly 45 minutes to assemble. (Operator error?) We also didn’t care for the fact that once assembled, we were unable to get the thing apart without breaking it. Although we were able to disconnect the wheel from the back of the cage, it was too large to fit through the front opening making it nearly impossible to clean.

Survey Says:Our web survey turned up some very positive reviews from those who had Habitrails for their mice and hamsters. One young man was having a great time assembling all the different models onto shelves on his wall and connecting them together. Lucky hamster! We did get several comments about dwarf hamsters having difficulty climbing the tubes and some comments about parts breaking and having trouble replacing them. These are definitely valid concerns.

SuperPet CritterTrail 1:

The CritterTrails come in one, two and three story models. We chose the one story CritterTrail 1 for this study. Please see Update section below

Friendly: We liked the way it went together. 10 minutes start to finish. We also liked the way we could disassemble it for easy cleaning. The wheel, like the Habitrail was quiet and safe. We found it to be nicely made. Another nice thing about the SuperPet tubes is that the connector rings will fit on any make tube. (S.A.M., Habitrail and SuperPet)

Not so Friendly:The only negative comment we have to make at all about this product was the limitation of access ports that you would be able to snap tubes into (a hole on each side and one in the top.) The top one is for the water bottle. The port on the right side of the cage is made to fit a tube that goes up the side and connects to a little compartment (the Petting Zone). This left the only accessible port off the left-hand side of the cage. A definite puzzler if you want to connect more than one CritterTrail together. You could not run a connecting tube off the left side of the first cage and have a port available on the right side of the next, for instance. You can work around this, but it takes some thought and lots of tubes.

Survey Says:Most people who commented on our survey seemed to enjoy their Critter Trails although one lady rated accessibility to her critter as poor. We didn’t find this to be the case and the respondent did not elaborate.

Penn Plax S.A.M.:

These cages proved problematic straight down the line. Most models that we were able to locate had wire floors. For not only the comfort of your little furry friend, but also for its physical health and well being, PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY CAGES EVER THAT HAVE WIRE FLOORING. If you already own a cage like that, take a look at our Cage Mats. These can be cut with scissors to any size you need. They are inexpensive and compost-able when soiled. Now back to S.A.M.

Friendly:Clean-ability was okay in models like the Cyber Space Kit. Access to pet was good in all the models that we looked at.

Not so Friendly:What we didn’t like in the S.A.M. cages was just about everything else. We found it difficult to link SAM cages together with their tubes. They used several different tube and connection styles among the models looked at. These did not transfer from one kit to another. If you were to purchase several different SAM models, there is a high degree of probability that the parts would not be interchangeable. Bar spacing was much too wide for dwarf hamsters and mice. Our kind colleague lady with the mice felt uncomfortable enough with the bar spacing in the Space Kit that we opted not to include it in the reality part of our survey. Overall construction was flimsy on all models that we looked at. They certainly saved a penny on wire gauge and plastic. Although assembly of the Space Station kit was comparatively easy (20 minutes) attaching the side panels was tricky. If not inserted just so, the bottom is very likely to fall off. This cage did not come with a water bottle. Our assumption was that it is intended to be used as an accessory to a primary cage. However, the only port we could find that might connect to another cage was in the top and was covered with a plastic plug that had to be cut off with a serrated knife. We weren’t impressed. (Gee, can you tell?)

Survey Says:The people with S.A.M. cages that responded to our survey seemed very happy with them. One gentleman has “strung” together plastic cages, wire cages and aquariums using S.A.M. parts. Oh happy hamsters!

Earth Friendly and Not so Friendly Attributes

We didn’t overlook the environment in our study. The packaging is recyclable and we didn’t find anyone, including ourselves, who thought there was too much packaging for the purpose. All of the manufacturers fell short, however, when it came to identifying the plastic used with the triangular recycle symbols. This means that one has no recourse but to send the thing to landfill when its useful service life has ended. No C.P.E. rating for any of these habitats.

A Word About Water

S.A.M. did provide a water bottle that could be cleaned with a brush in one (and only one) of their models. They are the only ones who did. The others provide a poor-excuse-of-a-water-bottle-wanna-be with their cages. Our advice is recycle it, pitch it, do anything with it but use it to hydrate the critters. The water bottles that come standard with these cages must be filled through a tiny little hole, which also makes them impossible to clean properly, and they drip, a lot. It’s a joke of a device! Pitch the thing and be prepared to buy one when you purchase a cage. We actually replaced the manufactures joke bottle with an 8 oz. Oasis Bell Bottle. We stuck a SuperPet Bubble Cap on the top end and fit it into the hole that the original bottle came out of. Worked like a champ. Of course, with the wire bars, you may be able to find something to hang on the outside. This depends on the size of your critter and their ability to reach the thing. Whatever you use, just make sure you can clean it.

Results

The S.A.M. cages were not worth the effort or money.
The Habitrail had some nice features, but the cage needs to be clean-able. If you can’t clean the thing, it is not critter or people friendly.
We chose the SuperPet CritterTrail to add to our line up of wonderful things. A tiny critter could live quite happily in any of the models. (CritterTrail 1, 2 or 3) We feel confident that the human element will be just as pleased. Please see Update section below

Update

After selling the Pets International Critter Trail cages for a while, we began hearing of hamsters having problems with these cages. We got disturbing reports of dangerous falls from the tall Critter Trail 3 and occurrences of near suffocation and even death when full size hamsters became trapped in the "Petting Zone" compartment at the top of the cages.

While the Critter Trail 3 offers lots of room for climbing, a full size hamster is too big to fare well in a tumble from the top shelves. One cage user reported that two of their hamsters were injured, one with a broken hip, after falls in this cage.

The threat of suffocation occurs as the little guys bring litter, bedding, and other materials up to the Petting Zone compartment. Naturally, some of the material falls back down the tube and accumulates at the bend at the bottom of the tube. If enough stuff piles up there, the hamster can suffocate or become trapped.

Other Info Pages

Cages for Rabbits

Pet Toys

Dog Behavior and Training Books

Dog Chew Toys

Dog Collars and Leashes

General Rabbit Information: