Showing posts with label cage toys. Show all posts

Super Pet Puzzle Playground 42 piece set

I've heard good things about this so I bought this in my recent pet supply order. I prefer natural products for my hamster, but I figure my hamster needs a hideaway that I can actually wash.

One of the things that really put me off is the colors. As an adult the colors just looks ugly to me. I like that the panels are see through so I can peek at my hamster. There's plenty of air holes on the panels so I'm sure there's a decent airflow inside. My hamster hasn't played or slept in this playground as much as his Petco 2 story house. I'm sure this is because its not dark which my hamster likes. My hamster is not into ramps for some reason so the ramp has been completely ignored. So I don't use the ramp. The ramp can be attached to any of the panels since it has two stubs that fits in the air holes. He hasn't climbed on top like he does on the petco house unless I put a treat up there.

I really like that you can change it and customize it. Unfortunely you can't make levels or floors with it. I tried to make a duplicate of the petco house, but that's not possible. I can make it as tall as it is but there won't be a floor on the second level. The set came with two frame with a tube attachment. The crittertrail tubes do fit in them, but it does take some effort attaching it and detaching it. This  makes me be able to use accessories for the standard cages in a bin cage. The cage didn't have the floor space for the accessories so I have to build up. At first I wasn't sure if my hamster will be able to climb up, but its worth a try. I added a straight tube and attached an ovo addon. Luckily I was able to make it stay up. The first night my hamster was able climb up and down it so it was a success. He has been using it more often probably because he's getting bored of the petco house. I wish I can add more accessories, but the puzzle set doesn't make a big enough base space to be able to support it.

After reading about this product, I have taken the advice of owners to build the frame first before putting the panels on. It has worked well! It does take a bit of time assembling it, but I think its a nice toy for both pet and children. So I recommend it!
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Petco 2-Story Hamster House and Bend-A-Bridge Small Animal Chew Toy

This is a review of two Petco small animal products. Both or all or mostly wooden and chewable.

The 2 story house is perfect size for dwarf hamsters and the holes are about the same diameter as a toilet paper roll. Not sure if a syrian can fit. I didn't know there was a built in bowl and I've had that part upside for months. My hamster does like to sleep and climb on this house so that gives him great enjoyment. I tend to put timothy hay on the second floor although my hamster has peed in that floor a couple times. Its hasn't stunk because of it though. The extended part of the first floor is moveable and swings to make the house more compact if you put it away. The colors are alot dimmer in person than the picture on Petco's website. Its sturdy and a great product! However because my hamster pees on the house, it can make things gross. Unfortunately for natural products you can't clean them so you will have to throw them away. The majority of this house is made of this chipboard and cardboard mix to imitate wood. I believe the colored parts are wood.

The bendable bridge is a great alternative to half log cage accessories. Its made well as the bendable metal looks thick and none of it is stick out or showing for any curious animals. It is chewable and the wood is smooth and well sanded. It serves as a great hideaway and climbable cage toy.

Overall, these products are great and would highly recommend them!

cage toys hamster pet
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Ware Natural Willow and Grass Small Pet Hut and Pet Barbell Chew

This is a review of two Ware products for my dwarf hamster. What I like about these two are that its natural so its pet safe at the most. The small sizes are perfect for dwarf hamsters.

The small grass hut is edible and perfect size for any dwarf hamsters but only has room for one winter white or maybe two robos. Its definitely too small for a syrian hamster. My little guy does chew on the hut sometimes, but its not the type of grass that most small pets would eat entirely. My hamster does like to climb on top of the hut and jump off it. Sometimes he overturns it and would end up in different places in his cage. Its a very lightweight product and stiff so it doesn't deform.

The barbell chew is made of willow sticks and its an Ok chew. There is a bell in one of the balls, and since its easy to take apart the chew you can remove the bell if its too noisy. The great thing about the balls is that you can encourage your hamster to chew if you stick a treat or food inside. The bar od the stick of the chew does get chewed on but not much. Sometimes if you have a yogurt treat you can rub it on the stick to encourage your hamster to chew it, but mine just likes to lick if off. Its a not bad chew toy, and well worth trying it out.

Overall, I enjoy and would recommend Ware small pet products!
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Crittertrail Expansion Kit 2 Loop-d-Loop

I needed tubes to connect my current cage for my hamster to its playpen and possibly another cage to add more space. It was hard to figure out what tubes were best for a winter white hamster as I rarely see any detailed dimensions or comparison information. There were 3 different brands of tubes available: habitrial ovo, crittertrial, and SAM tubes. The SAM tubes are actually pretty difficult to find, and the ovo tubes are too big or too small for my dwarf. But I really do like that they are clear rather than the colorful crittertrail ones. In the end I opt for the crittertrail tubes as they seem to fit my dwarf hamster the best.

I picked the 2nd kit as it has the most elbow tubes and more appropriate for what I'm after. The colors are just not attractive since I'm an adult and don't really see any value for having colors. The tubes are perfect size though. It is a tad smaller than the ovo tubes so I think these tubes will be too small for a syrian hamster. They have bigger ridges or ledges for the hamster to climb compare to ovo tubes. The ovo tubes have such small grip that I imagine the hamsters would have a bit of a hard time to learn to climb them. The ovo tubes don't seem to have holes in them either. The crittertrial tubes have sparse air holes so I advise having something like newspaper below the tubes in case your hamster pees in the tubes.

These tubes easily fits with ovo connecters and cages. The crittertrial connectors snap together easily but it is alittle hard to take apart. I hear some people use spoons, but I find pulling the ridges out to work out wonderfully. It can big alittle hard to see the ridges on the edge but once you find them pull the connector away and find the next ridge closest to the one you just pulled and you should find the tube to pop out easily after that. The connectors are slightly rubbery and they allow you to twist the tubes however you won't unlike the ovo connectors. However it does cause issues with the loop-d-loop addon. It makes it hard to keep that addon upright like the way its shown the on box. Its heavy and will twist at the elbox tube and fall to the floor especially when the hamster is inside. You can try to put the addon upside down too, but I just made the tubes go horizontal and had the addon sit on the box to keep it steady. It would work like the way it is pictured on the box if I had a cage with a tube opening on the top but I don't. It could work if I had more ovo connectors since those lock the tubes in place or if I used the T tube. But the ovo connectors are hard to take off of the crittertrail tubes. Please use gloves or a towel to protect your hands when trying to pry the locks off.

My hamster sometimes nap in them, and hangouts in the loop-d-loop addon. He even peed in the loop-d-loop but it wasn't hard to clean up since you can take the top off easily. My dwarf fits in the tube really nicely and he's able to climb vertically with ease and fold himself to turn around. These tubes might be too tight for a syrian and could risk getting them stuck so I would not recommend these tubes for adult syrians.

Other than the horrid colors, this kit is not too bad. It all came tightly stuffed in a box and surprisingly not cracked as I was fearing. The plastic is pretty sturdy and thick so I don't think they will break easily. Thankfully this kit had enough pieces to link my small cage to a bin to add more space for the little guy. Overall, I really like this kit!
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Ovo Den and Mini Maze Addon

Got these addons on amazon for a really good price and they look nice and fun. The den didn't have any instructions inside but I think the Mini Maze did. The den came with one lock connector while the mini maze came with two connectors and one elbow tube. These addons are great additions to cages and will be fun for your hamster.

It seems the den is super popular for being one of the cheapest addon. I find the mini maze to be a better buy. The den could be useful as a sleeping area or home to save space in the cage since you can attach it outside. Or as a toilet and it be easy to clean out every day. However I find the den to be small especially for a syrian. I don't think a syrian would be able to lay down without curling its self inside. Its better for smaller species of hamsters and not syrians. The white bottom part does slide off but you have to make sure its slide all the way in when you try to close the lid. Mine sometimes slides a bit when I open and close the lid. The air holes are only on the moveable lid part so it might not have the best air flow. If your hamster hangs out in the den often be sure to check and put appropriate amount of bedding for the weather. Especially during humid weather it may produce moisture and cause mold to form. Other than serving a purpose of a toilet or a bed, I find the den to be a bit boring. It doesn't do much as added space since the floor of it is the size of a snapple cap without any bedding. The den itself is roughly the size of a grapefruit. The transparent plastic has a light green color but its quite clear to see through. The bottom part is white and is like a bowl but the floor is not flat it just has a ridge in the middle.

The Mini Maze is much larger than the den and it comes with an elbow tube and a cardboard insert. I think this is much for fun as you hamster can climb the tube and into the larger end of the addon. They can chew on the cardboard and climb on top of it or lookout of the cardboard opening. There are X slits on the cardboard which I don't know what they are for, but I hear people put treats in them which is a nice idea. The cardboard has a strawberry field art which is cute. My hamster likes this addon more than the den. I don't put any bedding in it and its a great place for my hamster to cool down or just sit and groom himself. Like the den the air holes are only on the moveable lid part. The bottom part is white and the floor is flat on the big end while the other end just opens up on the bubottom for tubes to attach to. The top half is mostly clear plastic with a transparent blue lid which is not the clearest. Not the best to look through. You attach the top half with the green snap on button. The lid is opened by pushing the clear plastic button down to separate it from the lid and slide it to the right. The maze is rather simple to put in and out.

Overall these are not bad addons but I recommended getting the mini maze. They do fit into crittertrail connectors do you can connect them to crittertrail tubes and cages.
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Super Pet Silent Spinner Wheels

I bought this wheel because its one of the most common wheels used for hamsters. The 6.5" wheel is perfect for my winter white hamster, and I recommend not going any smaller. Smaller wheels are more appropriate for babies. Unfortunately this is the biggest size these wheel come in. I highly advise to not get this wheel for syrian hamsters because its just too small for them. They need a 8" wheel to run without arching their backs so its more comfortable for them.

The wheel that came with my cage had long open gaps which can be dangerous as it risks getting the hamster's feet caught and injure themselves. I think these gaps are openings for poop or other debris to escape as the hamster runs. Whats great about the silent spinner is that it has no gaps or holes for any little hamster feet to get stuck in. Also it can be on a stand or attached to the cage bars. The wheels also come in a variety of colors but they all mostly have yellow pin and an opaque white back part of the wheel. The outer half is the colored part which is semi-transparent. 

There seems to be a consistency issue with these wheels though. Some wheels, like mine, doesn't rotate in a perfect circle. The wheel design concaves alittle so its not the flattest running surface. And the noise from the wheels seem to vary from how its made and how your hamster runs. Mine can run on the wheel quietly enough that I may sleep through it but he also can run where its loud and rattly. I tried oiling the pin but it didn't help with the noise this wheel makes. I feel I have to oil the thing too much to make it stop squeaking. The pin on the back is really hard for me to fasten the wheel to my cage. I can't fully turn it perpendicular to the bars so I often just leave it at 40 degree angle. Its secure enough. Taking the stand part on and off is not too difficult. The two bars are flexible so you have to pinch them in to get them in the holes. Having the wheel on a stand than attached to the bars seem to make it much more quieter, but I often fear my hamster will knock it down over night or chew on the stand. People advise putting the wheel stand in a corner of the change diagonally to avoid having the wheel banging on the walls. It has worked well for me. Also I hear that these wheels tend to go fast that it would make the hamster fly out especially when the hamster wants to stop. People advise using bedding to be stuffed underneath the wheel to slow it down. My hamster is not much of a runner so I never had this issue. It may take your hamster some time to learn how to run in the wheel without flying out. After having the wheel for over a month the white part and colored part began to loosen so it really made the wheel much louder that it made me get up at 3 in the morning to put replace the old wheel back on. I used tape to tighten the two parts together, but who knows how long that will last.

Despite its name, its a gamble to get a completely silent wheel. It is one of the more recommended wheels along with the saucer wheel, and wodent wheels. My hamster is not too fond of the silent spinner and much prefers to his older wheel which is bigger and doesn't have a concave design. But he still uses and I will keep his older wheel as a backup.
cage toys hamster pet
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