Warning about Crittertrail 3 cage

[Philosopher]

I thought this might be important for other people who own dwarf hamsters and might buy a Crittertrail 3. We got one recently because we had to separate our two guys when their fights started getting too intense.

Although our Chinese hamster Tim can climb up most of the tubes, he can't get up the one leading from the middle "balcony" to the top one (NOt the "petting zone" but the highest balcony inside the cage.) That tube doesn't come down as far as the others and he can't reach it. Unfortunately that's where the water bottle is in this cage!! We luckily noticed the problem quickly and got him another bottle at "ground level" but I wanted to spread the word! I'm concerned because the box for this cage says that it's ok for dwarf hamsters, and I hope there aren't any out there whose owners don't notice that they are thirsty! :eek:

I'm new here so sorry if this is already common knowledge, but I just thought it was important. Pass it on to other dwarf hamster folks!

Philosopher

p.s. I have to say I like the cage otherwise. Tim's having a good time climbing up the other tubes that he can reach, and he likes the solid plastic wheel. he really gets up a lot of speed on it.

[Fluff N Roll]

I do have a CT3 cage but i have a syrain... i just added on to her cage (a bin) so she has more room. Just to clear things up so you dont think i have a dwarf.

One other common problem is dwarf get tired climbing up the tube to the petting zoo area. Have you noticed anything like this?
To solve your problem you just moved the water bottle? I would think that cage (from what i have seem) is kind of big for dwarfs. They may hurt themselves "i dont know though". I just want to point out that it takes alot more to climb up the bars for a dwarfthen it does for a syrian and Cooki my hamster sometimes has trouble.
Oh and welcome to petshub:) i'm known as Fluff n roll

[riegfinnid]

I think crittertrail cages are horrible. All of them.

[Fluff N Roll]

hey... they are crappy to take apart and clean and put back together.

[riegfinnid]

not to mention that most of them dont have good air circulation.

[FemaleCheetah]

I have two of the crittertrail X and one of the the critter trail 2 and I think they are great... they have great air circulation and my dwarf hammies love them... I have four hammies in two connected cages and two hammies in one of my crittertrail X. I think the cages are awesome looking. I also have two of the Hartz cages for two of my dwarfs and I have my teddy bear hammie in one of them. In total I have 9 hammies!!! And they are all very very healthy and happy.

[Fluff N Roll]

not to mention that most of them dont have good air circulation.

they have a lot better circulation then a tank!! The ct3 has wire on both sides and that gives alot of good circulation, now the petting zoo doesn't and i've been thinking about that.

[yummy321pop]

i've heard from numerous sources that the petting zones cause respritory infections and yes, they do have bad air circulation up thur. i've been pricing and perfection hunting cages for 2 months! ugh...

[aznsocceridiot]

I have a CT2 and it's been doing great for my syrian. he loves it alot and he runs on the wheel everyday. the air circulation is great due to the wires, where air can easily go through. :) :) :)

[xlovedieslastx]

I am actually very surprised at the responses to this. How can a CAGE have poor circulation, when MORE than half of hamster owners stick their dwarf hamsters in a plastic tub with hardly ANY circulation? Poor Judgement I think.

Crittertrails are great other then the cleaning process which is a PAIN to take apart and put back together.. Philosopher give it a week or so and they'll learn how to climb, you can also adjust them to your liking (the levels I mean) if thats what you mean by they can't get to it. If you mean they cant climb in the bubble tubes, they learn quickly.. it took mine a bit, but now their pro's ;)

[yummy321pop]

YES! thank you xlovedieslastx!!! finanally understands what i mean? PLASTIC TUBS! but people keep saying how CAGES suck. HELP ME OUT HERE! I DON'T GET IT!

[yummy321pop]

by the way: when i said they have bad aircirculation i meant in the petting zone. sorry for any confusion. lol.

[xlovedieslastx]

YES! thank you xlovedieslastx!!! finanally understands what i mean? PLASTIC TUBS! but people keep saying how CAGES suck. HELP ME OUT HERE! I DON'T GET IT!


Haha I definitely agree.. My hamsters like their cages MUCH better. When I put them in the tub they frantically try to get out, I put them in there for cleaning and they do flips and jump until I take them out :/

I think the petting zone is great, because if the cage gets too drafty they can go up there for warmth. If they couldn't breathe I highly DOUBT they'd stay up there, they'd probably move to another part of the cage.

[lpn1993]

One of the problems with the Crittertrail cage is the petting zone. The air circulation up there isn't good at all, because it's a small area with only little slits for air. If a hamster goes in there and packs it with bedding (which they usually do), there's very little air circulation, and moisture tends to build up. The hamster can breathe, but there isn't very much air exchange. Being in the petting zone is much worse for them than being in a tub or tank. I had a Crittertrail cage for my previous hamster, and I think that's what caused him to get a respiratory infection and die when he was only six months old. He loved the petting zone and always went up there to sleep. I've had several hamsters before, but never had this happen until I used the Crittertrail cage. It may just be a coincidence, but I'm afraid to chance it. I've heard about others having the same problem with Crittertrail cages, so I don't plan to use it again. Another reason that I don't like Crittertrail cages is that they're a pain to take apart and clean. I regret ever buying one.

Air circulation in a plastic tub shouldn't be a problem, as long as it has a screened area in the lid. Holes can also be drilled around the upper edges to increase air flow. The only concern I would have about a plastic tub would be whether the hamster would chew through it.