Parrot Palace

This is a handsome carefully designed and sturdily made cage that makes a perfect home for any parrot from the "large end" of small to medium. The easily assembled parts arrive in two packages (with extra hardware for nearly every phase of assembly). The seedcatcher fins add 4 inches to the specified measurements for each side. So if as in my case you don't want that extra 8-inch projection just leave them off. If you plan to use them be sure that the doorway to your bird room is wide enough to accommodate the assembled results. If not better assemble everything in the designated space.



The powder-coat finish is thick and tough. (It looks like a heavier-duty shinier version of the enamel-type finishes on many major kitchen appliances. It's definitely too hard for birds to mar with their claws and beaks.) Everything has been designed for easy access and cleaning. Compared to the two cages I had the new ones make cage cleaning as close to a pleasure as it is ever likely to get: nothing sticks stubbornly to the finish. The bottom tray sits a good 8 inches below the grate so even the most inquisitive parrot can't get into the mess below. (A bird with a tail long enough to sweep the tray probably belongs in a bigger model.)



This is also an extremely safe cage. There is no filigree in which claws or other body parts can get snagged. The latches are simple to operate but impossible for a bird to manipulate from inside: you have to turn the latch through an arc of 180 degrees before you can slide it open (no parrot inside has enough latitude to do this: the bar spacing makes it impossible for the bird to push the latch more than about 25 degrees). The clearance on all sides of the main door is wide enough to make it very unlikely to do more than brush a wayward foot as the door closes (i.e. the door does not close flush to the door housing). Each of the smaller side doors secures an opening that is 6 inches wide and 4.75 inches high so standard 4.5-inch feeding bowls (which hold somewhat more than the supplied cups of thick white unbreakable plastic) can pass through with room to spare if you prefer using them.



One other important design point: the ends of most of the bars are welded to a crossbar that is in turn welded to the main frame. As a result there are almost no holes in the frame for the vertical bars which means that water cannot seep into the frame and slowly rust it out. Only one long central vertical bar on each of three sides actually passes through the frame. Welding and powder coat seal the hole perimeter.



The best thing of all is that my birds (Indian ringneck and Meyer's) love their new homes. They seem to prefer their topside playgrounds to former play areas -- which makes it much easier to keep an eye on them. The interior has room enough to arrange plenty of toys and perches without any sense of crowding. Although each cage weighs more than 40 pounds the casters make for effortless movability (the ride is so smooth that my birds don't even get flustered when I do it slowly).



All told this cage is a veritable palace for parrot safety and happiness. I doubt that I'll ever need to replace such splendid accommodations.More detail ...

Awesome for $200!

You totally get what you pay for here. The assembly instructions (or absolute lack of instructions) are super difficult some of the parts don't fit as well as I'd like but once it's assembled the cage is sturdy and looks great. The latches are not smooth to operate also. BUT it's huge and it was only $200! I'm not sure what people were expecting but this is a fantastic cage.More detail ...

The Perfect Ferret Toy

I just got this a few days ago from Amazon and already it's turned into my ferret's favorite toy. Nothing else (save for a plastic water bottle that he likes more than his expensive toys lol) has held his attention for as long as this and he keeps going back for more! He especially finds it fun if you sit on the floor and twist it all around yourself up over your shoulders and under your legs so that he gets to climb slide and twist to get through the whole thing. He also finds it likes me to run the tube through a dark cardboard box or move the ends while he's in the middle so that it comes out in a new place every time. At twenty feet this tube stretches out well much better than the other eight foot tubes that you can find in stores and the clear plastic is nice because it allows you to see your ferret and vice-versa much better.



As one of the other reviews said though he does like to chew the ends; since I supervise him during play time this hasn't been a problem but I might take their advice and cover the edges with some duct tape. And even though he tries to "dig" his way out of the middle of the tube from inside the plastic seems to be sturdy and is holding very well.



The tube also smelled very strongly of plastic when it first arrived but it aired out well within about a day and no longer smells like anything.



Every ferret definitely needs one of these! =)More detail ...

Wonderful.

If you take proper care of your hamster this home will be great for your little friend. In terms of what the other reviewers said you just have to take proper precautions.



For instance my buddy one night when he was getting used to the CritterTrail X also built a nest in the exercise wheel. Well I want him to be comfortable but he needs his exercise! For his own sake I sucked up the bedding from that spot with the vaccuum and he hasn't tried it since. Your hamster may need more coaxing to stop this behavior. Now poop and pee does fall through the holes in the wheel onto the track below but hamsters are gross that way so don't blame the house for the occupant's apathy! At least they were smart enough to build it so the disgustingness will go on the track and not anything else.



I don't know what the other person was talking about in terms of it being "hard to clean". You've got to vaccuum out the soiled bedding every day or two and wash the whole thing about once a week. Of course it will stink if you're gross and don't tend to it. I got my hamster as a roommate though and not a piece of meat for another pet so maybe I just don't mind being reasonable. I also don't see why it would break easily...it seems sturdy enough to me though I partially melted one using drying heat in the dishwasher and had to get another. That was the first time I ever used a dishwasher though and had no idea how to tend to it.



Anyways this house provides a decent amount of room for a hamster when you're unable let him or her play outside of it and it just looks cool too. The wheel and slide are neat as is the two-story nature of the thing. There's enough room to take melted pieces of a second one and put them inside for extra climbing fun. Highly recommended.More detail ...