Your opinions - 2008/03/10 13:41Hello everyone! I'm new here and hoping to get a hedgehog within the next few months (probably September). Way too soon to be worrying about any of this stuff, but I can't help it lol. I really want to make sure I have all the information I can and get everything well planned out before I get my hedgie.
So, my question is, what does everyone think the best type of cage is? I've seen so many different ideas and I can't decide what to get! I figure this is a really important part of a hedgie's life so I really wanna get this one right.
So, the three most popular types I've seen are the cube and coroplast, sterilite, and just regular pet store cages.
I found the perfect cage for sale on Amazon but it is kind of pricey. Being a college student I don't have a ton of money so it'd be nice to go with a cheaper option, but I wanna make sure that I have a really good cage, so if I have to get something expensive, so be it. This is the cage I found (it's marchioro and it seems like everyone likes those):
So, I've thought of doing the C&C cages because those look fun and they seem pretty cheap. But, does anyone know how to make a top on them? I read somewhere that you can use shelving or something but I wouldn't be sure how to attach that. Let's just say my boyfriend and I aren't all that "handy" lol. Anyways, here's the how to I found on C&C cages:
The last option, sterilite cages, seems the least likely that I will choose. It seems great cos it's super cheap and easy to clean, but I worry about proper ventilation. As I hinted at before, I have a cat. So, I would have to have some kind of lid. This makes me nervous because even with a bunch of holes drilled in I would think the air inside would have to be pretty stale. Not to mention, this seems like the hardest type of cage to make, since you have to drill holes in it and I don't have a drill... not that I couldn't buy one. But, as I mentioned before, me and my boyfriend aren't all that handy so I would be afraid I wouldn't be able to do it very well. Plus, he seems pretty much against the idea of sterilite cages.
So, I'm sorry this is like the longest post ever, but I'd really appreciate it if everyone would tell me their favorite type of cage, and if it's worth it to pay so much for a cage, since I am poor.
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starnightstarsky2000
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/10 14:25Lexi, Okay well I can't touch on the mac or the c&c cages as I have never used either of those. However on the sterilite I can give you quite a bit of info. First off I have four cats including two fully developed micers. You have to keep in mind cats are natural curious and so I will say that every one of my cats have tried to smell/pet/play with a hedgie and in return they get poked, hiss and chased away. I don't drill the cages as I normally leave the lids completey off of the cage therefore they are insured to get plenty of air. Now for my females who have babies I use a split lid where you can leave one side up on top of one side therefore they still get air but they also get the "safety" feeling of being in their nest. I hope this helps. Dani Marshall Kansas Lots Of Love Exotic Small Animal Kennel "From Our Heart To Yours" http://www.exotic-mammals.4t.com
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I’m laughing because not too long ago, I was living on campus, in the apartments with my first hedgehog Bartleby!
I looked at the cage on Amazon and it’s a good cage. I would skip the C&C cages for now and stick with something like you found on Amazon or a really large Sterlite container. You can make a nice hedge house out of a big plastic bin, found at Walmart in the organization section. I agree the Amazon cage is insanely priced. You can buy a pretty similar cage for MUCH less at most pet stores. My cage, I’ve had for ten years. It has a big purple tub bottom and a wire cage top that snaps into the bottom. I paid more than I should for it but it’s held up a long time. Now that I know better I would’ve started Bartleby off on a big storage tub. You can fit their wheels, toys, water bottle, litter box, EVERYTHING in those; they are easy to clean just make sure the walls are too high for your little escape artist to climb over. The wire cages can be a pain to travel with but they have a better air flow than the plastic containers. Don’t beat your self up to much trying to nail this before you get your hedge. Once you have your hedge he/she will take over and you will have totally new ideas you never would’ve thought of PRIOR to the hedgehog.
One note about college life I HAVE to add is the parties. I caught so many people sneaking off and trying to feed my hedgehog alcohol it’s disturbing. I was shocked that people are so ignorant and mean. So keep an eye on your little guy. You never know what people will try. And of course hedgehogs are the life of most parties. Lol
~Sara
Post edited by: Hedgehogmadhatter, at: 2008/03/10 15:33“The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog only one, but that is the best of all”
Archilochus (Greek lyric poet and soldier, 675-635bc)
There's no love like HEDGEHOG love!
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They are both good sizes, I would say the top one is minimum for that brand. I am limited on space so I have the top one, but it may be better to get the bottom for more room is you have the space and money.
I hope this helped. **Mommy of Tweetle the hedgehog!** ~Felicia :]
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CThogs
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/10 16:11HI Lexi-welcome to the forum!
We have marchioro and superpet cages here and also bins. We also have a cat who will cuddle up with a hedgehog in a bin if he gets the chance. Of the 3, I like the marchioros the best.
It sounds like you have lots of time-sometimes you can get cages on sale or clearance for a good price. Same thing with wheels and other things you will need.Ann Connecticut Hedgehogs
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sweet_catastrophe
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/10 16:51starnightstarsky2000 wrote: I don't drill the cages as I normally leave the lids completey off of the cage therefore they are insured to get plenty of air. Now for my females who have babies I use a split lid where you can leave one side up on top of one side therefore they still get air but they also get the "safety" feeling of being in their nest. I hope this helps.
Okay, so is a split lid where you have one cage on top of another? If so, how do they get enough air on the bottom one without holes being drilled in them?
starnightstarsky2000 wrote: First off I have four cats including two fully developed micers. You have to keep in mind cats are natural curious and so I will say that every one of my cats have tried to smell/pet/play with a hedgie and in return they get poked, hiss and chased away. So, you're not afraid of your cats crawling in the cage and messing around with stuff? I'm sure my cat would be afraid of the hedgie once she got poked by it but I could also see her digging around in the bin and messing it up or something.
Hedgehogmadhatter wrote: You can make a nice hedge house out of a big plastic bin, found at Walmart in the organization section. I agree the Amazon cage is insanely priced. You can buy a pretty similar cage for MUCH less at most pet stores.
So, you would just use one big plastic bin? and not connect two together with pvc pipe or something? Cos I think if I do the sterilite thing I would like to connect two together, I'm just afraid that I would screw it up somehow.
Hedgehogmadhatter wrote: Don’t beat your self up to much trying to nail this before you get your hedge. Once you have your hedge he/she will take over and you will have totally new ideas you never would’ve thought of PRIOR to the hedgehog.
lol I know I'm looking into this stuff a little early, but I'm not trying to beat myself up about it or anything. I actually enjoy looking at this stuff
Hedgehogmadhatter wrote:
One note about college life I HAVE to add is the parties. I caught so many people sneaking off and trying to feed my hedgehog alcohol it’s disturbing.
Aww, that's awful! People are so mean. Luckily, I never have parties at my apartment, I don't drink and so I'm not really much of a partier... Plus, I've heard too many stories of people getting their stuff broken.
CThogs wrote: We also have a cat who will cuddle up with a hedgehog in a bin if he gets the chance.
That sounds adorable
I think I'll definitely have to check out the pet stores and see if they have cheaper cages. Unfortunately, our pet store in town is pretty small.♥ Lexi
I forgot you had the cat. But that style of cage will help keep kitty at bay. Don't expect your hedgehog to be afraid of your cat. Bartleby once tried to bite a cat.
I know you aren't beating yourself up per se, but eveyone always stresses over what to get prior to the hedgehog's home coming then changes their mind. Ask Happy Hedgie8, lol!
~Sara“The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog only one, but that is the best of all”
Archilochus (Greek lyric poet and soldier, 675-635bc)
There's no love like HEDGEHOG love!
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sweet_catastrophe
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/10 18:40I think I have seen the cages that HappyHedgie8 posted before. I like the prices better than the marchioro one but I am just a little worried about one thing.
Isn't it better to get a cage that the top opens up on so it is easier to fit the wheel and everything in?
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LORI611
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/10 18:42I got a cage from Drs. Foster and Smith. It's not the biggest cage but Hazel looks comfy enough and the price was great and I think it's well made. I got the medium one, here's the link:
It's just a suggestion and since you like to look around... there is some cool stuff on the site.
If this doesn't work just go on drsfosterandsmith.com and look up small animals and cages and there you go! Good luck and have fun!! LORI, SOUTHINGTON, CT Mom of: Chloe(dog), Mr.Toad(frog) and Hazel the hedgie!!
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HappyHedgie8
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/10 20:30sweet_catastrophe wrote: I think I have seen the cages that HappyHedgie8 posted before. I like the prices better than the marchioro one but I am just a little worried about one thing.
Isn't it better to get a cage that the top opens up on so it is easier to fit the wheel and everything in?
Also, is the first cage big enough?
It is most definetly big enough! Expecially if you have limited space
Also, it is really easy to open the side of the cage and take out the wheel because it won't fit through the little door, but Tweetle likes his cage, and since I keep it in my small room I needed something a bit small.
Don't forget the next size up if you are worried about size, but the first one isn't too small!**Mommy of Tweetle the hedgehog!** ~Felicia :]
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omelette
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/11 02:39if you're worried about ventilation then a wire cage with a plastic bottom might be the way to go. as far as the c & c cages go, you can actually add cubes on the top of the cage. you can secure them with twist ties so they are easy to take off when you need to. i would definitely use a lid or top if you have a cat. some cats will avoid hedgehogs, but some (like my cat ) might decide to jump right in and make themselves at home and eat your hedgie's food. (i had to move omelette's food bowl to the very back of the cage because emery would stick his paw inside and grab food out.) c & c cages are also good because they're cheap, they come in different colors, and you can make them as big as space will allow. but one thing about the c & c cages is that baby hedgies can fit through the spaces between the bars. so you will have to put something around the cage to make the spaces smaller. but if you decide to go with a store bought cage, i'd say try looking on ebay, or getting one on clearance. (i bought mine for 6 cents!) petsmart and petco both sell cages for around $40.00. sometimes they have online sales and offer free shipping. whatever cage you decide to go with, keep the minimum requirements in mind. the cage should be at least 24 x 36 inches. and try to find one that has a door on the top. although it is not an absolute necessity. as long as a wheel will fit through the front door.
Post edited by: omelette, at: 2008/03/11 02:43Lisa My Heart Belongs to: Teddy, Sugar, Sapphie, Fudge, Archie, Chuckie - The Yorkies Wendy (Siamese Mix), Echo (Tabby) - Cats Omelette - Hedgehog Basil - Guinea Pig
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Hedgehogmadhatter
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/11 11:27sweet_catastrophe wrote: I think I have seen the cages that HappyHedgie8 posted before. I like the prices better than the marchioro one but I am just a little worried about one thing.
Isn't it better to get a cage that the top opens up on so it is easier to fit the wheel and everything in?
Also, is the first cage big enough?
Most of those cages easily snap right off he base making it a breeze to get the wheel in and out.. unless you are like me and have put your hedgehog's toys and accesories ONTOP of said cage... lol
~Sara“The fox has many tricks, and the hedgehog only one, but that is the best of all”
Archilochus (Greek lyric poet and soldier, 675-635bc)
There's no love like HEDGEHOG love!
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sweet_catastrophe
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/11 12:00Okay, so I think I'm probably just going to go with a store bought cage. I'll look around at a bunch of pet stores and see what I can find.
Too bad my petco in town is really small and doesn't usually have much of anything. But I'll check anyways. There are towns not too far away that have bigger pet stores... I don't think I'll go with anything on ebay, just because I've had bad experiences with them before.
omelette wrote: some cats will avoid hedgehogs, but some (like my cat ) might decide to jump right in and make themselves at home and eat your hedgie's food. (i had to move omelette's food bowl to the very back of the cage because emery would stick his paw inside and grab food out.)
Ha ha I can totally see my cat doing that. Especially since she's supposed to be on a diet she would try to get food from somewhere else. ♥ Lexi
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HappyHedgie8
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/11 15:31sweet_catastrophe wrote: Too bad my petco in town is really small and doesn't usually have much of anything. But I'll check anyways. There are towns not too far away that have bigger pet stores...
You can order online and they will ship it to you.**Mommy of Tweetle the hedgehog!** ~Felicia :]
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sweet_catastrophe
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/11 16:58Yeah but shipping costs more... Anyways, not to worry, they have a couple of good cages there! (I checked today) ♥ Lexi
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sweet_catastrophe
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/12 12:53Thanks, those are nice, but they look a bit too complicated for me. I will probably just end up buying one from the pet store.♥ Lexi
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aislinsadia
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/14 12:49I have C&C cages that are totally cat proof. We have a lid that is made out of shelving- and my fiance and I are SOOOOO not handy people at all. Well, we are handy enough to put together a C&C and cut the coroplast, but that's about it . If you go to home depot or some such place, you can look around for "custom size shelving" or ask someone and they'll show you. We went there, got a piece cut to how long we needed it to be for the cage, and and paid for it. It was that simple- they did all the work for us and it's totally inexpensive. Here's a picture of one of my past cages, but it shows the "lid shelf" I am talking about to give you a better idea. Sorry it's not a fuller picture, but basically that's the lid that flips down over the top of the cage that you see attached at the top with zip ties. *~*Steph*~* Cotton, Noodles & Cocoa (hedgehogs), Kuruku & Kimiko (kittehs), Sushi & Lily (Ryukin Goldfish), Rosy & Ruby (beagle sisters), and Archie & Rocky (African Dwarf Frogs).
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sweet_catastrophe
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Re:Your opinions - 2008/03/19 12:48Thanks, your cage looks really neat! I never knew you could make someone at home depot cut some stuff for you lol. I'll probably just stick to the store bought cages thought because it seems easier. I found one of those superpet ones at petco on sale. So if my boyfriend ever decides to let me buy it hopefully it'll still be on sale. ♥ Lexi
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