This article is from the WSSF 2009 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Ken & Connie Van Doren

The “Deluxe My First Home Large For Exotics” Super Pet® cage in use by our rats. Photo by Ken Van Doren.

• Size: 30″L x 18″W x 30″H
• Color: Blue and Black
• Price: $99.99
• Description: The Deluxe My First Home Large for Exotics offers your pet plenty of room to roam. The one-half inch wire spacing is perfect for pet rats, degus, and other exotic small animals. It includes 3 Comfort Shelves, 3 Safety Ramps, Bowl-in-the-Hole Food Dish, and hammock. Plus, it comes complete with a Giant 11″ Run-around exercise wheel.

We were given this cage when an adopter had to return their rats to us. There were 2 adult males, and this cage was a good size for them. It could probably house 3 or 4 females comfortably.

This is a pretty good cage for the money, considering everything that comes with it. However, during the short time that we used it, we came across a few problems.

The first issue we had was with the pan. The wire sides don’t go down to the bottom of the pan, which leaves it exposed to chewing, as are the plastic clips that hold the cage to the pan (one of the clips was missing when we received it). Also, the pan had a hole in one corner when we received it.

The biggest problem we had was with the shelves. While the shelves were safe and solid, urine would collect in the troughs along the edges. If the shelves aren’t wiped down daily, the rats can get really dirty. The boys that came back to us had extremely dirty tails and bellies because of this. If you have only one cage, that may not be a problem. But when you have 10 or more cages, like we do, we don’t have time to wipe them down daily. We also removed the drop-in food bowl, because the food was collecting urine.

We didn’t have any problems with the ramps, but the built-in clips looked like they could break off quite easily if you weren’t careful. These ramps should be wiped down as well.

The overall construction was nice, because it could be collapsed for storage, but it just seemed “flimsy” compared to our Martin’s cages. The cage had to be completely torn down for each cleaning, and that was a time issue with us. It was also tricky getting it put back together just the way you like it.

If I had to recommend a cage, I would rather have the Martin’s Rat Skyscraper® 695. It’s 30″ x 18″ x 36″. The price is $119.00 for the powder-coated version.

NOTE: Cage made by Super Pet, 2121 Touhy Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, 1-847-956-1130, e-mail: customerservice@superpet.net. Their web site is http://www.superpetusa.com/index.htm.

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