I have tried many cages for my four mice, and while this one is far from perfect I find it to be the best, but it required a couple of modifications. I should say that my last cage was the Habitrail OVO for Dwarf Hamsters or Mice, and while it looked awesome and the wheel was totally silent, the water bottle leaked like crazy (and the tube beneath it was not water tight so it leaked onto whatever surface the cage is on), there is VERY little actual "floor space," and since it comes in about 50 pieces and must be disassembled to clean properly, it's a huge pain to clean. It's pretty, but it's pricey and painstaking, and it's what led me to try this CritterTrail cage, which promised easy cleaning.
It keeps that promise. I find this cage to be extremely easy to clean, and I love the amount of open space that my mice have to run around, and I can use large accessories on the bottom level. No other cage system I have tried is nearly as easy to clean as this one is, which makes dual-level living so much easier to deal with. It's the space and ease of cleaning that make it worth looking past the considerable faults and making modifications to make it really workable.
The first negative thing that was immediately evident was the water bottle. It's flimsy, doesn't stay in place, and leaks all over the place, not to mention that when you take it off to fill it there's a hole plenty large enough for a determined mouse to squeeze through. I discarded this bottle altogether, put an endcap over the hole, and bought a good water bottle to attach to the bars on the back. I've noticed that most water bottles that come with CritterTrail cages leave much to be desired.
The second major problem, which showed up within minutes of moving my mice into their new home, is the wheel. It looks great and it's a nice idea to have the wheel outside so it takes up no space inside, but the thing is LOUD, and the tiny little guard around the bottom seam of the wheel does nothing to keep excrement from falling onto the surface below, so within fifteen minutes I realized I had a whole pile of mouse poop on my desk. I tried to alleviate this by buying the external wheel that comes with a little drawer for the excrement, but this fills in no time and can't catch it all anyway, because it flies out from all directions. I ended up placing an endcap on this hole as well, and I bought a small solid-surface wheel that I attached to the bars on the inner right side of the cage, which is the only place where it is possible to do so. I wouldn't recommend this for most hamsters, as it will only accommodate a small wheel, but this is fine for mice. You can however place a much larger, free-standing wheel in the front of the cage, leaving open space behind it. That, I think, would make it suitable for a hamster. The external wheels are absolutely terrible though, I would avoid using them. If you have the space, you could connect it to another cage that has an internal wheel, which would be a luxurious solution.
Despite the design flaws of the accessories, I would still highly recommend this cage if you're willing to fiddle with it a bit, as it makes cleaning a snap and it is very easy to view your pets as they enjoy this habitat.Get more detail about Super Pet CritterTrail Discovery Deluxe Habitat.
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