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Our teenage son had seen his sister choose a pink Rotastak, now he liked the cage but really was not going to choose anything remotely girly and pink. Luckily they also had a Rotastak in an odd shade of green. This was called the Rotastak Space Command Unit, I considered this a bit more ... Read review
Advantages: Can be extended Disadvantages: Difficult to assemble
...Luckily they also had a Rotastak in an odd shade of green. This was called the Rotastak Space Command Unit, I considered this a bit more of a bargain than the standard one, even though it cost the same £40 this was on the basis that it came complete with a detachable carrying case.
What does it look like?
It is predominantly clear and luminous green
Starting at the ground floor, it has a tube that winds its way ... ...coming down from the playroom above. You can also attach the carrying case to the ground floor, this in effect gives the hamster another room to explore.
Once on the first floor (playroom) the hamster finds itself in a smaller circular room, It has three things it can do, drop down a hole to the ground floor, it can use its exercise wheel or it can climb up to the top floor and to what is designed to be its bedroom.
Take our two teenagers again, a girl and a boy, add to that a house full of pets and it was only a matter of time before they would want a pet of their own. So when our teenagers came with us to the pet shop we had a feeling that they would look to see what was on offer. Our normal twenty minute trip to pick up food for the pets turned into a two hour shopping trip where all manner of pets were discussed. Eventually they both decided on hamsters, then it was what type of home would they have.
Our teenage son had seen his sister choose a pink Rotastak, now he liked the cage but really was not going to choose anything remotely girly and pink. Luckily they also had a Rotastak in an odd shade of green. This was called the Rotastak Space Command Unit, I considered this a bit more of a bargain than the standard one, even though it cost the same £40 this was on the basis that it came complete with a detachable carrying case.
What does it look like?
It is predominantly clear and luminous green Starting at the ground floor, it has a tube that winds its way up to the top floor. It also has a tube coming down from the playroom above. You can also attach the carrying case to the ground floor, this in effect gives the hamster another room to explore.
Once on the first floor (playroom) the hamster finds itself in a smaller circular room, It has three things it can do, drop down a hole to the ground floor, it can use its exercise wheel or it can climb up to the top floor and to what is designed to be its bedroom.
The top floor is the hamsters bedroom, instead of the walls being clear like the lower floors, they are pink so the hamster has some privacy when it goes to sleep. The overall size is Height - 56 cm (22") Width - 77 cm (30") Depth - 51 cm (20")
How is it to assemble?
If you have any astronaut friends who have been involved in putting the space station together, then I suggest you try and get them to help. The instructions for the assembly are adequate, but it is the actual process of assembling that is difficult. You have these pieces called anti gnaw rings (remember that hamsters love to chew) that fit on the tube, yes they do fit but it took a lot of effort. The whole thing has a lot of pieces the curved tubes that make up the circle, clips to hold parts together etc. From our experience, I would suggest lay the whole thing out on the floor, read the instructions very carefully and make sure you have plenty of time and more than one pair of hands.
Does the hamster like it?
The hamster that lives in this cage is quite a character, unlike most hamsters who only come to life at night, he seems to wake just as everyone is thinking about going to bed. He then spends hour after hour in his wheel. Because his wheel is on the outside of the playroom area, it is much louder than the wheel on the standard Rotastak, it is that loud that it can be heard from the floor below where the hamster is kept. He does however use the top floor bedroom to sleep most of the time, for a change he will occasionally drag bedding and food to a tube and camp in that for a night.
Cleaning it
Well building it was really hard, thankfully taking it apart to clean is not nearly as hard, because it is plastic it cleans very easily, however when putting the parts back together make sure they are secure, we nearly lost one hamster because of not doing so.
Anything else that can be done with it?
Yes it is expandable, it is designed so parts can be added, (rooms tubes etc) the only real limitations being imagination and cost.
Any downsides?
Unfortunately we have found a couple of problems.
The tubes that go between the ground and the top floor can be easily dislodged, especially when younger children are around or when the cage is being moved. You even need to dust with care.
The noise from the external exercise wheel can be a bit much, and yes I have tried lubricating it to reduce the noise but that had no effect.
The putting it together is a struggle and it is a two person job, well three if you have someone making the tea.
Then the other downer is the cost, not only of the cage but of any add ons that you might wish to buy.
Overall
This is much better than an ordinary cage, not only do they look good, but the hamster has much more to do. Although they are not too cheap, they are well constructed and with care will last for a good few years. I am generally happy with them and will recommend them but as I have said before they do not come without a few problems. I really do prefer this to the standard cage, not because it is not pink (although that is a factor for me), but it has the carry case with it, this is fantastic when cleaning the cage, somewhere to keep the hamster safe, when we clean our other cage we also use this carrying case.
Advantages: Fun, Bright, Exciting with a number of levels. Disadvantages: Hard to Assemble & clean out.
...(in Gerbil terms), just down Rotastak Way, Gerbil Street, Pet Island.
So What is Rotastak?
Rotastak is a modern alternative to the metal wire cages we all have fond memories clipping water bottles to, and unhatching a large metal door on the front. It consists of bright coloured plastics that can be manipulated using tubes and a series of tanks, to make a fun and exciting habitat for smaller pets, eg, mice, hamsters and gerbils. It looks expensive?
... ...usual gnaw on. It seems Rotastak are aware of this and so have set no sleeping quarter into one of the tanks. Its not overly problematic but it would have been nice.
Secondly, after putting the cage together, frustratingly it seems parts have to be dismantled to clean the cage properly. A large flap does raise on the large bottom tank. Which is were most mess will occur. But cleaning the middle and top levels will prove to be very difficult. In ...
Webby_law 01.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Rotastak Space Command Unit
Advantages: Fun, lots of space Disadvantages: Difficult to put together
When I purchased my Syrian Hamster she was in quite a small, single level cage. She was getting quite big, and to be honest I wanted to get her something a little bigger to live in.
I came across this cage in my local Pets at Home store, it was price in excess of £50 and was quite pricey. But since, it was a one off purchase I decided to go ahead. Part of what attracted me to the cage was the detachable carry case. Plus I thought it just looked ... ...it has a main section (this is quite deep, and so could be used as a play area or perhaps filled with a lot of sawdust so that your hamster can burrow), a smaller living area with an exercise wheel attached, and a 'Dining Room'. The Dining Room has an attachment for a water bottle, and also slide out draws that can be filled with food.
All of these sections are connected by standard horizontal or vertical tubes. However, as you can see from the ...
s32bauer 24.09.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Rotastak Space Command Unit
Advantages: Great to add extensions on Disadvantages: Expensive
...not last long.
The Rotastak Space Command Unit is more for lads as girls prefer the girly colour ones. Its recommend for hamsters, mice and gerbils but personally gerbils love to gnaw so if you have gerbils, don't waste your money buying this. Mice smell stronger so buy a cage which has more air vents.
Cage size is approx 2.5 foot long (30 inches), approx 21/22 inch high and 19/20 inch deep.
If you want to be more adventurous you can add more ... ...expand your set. With its top space compartment and small travel carry case attached (ideal for transporting the little one on its travels or to the vets). There is an hamster wheel too (another expense spared).
Cleanliness wise, I think the cage is difficult to clean out, easy enough to put the vac and pick up the shavings/sawdust, but it is wise to have a large bottle brush or small hands to clean some of the tubes out incase your pet poops in ...
innercircle 13.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Rotastak Space Command Unit
Quick review of Rotastak Space Command Unit
We recently bought one of these and I was immediately struck by the poor quality of the materials and the awkwardness in putting it together.
Far worse though, within a few days our dwarf hamster managed to get trapped in the pipe section and in struggling to free herself was so badly injured that she lost one of her rear legs. You can imagine how traumatic that was for our 6 year old son. I complained at the store and received a full refund (unfortunately legs cannot be replaced) which went some way to offsetting the vet's fees.
I think this design is inherently dangerous, particularly for dwarf varieties and I would NEVER recommend it to anyone. ...
duzypiwo 12.05.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Rotastak Space Command Unit
Quick review of Rotastak Space Command Unit
Just bought one of these and really trust me, DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY. This is the worst unsafe hamster cage I could have bought.
The Space Dome is held together by two plastic clips, the tubing is really awkward to piece together and the whole thing is really unsafe for any animal.
Really would not recommend this cage to ANYONE. ...
paul932 17.05.2007 (16.05.2007)
Ciao members have rated this review on average: not helpful Review of Rotastak Space Command Unit
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Advantages: Colourful, Bright, Keep the little ones quite for hours. Disadvantages: Pricey, a little awkward to clean out, A bit enclosed.
Rotastak all items are compatible so you can have a bright pink one as mentioned or go for the SpaceCommandUnit or the Multi Coloured Rainbow sets.
OTHER ITEMS TO BUY - ADD ONS
Other products to buy are
Attic bedroom
Short tubes
Long tubes
Elbow bend
Tee connectors
Tube adapter
Tube end cap
Crossroad
Roof bung
Security clips
Other Cages available are
Mega Pod
Super Pod
Cosmo Pod
Adventure Zone
SpaceCommand Centre (see my review on this).
Maxi Mansion
Maxi Penthouse Suite
Maxi Tunnel of Fun ...
