i hope santa was good to everyone. merry christmas and a happy new year.
i hope santa was good to everyone. merry christmas and a happy new year.
Member since:20.07.2004
Reviews:30
Members who trust:8
For my Daughter's 4th birthday we were completely at a loss as to what we should buy her. What on earth do you buy for a child who is thoroughly spoilt for choice with toys due to birthdays and Christmas combined with over enthusiastic grannies?
So after long deliberation we settled on getting her her own first pet. The choices were between a goldfish and a hamster - I have a small house so put my foot down on dogs or ponies!
So we decided on a hamster and went to the pet shop to take a look. There we spotted the rotastack adventure suite which contains your traditionalrotastack pod - A metal and plastic cage with a platform
at either end and tubing to allow the hamster/gerbil/mouse etc to climb up on the platforms. There was also the rotastak maxi-house which is a totally plastic, deep sided living area - the hamster can't scurry out past us when we open this one! There were tubes to connect the two living areas. Also included were the rotastack round living area which is very like the maxi house unit and the attic sleeping area.
This unit is certainly spacious and could accommodate quite a few hamsters but we only got her one this time round as we wanted to be sure she would handle it well before getting her more. This hamster - oddly named Karen, I have no idea where she got Karen from - seems to enjoy scampering around the various areas of her new home.
I have found though that the tubing connecting the pod and the maxi unit does not attach to the units very securely - big problem when you have 3 cats that all look at the hamster with the idea of eating it. I also noticed that the pod itself, which exists in three sections is not entirely secure wither at the lower corners. Any pulling at these corners causes quite a large gap to emerge. So for that reason I have now ditched the pod and connecting tubing and instead the hamster just has the maxi, round and attic units but this still leaves a fair sized home as we only have the one hamster.
The package we bought also included the exercise wheel which is fully enclosed and the hamster loves it. In fact she loves it so much that she constantly pulls her food into the wheel which makes it rattle like nothing on earth when she runs and I have to empty the food out of it about 6 times a day. Thankfully emptying it out is a very easy task and takes no time at all. Also included were the food bowl - 75 grams and a small water bottle. Special rotastack water bottles are required for the rotastak unit as they have to have the correct fittings.
The rotastack unit is very easy to build and to take apart for cleaning purposes it is simply as case of pulling a few tubes out and unclipping the security clips. You then empty the sawdust and bedding, give it a wash and dry then refill and reconnect the fittings. It couldn't be easier.
All doors on this unit are easy to open which is both a good and bad thing. Good because it makes it easier for me to get the hamster in and out and bad because it makes it easier for my daughter to get the hamster in and out! I am constantly having to tell her to put it back in but at least she is very good at handling Karen.
I would recommend the rotastak unit for children’s pets - and adults that want to have a little fun but would not recommend it for breeders as many parts are not suitable for young hamsters.
I like the way that you can build up the rotastak units and have them going all the way around your room if you want too. It also makes a good start of point as a present for children as you can get them to choose extensions to the base units as birthday and Christmas presents which allows them the fun of building up their cage with the bits they want for it.
This particular unit cost me £49.99 and I consider fairly good value for money. Once I have figured out a way to ensure the security of the pod then I will consider the unit extremely good value for money. But in the meantime I will just buy the maxi unit and the round living area.
I also would recommend that those who are thinking about buying any of the rotastak units don't buy the pod because, as I have mentioned earlier it is not thoroughly secure which is a problem with small animals whether you also own cats or not. The rest of the units that I have purchased however are very secure and definitely highly recommendable.
Pictures of Standard Rotastak Cage
unit
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