Take our two teenagers, 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 girl was the first to select, being a girly girl all things pink are the order of the day.

This was fast becoming an expensive day; we paid about £40 for her Rotastak cage alone. Then add bedding, food, treats oh and the hamster itself. But she was happy and the hamster would have hours of fun in her new home.

What does it look like?

Well for a start it is pink, really pink, very very pink.
The ground floor (the largest area) is clear, this is the place that the hamster is supposed to eat and drink, the food bowl is placed in this area and the water bottle is attached to this level. From here a tube comes out of the side and goes round in a circle ending up on the first floor.

Once on the first floor the hamster finds itself in a smaller circular room, It has four things it can do, drop down a hole to the ground floor, go back down the tube 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 - 53 cm (21")
Width - 48 cm (19")
Depth - 58 cm (23")

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?

Oh yes she loves it, well she looks like she has fun, the wheel is her favourite part, unfortunately for our daughter the hamster only plays on it at night (it might have something to do with hamsters being nocturnal).
However she does not like sleeping in the bedroom at the top, instead she moves her bedding into the curly tubes between the ground and first floor, then fills it with her food and snuggles herself down, for the night (or should that be the day).

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 first floor can be easily dislodged, especially when younger children are around or when the cage is being moved. This resulted in a lost hamster, our teenage daughter was quite upset at this, I did the pacifying bit and suggested she left the cage open with food nearby in case the hamster came back.
To be honest I did not think the hamster would come back, I said it purely to give her time to come to terms with losing her pet. So when our daughter told us the next day that the hamster had returned and was back in the cage I was probably more surprised than anyone (huge daddy brownie points were still collected by me).

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.