by Josh Komon

Created on: December 11, 2009   Last Updated: January 02, 2012

Do not let the name fool you, the Ferret Nation Cage Model 142 is a great cage for most larger pet rodents.  Of course it is designed for ferrets, but it works equally well for chinchillas.  It has plenty of upside, and only the tiniest bit of downside.  This four door, four floor, double decker pet cage looks good, and is a mansion for your furry little friends.

Getting the negative out of the way immediately, putting the cage together takes plenty of time, requires a lot of elbow grease, patience, and mechanical know-how.  While the design is very sturdy when finished, the process involves many steps that absolutely must be done in the proper order.  Should a step need to be redone, so must all the steps that had been undertaken after the mistake.  So, for example, if the bottom set of double doors were put on upside down, you're stuck with it, unless you wish to undo over an hours worth of work.

The top half and bottom half of the cage are essentially the same, the major difference being that there is a ramp that connects the two by a small hole in the back right corner of the bottom half.  Each has a main level which takes up the entire area of the cage, and a half-level which can be placed on either side of the cage.  For the bottom half, it really needs to be on the right, so the ramp has a surface to rest on.

The bottom trays that come with the cage are textured plastic, and absolutely do the job.  However, after a long enough amount of time, no amount of scrubbing can clean then, and replacements must be ordered.  Deeper metal pans tend to work even better.

Underneath the "living area" of the cage, is a little bottom shelf.  This doesn't seem like such a wonderful and necessary addition, but as the pet supplies accumulate, and storage space decreases, this shelf becomes a god send.

The cage is on wheels, which is nice for plenty of reasons, most notably, the cage can be easily moved for cleaning purposes.  The wheels have locks on them to prevent it from rolling away.

You may be able to find a cheaper cage, but, as with so many things in life, you get what you pay for.  The Ferret Nation Cage Model 142 is large, nice, functional, and everything you'd be looking for in a rodent cage, and more.

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