Feisty Ferret Home Review for Rats

Hi guys,

Today I will be reviewing my cage, the Prevue Hendryx 485 Pet Products Feisty Ferret Home with Stand, Black Hammertone (FF). Overall, I think cage makes a great home and a cost-effective alternative to those who would like a Critter Nation (CN) but can't afford the price.


General Specs

• -Product Dimensions: 31 x 20 x 54 inches with 7/8-inch wire spacing
• -Three platforms: 2 plastic trays and 1 wired bottom second floor
• -Includes a bottom shelf that can be used for storing treats and toys. 
• -According to the rat cage calculator, this cage can hold up to 9 rats. Currently, I have 3 rats in the cage and its very spacious for them. 

Pros 

Size:
This cage is big! My 3 rats love running up and down the levels. It is also enough space that if one needs me time, he can.

Quick tip: The top has a sliding door that you can open up and add another level. Here I used an old birdcage I had lying around. 

Price: 
This cage is a money saver compared to the CN. I got mine on amazon for $139 +free shipping on prime. I know that there are cheaper sites that sell the CN, but it usually costs around $200. Although, I am not saying the FF is a better cage compared to CN. It is the closest a person on a budget can get to a CN. 

Large doors:
I used to have the All Living Things Rat cage for two rats. That cage had the smallest doors ever that made daily cleaning a hassle. 

You can only fit your forearm in these doors

I am so thankful that FF cage doors are large enough to fit my head and shoulder in it so I can reach the back of the cage and clean their pee spots easily. 

Large doors for the win!

Bar width:

For my kids, the bars are of perfect spacing even though it's meant for ferrets. For their safety, no one can slip through. Not even Dewey could escape when he was a baby. 

Cons

Second floor is entirely of wire:

The second floor is entirely made of wire! Kind of the major fallback of this cage. If they pee on the second floor, the pee waterfalls onto the lower levels and splashes everywhere. So gross! To fix this problem you can use fabric liners or trays. 

Actually, the bottom floor is also made of wire with a slide  out plastic tray. What I did to address this issue is to place the plastic tray inside the cage and not in the slider. 

**Helpful trick**

You can buy another tray and place it on the second floor. All you have to do is cut an opening to the connect the floors. You can buy another tray on Prevue Pet's site: http://prevuepet.com/replacement-parts.asp

One-sided door:

The biggest difference between FF and CN is that the CN has double open doors. For some reason when I bought my cage I thought that it had double doors. It does not, the other side is bolted. 

Ramps:

I have no idea but the plastic ramps always fall down. Every day I would wake up to find all the ramps knocked down. It was so frustrating that I got rid of all of them except the middle one. Now I use lava ledges or hammocks to connect the levels. Or I just drop the levels like so. 

Poor hardware:

For some reason, my cage came botched. Some screws would not screw in. It hasn't really effected the rats, they aren't able to breakthrough. Still, it's an eyesore. 

In summary, I think this is a very good cage! It isn't exactly like the CN, but it is the next best thing. Definitely better than the smaller cages like the All Living Things or Rat Manor for its space and door size. 

If you have any questions about this cage, feel free to let me know below!

Love,