MidWest Homes for Pets Deluxe Critter Nation Double Unit Small Animal Cage (Model 162)GreenCircle Certified: Recycled Content

This is truly prime real estate for rats. I only have 2, but they're making the most of the space. The climber finds the top tier and all the stuff I was able to hang up there good fun, and the more cautious rat enjoys huddling on the lower tier. Plenty of space for a larger mischief, too, as I suspect. The doors lock fine. There are different options for positioning the midsection floors, and the "bins" for floors are very convenient for later cleanup. Easily removed as well. I didn't use the ladder covers that came in the kit because I bought my own set with covers for the bins as well.Now. Assembly. It deserves a separate paragraph. It took me and 3 teenage boys working in "shifts"/pass the flag style several hours to put together. I won't be complaining about the screwdriver that came with the kit, but I WILL complain about how things don't really fit together. In order to make some of the tabs fit into the prepared slots we had to hit/bend them with something heavy. Same with the slots for some of the pegs. You don't need tools to assemble it... other than a hammer and a large vocabulary of swear words, the latter for your mental stability more than anything. It is, of course, worth it when done.Other features include a nice little rack below the cage to store whatever rat supplies you might desire to have immediately available. The caster wheels seem to work fine, though I hadn't had to roll the cage around much since its installation. Not to mention that it IS quite heavy.

I have owned a Ferret Nation for years (over 10), in fact I owned two at one point. Given how well those cages held up (the second was given to a friend, and is still in like-new condition), I was ecstatic when I found the Critter Nation at a local PetsMart, and did more research online.The Ferret Nation and Critter Nation are essentially the same, except that the bars on the Critter Nation run horizontal and are not spaced as far apart as the Ferret Nation. The Critter Nation bars are even suitable for sugar gliders (they are only about the size of a chipmunk). In fact, I'm thinking about buying a second Critter Nation to upgrade my sugar gliders' housing, as the first one is in use by my more numerous pet rats currently.At this point, the Critter Nation is comfortably housing 8 pet rats, and is split into separate units by locking the ladder in an "up" position (standard function for the cage). My 5 wonderful boys live on the lower level, and my 3 beautiful girls live on the upper level. I'm looking at buying the scatter guard accessory trays, but for now I'm just using the normal trays that come with the cage. While it's inconvenient to sweep up their bedding so often, it's still worth it to provide them with the extra space, and I have options to consider to help prevent this issue in the future.Pros:* The Critter Nation is SOLID. Rats are really intelligent and I always have to consider if they can escape a cage by operating whatever locking mechanism it has -- that's not a concern at all with the doors on the Critter Nation, yet they are still easy for me to open despite having tendonitis in my dominate hand. My Ferret Nation is now 10+ years old and does not have any rust on it, the door locks still work perfectly, and the cage is like new. I expect my Critter Nation will hold up just as well over time.* LOTS of room. The cage is huge and leaves plenty of room to accessorize -- the underside of the shelves even have bars on them, despite the shelves being solid, so you can hang light-weight items like hammocks or small bird toys on the underside of the shelves to entertain your pet!* The shelves have solid plastic covers. This is a huge issue for me as I once had a special needs rat that had foot injuries, wire shelves, bottoms and ramps were just not an option with him, and since then, I don't consider them an option with my other rats either. The solid shelves eliminate the potential for foot injury as there's really no way for your rat to get its feet caught in the shelf.* They make washable covers for the wire ramps -- Again, I don't like wire ramps, floors or shelves due to the potential for foot-injury with rats, but there is an option to buy ramp covers as accessories, which makes them solid and can prevent injury in the long run. I was even lucky even to receive ramp covers with my order, free of charge. The best part is that I can toss them in the washer and dryer, so I'm not scrubbing them by hand.* You can add to this cage. I bought the single unit and the add-on unit at the same time, so my cage only needs one stand. I've separated it into two cages by using the feature that allows you to lock the ramp between units in an up position against the underside of the top unit, this closes the hole and prevents pets from going up or down into the other unit. What I realized when I added my second unit onto the original is that it had the potential for even more units if I so desired. I think this is a great feature, though I'm sure I would need a step-stool to clean the third unit as it would be quite a bit taller than me at that point.* The stand has wheels. This is great when you need to relocate the cage on the same floor of a home, or if you just need to move it a bit for cleaning. The wheels have locking features for safety as well.Cons:* The doors are really big, it's sort of a pro and con all at the same time. It's easier to clean, but the size of the doors are the only thing that makes me think twice about putting Sugar Gliders in this cage -- if you have a pet that's sneaky and prone to attempt escape, and there's more than one animal in the unit, the chances of them being able to get past you are increased due to how large the doors are.* The cage is kind of expensive. This is only a con at the start, and you have the option to buy it one unit at a time. I have not found a comparable cage for a better price, however.* The cage is very heavy, but I only really noticed this when I had to move the boxes it arrived in before assembly. This is something to consider when you order it if you have to go up or down a lot of stairs -- you may be moving it a few pieces at a time before assembly. I have only moved my Ferret Nation once when I bought a home and moved out of the place I had been renting, and over all, it's not nearly as bad as moving large appliances.Ultimately, for housing rats and similar pets, I think this cage is excellent. I'd love to give my gliders the space of the Critter Nation, but I'm reluctant at this point only because of the size of the doors, the quickness of a sugar glider, and the gliders' ability to climb and fly short distances. My rats will more than get my money's worth out of this cage and I believe that for them, it was an excellent investment. The Ferret Nation is also wonderful for Ferrets and Chinchillas as I have previously housed both of those kinds of animals in my old Ferret Nation unit -- you can even buy an external ramp for it to allow your ferret or chinchilla to free-range at their leisure.I would highly recommend these cages to anyone looking to give their pets a lot of space, particularly if you know you will continue to have those kinds of animals in your life, as this cage will generally long out-last the life span of the animals it can comfortably house. It is definitely a worth-while investment.

I have two rats who are both about 6 months old. When I got them, I paid around $80 at Petco for a cage that looked big in comparison to Petco's other cages…but really it only had room for one hammock, food bowl, and an igloo. The rats were very inactive - they slept all day, cuddling each other. I thought they just had low energy level. Even when I let them out to play, they didn't run around that much.Fast forward to last week, I began researching for pet supplies and came across this cage. It looked "too big" for my two little ratties, to be honest. But then I thought, who doesn't like a bigger space to live in? This would be like upgrading the rats to a mansion, and I'm all about spoiling my babies. So I pulled the trigger…and…I am SO GLAD that I did. Their old cage looks like a shoebox next to this cage.I set this cage up with five hammocks, an igloo, a hideaway box, hanging chew toys, food bowls, and everything that the rats could ever need. I used old pillow cases to cover up all the plastic trays and plastic levels, to make them warm and cozy. On the bottom tray, I put a layer of paper pulp bedding (best for rodents…never use pine or wood shavings!), and their litter box. My rats are litter trained, so they know not to go potty on any of the fabric parts of the cage. So far they have been making a great effort to go potty only in their litter box. No accidents. I am very proud of them.They have lived in this rat mansion for a week now, and already I have noticed great improvement in their moods, activity level, and general well being. They are much more affectionate toward me (always wanting to climb on me when I let them out to play), and they are much more inquisitive. Now they have room to chase each other up and down the levels, wrestle and play. Before this, they could only play like that when I let them out of their tiny cage. They play SO much more now.They also have the option of claiming each of their own spaces, so that they don't have to be together all the time like before. Often I will find Miley in her little corner where she can spy on me, while the more reclusive Britnee will be in the igloo. This must be very important to the rats' mental health, to have time apart. Just like humans, really.I saved their Petco cage for traveling use. It fits perfectly into my car, so I can take the rats on roadtrips.Midwest Critter Nation Double cage for rats:Pros:-Space, space, space. You can have two rats, and this will be perfect. Or you can have 5 rats, and there will still be plenty of space. If you are a serious rat owner, and plan on having generations of rats, get this cage ASAP so that all of your rats can enjoy their mansion :)-Sturdy material: I am no material expert, but I can tell this cage is a hundred times sturdier than any of the cages I could buy at a pet store. My old rat cage was so flimsy that I could bend the wiring easily with my fingers. This cage feels like pure metal.-The spacing between the wire is designed so that even a smaller female adult rat cannot fit her face in between. No chewing.-Your pet rats will now be on eye level with you: this sounds weird, but I find it to be a great way to build your relationship with the rats. With a big cage like this, the rats can see you easily, and you no longer have to look down at them. My rat Miley likes to watch me all the time, as I go about my daily chores around the apartment.-Because the rats can be on eye-level with you, it is also much easier to play with them. I could open up the double doors, and lean my whole upper body into the cage and have them hop on my shoulders and hide in my hair and stuff. You can visit them in their house now, instead of always taking them out to play with you in your house!Cons:Well, the only thing I found difficult about this cage was the assembly. You need two people, especially if you're short like me (5'3). You need a rubber mallet. It's going to take a while, but be patient - it's worth it!One of the pieces in my box was slightly dent so that the peg did not fit. I contacted customer service, and they offered a replacement right away. Great people, great service.So really, there's nothing to worry about with this cage. I thought it was a luxury when I bought it, but now I consider it essential to my rats health and happiness. I would never ever subject them to living in that cramped, flimsy cage from Petco again. Please get this if you are a rat mommy who is in love with her ratties! :)Have a good day, hope this helped!

Sturdy, spacious, and easy to assemble. Leak-proof pans and secure wheels are genius. Ideal for ferrets—durable, clean, and pet-safe. Highly recommend!