MidWest Critter Nation Deluxe Small Animal Cage

I ordered the model 162 Midwest Critter Nation Small Animal Cage for our rescued Eastern Grey Squirrel infant, Danni Girl. It fits perfectly for her needs to protect her and give her tons of space when she is not playing with us. We have experience with a similar earlier model142 for another rescue a blind squirrel, Buddy that we acquired over 7 years ago. Based on our earlier acquisition our recent purchase was a perfect addition. My wife and I are not seeking out to rescue squirrels in spite of having them in our home for 20+ years it just happens to be that time and circumstance has brought us together with them. In closing this item makes a perfect place to help our guys have a safe I ordered the model 162 Midwest Critter Nation Small Animal Cage for our rescued Eastern Grey Squirrel infant, Danni Girl. It fits perfectly for her needs to protect her and give her tons of space when she is not playing with us. We have experience with a similar earlier model142 for another rescue a blind squirrel, Buddy that we acquired over 7 years ago. Based on our earlier acquisition our recent purchase was a perfect addition. My wife and I are not seeking out to rescue squirrels in spite of having them in our home for 20+ years it just happens to be that time and circumstance has brought us together with them. In closing this item makes a perfect place to help our guys have a safe and happy place to stay when they are not in our laps or playing with us. … more

When I was assembling the cage, many of the square corners were messed up. I had to hammer them into place to force the pieces together. In addition, one of the bars on one of my doors is clearly damaged. I'm worried it's going to break off. If the box wasn't so large and impossible to put back together, I would have exchanged the item because it was clearly damaged, but there was no way I could get it back together.

Definitely a heavy-duty cage... once you use a hammer to fix the bent corners to get the thing put together! Right out of the box it had several bent cage bars and some bent attachment points at the corners that I had to hammer to fix. One of the corners (which is supposed to have a square shaped "hole" to help hold the peg) was flattened! For the cost of this cage, I really expected better welding.

Bought one of the double story cages a few years ago for our chinchilla. She had been in a single story cage about half the size of this one. It was life changing for her and us. She uses the levels for different purposes (sleeping, eating, playing and socializing). The top level is just the right height for me to open up the doors and rest my arms on the edge of the cage so she can come up and socialize with me and climb on me. She goes up to the highest point so she can watch us and get our attention. I’m certain she gets more exercise with this cage. I’ve had no problems with it and it has greatly improved her quality of life over the smaller cage, as well as her interaction with all of us Bought one of the double story cages a few years ago for our chinchilla. She had been in a single story cage about half the size of this one. It was life changing for her and us. She uses the levels for different purposes (sleeping, eating, playing and socializing). The top level is just the right height for me to open up the doors and rest my arms on the edge of the cage so she can come up and socialize with me and climb on me. She goes up to the highest point so she can watch us and get our attention. I’m certain she gets more exercise with this cage. I’ve had no problems with it and it has greatly improved her quality of life over the smaller cage, as well as her interaction with all of us. … more

cage was as advertised, we bought the doubly story. it’s big and roomy. we did have to hammer some of the pieces so they wouldn’t be bent and one of the doors doesn’t really close perfectly but i still like it and my chinchilla loves it. worth the $300 and i would buy another if needed

I did a lot of research before making this purchase. While there are cheaper options on the market, if you're seriously investing in the best for your pets, this is the one you want. I purchase the 2 story version, which in hindsight is larger than we need for 2 rats, it also offers them PLENTY of space to roam and play. Assembly itself was very easy. The pieces are bulky, which is the only challenging part in putting it together. I definitely recommend two people. For me, my 11 year old daughter helped just to navigate the large sections as we assembled. Instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the only tool you need (a small screw driver) is included in the kit. Can't ask for I did a lot of research before making this purchase. While there are cheaper options on the market, if you're seriously investing in the best for your pets, this is the one you want. I purchase the 2 story version, which in hindsight is larger than we need for 2 rats, it also offers them PLENTY of space to roam and play. Assembly itself was very easy. The pieces are bulky, which is the only challenging part in putting it together. I definitely recommend two people. For me, my 11 year old daughter helped just to navigate the large sections as we assembled. Instructions are very clear and easy to follow and the only tool you need (a small screw driver) is included in the kit. Can't ask for anything more than that! So here's the features that I really love about this cage. Most importantly, the bars of this unit are much closer together than any other unit on the market as far as I've found. Not only is this important for small pets, like rats, to ensure they can't squeeze through, but it's equally valuable at keeping my curious kitties from sticking their paws into the cage. They can look but they can't touch! When you purchase the extended, two story version, there is a clip that allows you to lock one floor apart from the other. This is useful when I want to clean the cage so I can shut the ramp between the two and the rats can still be safely caged while I leave the bottom section open for cleaning. Then I just swap them to the bottom section while I clean the top. Speaking of cleaning, the trays are very easy to pull out and wash on their own. I love the fact that the bottoms are hard plastic instead of bars so our rats' feet are safe. It also gives us different bedding options. Ours seems to prefer towels and fleece liners but they do have a burrowing box full of cardboard filling and paper to dig and nest in. Speaking of digging and nesting, all that fluff can make quite the mess even outside the cage. So far, it's not so bad that I feel the need to add plexiglass liners as some have done (a unique option that I may try in the future) but having the entire unit on casters is helpful for moving it out to make sweeping a little easier. We also use the bottom shelf with baskets to store extra bedding, toys, food, etc. in baskets. When we first unboxed and built this unit, I was disappointed in myself for getting something much larger than we really needed but I'm actually glad that I did. All the extra space gives plenty of room to add wheels, boxes, ropes, litter boxes, hidey holes, etc. and we have lots of configuration options to shake things up and change the setup so our rats always have a fun place to explore and play. As long as you have the space to house a larger unit, I highly recommend this one! … more

We got this enclosure for our chinchilla, the two story version. Upgrading him from a temporary large ferret cage was a night and day difference. The cage itself is super sturdy and well designed. The doors function similar to a cat/dog carrier, and aren't always even to the eye, but they're secure. Assembly took a little bit of common sense know-how to assemble quickly, but when it comes to building enclosures, it was fairly simple and well planned. My biggest complaint is only that the large base pans could fit more flush with the bottom wire. There is a bedding guard you can get (or make, it's quite easy), to hold in bedding (and poop!). We also got the fleece pan covers, and with that, this We got this enclosure for our chinchilla, the two story version. Upgrading him from a temporary large ferret cage was a night and day difference. The cage itself is super sturdy and well designed. The doors function similar to a cat/dog carrier, and aren't always even to the eye, but they're secure. Assembly took a little bit of common sense know-how to assemble quickly, but when it comes to building enclosures, it was fairly simple and well planned. My biggest complaint is only that the large base pans could fit more flush with the bottom wire. There is a bedding guard you can get (or make, it's quite easy), to hold in bedding (and poop!). We also got the fleece pan covers, and with that, this cage has been a dream. Love it and recommend highly! … more

Bought this because I'd heard from multiple sources that this is by far the best cage for rats, and after owning it for almost a month I definitely agree. -The internal space is absolutely massive-- bigger than every other cage I've owned so far. I feel like I could chill inside it myself and still have plenty of room, considering I'd be a full grown human. There is plenty of space for more than enough hides, toys, and even the dig box I plan on giving the girls. -The vertical bars with 1/2 inch spacing are perfect for my girls who love to climb. -I have gathered a significantly large amount of Random Stuff in the time I've owned rats, and love having the extra space beneath the cage itself Bought this because I'd heard from multiple sources that this is by far the best cage for rats, and after owning it for almost a month I definitely agree. -The internal space is absolutely massive-- bigger than every other cage I've owned so far. I feel like I could chill inside it myself and still have plenty of room, considering I'd be a full grown human. There is plenty of space for more than enough hides, toys, and even the dig box I plan on giving the girls. -The vertical bars with 1/2 inch spacing are perfect for my girls who love to climb. -I have gathered a significantly large amount of Random Stuff in the time I've owned rats, and love having the extra space beneath the cage itself to store all their goodies. Plus the rollers made it incredibly easy to reposition when I needed to get behind the cage. -I LOVE how easy it is to adjust the shelf. On every other cage I've had, moving the shelf was an entire process, and sometimes it seemed impossible. This one has little slots in the side panels that the cage slides into easily. If it were possible I'd love to have a little more freedom in where I could position the shelf along the side panels, but this is an understandable limitation. I do, however, have a few complaints, though most are remedied fairly easily. -For one, it is a pain to set up! I did it solo and it took me about three hours, on and off-- not to mention I hurt my finger pretty bad in the process. If you're able, definitely recruit an extra set of hands to help you out, and be prepared to spend some time on it. -The base pan is shallow and plastic, neither of which are ideal for rats. Fortunately, I was able to rig some scatter guards out of acrylic pieces, and Midwest does sell replacement pans, so if your pets chew through the plastic they are replaceable. Also, when I'd finished putting it together, one of the latches refused to budge, meaning one door was locked in place. This was fixed by sticking a screwdriver into the hole and moving it around until the spring popped back into place, so please keep that in mind if you have the same issue I did! All in all, my two ratties and I are incredibly happy with this cage. It's well worth the investment, and I plan on keeping this cage for a *very* long time. … more

This was one of the best looking cages for Chewy, and I wanted my little ratties to have the best living space possible. When I opened the package, over half the pieces were either warped or bent. Had to gently whack them with a hammer to get them to fit properly. The door also struggles with closing, as the knobs can't fully align with the eyes. It does however still shut securely. The pan also isn't tall enough to hold bedding well, so you'll need to buy or make some guards for that. Despite all these complaints, the cage is still decent. If you're able to fix these issues this cage would be excellent if you're needing one.

Taking the pieces out of the box, we noticed several parts that were bent and would not fit together. Tapping the bent pegs with a towel-wrapped hammer solved the problem. Some of the panels are slightly warped, but that didn't seem to affect assembly. The doors do not hang evenly (shown in pictures), and I'm not sure how to fix that. They thankfully do latch properly. Overall, the cage is acceptable and will do the job. I just expected better quality given the price and the reputation.