Critter Nation vs Ferret Nation

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MelodyR

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2009
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94
Location
Ft Lauderdale, FL
PS - Have missed you all. Somehow I lost you in the "move" from CnQ, glad to have found you again!

I'm about to purchase one or the other -- what have you all found to be the advantages/disadvantages of the Critter Nation vs Ferret Nation? This would be for pet use, not breeding purposes. Found CN's on sale for under $200.

Also, I notice everyone seems to be removing the heavy plastic liners/shelves that come with them -- chewable plastic issues?

Thanks!
 
I prefer the FN but really only because of the larger bar spacing. In a CN it's harder to give "drive-by" scritchens. :)

Also, the only other con I can see to the CN is that you can't just outright by the metal pans for it. The FN is so popular that bassequiptment.com makes pans in that size. The CN is just a tad different on the size so you would have to special order the pans.

Speaking of pans, I saw that you mentioned about the plastic pans. The plastic pans are so shallow that they won't hold any shavings. If you are using fleece liners you can use the pans, just make sure the plastic is covered so the chins don't chew it up. As for the shelves, you can cover those in fleece, or just cut a piece of wood to that size and attach it to the side right on top of the shelves. I just got rid of them completely that way I had more room for other ledges and all the comfy fleece things.
 
The critter nation just snaps together and the FN has screws. But i dont like the critter nation because of the smaller bar spacing because like essentia said you can't just walk by and give scritches!!
Both are very nice and sooo easy to clean.
 
I do have to say that the snap together design of the CN intrigues me. I wonder how much easier it is. I may have to do some research.
 
So no one has had problems with the wider bar spacing - like the horror stories I have heard about broken legs and such? That was on alot of rattie sites, that and the fact that the rats can squeeze themselves through the FN bars - LOL, sounds like fun! Even the sales sites promote the FN for ferrets, and the CN for just about everything else. Still not sure - but the CN is far less costly. Nothing listed in my area on CL or elsewhere. :(

Great point about the scritches and the pre-made pans. Both important considerations! Thanks!
 
Chins are larger than rats. As long as it isn't a kit they can't get through them (or even try really). The bar spacing for broken legs is more for what they are standing on, not what is around them.

The CN is far less costly? Every single website I have ever seen it was much more expensive.
 
If you keep breeders in FN the only problem is escapees. I have both and I use the CN for a couple of breeding chins.
 
The CN is on sale for $234.95 on Pet Street Mall now with free shipping. I can't find FN anywhere for less than that. Do you know of any place?
 
Essentia said:
Also, the only other con I can see to the CN is that you can't just outright by the metal pans for it. The FN is so popular that bassequiptment.com makes pans in that size. The CN is just a tad different on the size so you would have to special order the pans.
Click to expand...
According to a friend that has both, the FN pans from Bass fit perfectly in the CN.
 
The FN often goes on sale at Petsmart and Ferret.com

I dont like petstreetmall, they are always high priced. I just had the chance to see a CN in person yesterday and hate it even more. I cant interact with the chin the way I want, it is too short width wise and looks less appealing all over
 
The ferret nation is still on sale at PetSmart. They had them for $166.49 for a long while, but in the last week or two have raised the price to $179.99. This is an online sale, but if you print the website's page and take it into the store they will honor their website price.
 
Thank you all for the valuable help. I can totally see what you mean about the loss of scritching ability with the CN, as I have bird cages with that bar spacing. I guess I was thinking more about what I had heard with my ratties, and got confused (hey, I have GPs, rats, chinnies, parrots, lizards, sometimes it happens!).

Although I had tried calling several Petsmarts yesterday, no one had them in stock, and the website is backordered and adds $45 for shipping. But FORTUNATELY I tried calling around again today and one store had located one in the back storage after I called. They are holding it and I will get it for the $179!!!! YAY and THANK YOU ALL FOR THE ADVICE!
 
Nice!! That is a GREAT price!!!!!!!!!!! Have fun decorating it! I love putting things in them and making them all pretty!
 
It is a good deal, especially since you don't have to pay the enormous shipping costs. When they were $167 I picked up another for the hedgehogs. I handed the online printout to the checkout lady and she kept staring at it. Then said "I need to verify this is the right product." I just said ok. Its an FN142, just like the printout. She then looked at that printout several times. I swear she was trying to find a way to not give the price since it was SOOOOO much cheaper than their normal $240.
 
FYI -- the STORES actually have the FN on sale for $179 through the end of Dec. The only problem is finding a store that has one in stock. They are backordered online. I got mine and cannot wait to put it together (as soon as I make new space for another cage!). Have 2 new chinnie brothers arriving from Carolina Chinchillas tomorrow!

My Mogwai has been sooooo lonely since his buddy passed away last week. I opted for the two babies (3 1/2 mos), bigger neutral cage, and hope I can bond this as a trio. All my prior intros have gone well, so I'm hoping this will work. If not, well, I still have extra cages.
 
I found this site that has quite a few chin habitats that can be modified once you receive it..( adding ledges, shelfs, etc) http://qualitycage.com. And they are reasonable priced, as well. I plan on ordering one in a few weeks, since he is not really happy with the cage he is in now. Though I think that is my fault for holding him so much when he was so sick. :)
 
>_< Petsmart FN's back-ordered online and the price went up to $179.99.

cagesdirect.com has the 142 for $164.45
 
I got my Ferret Nation from a Petsmart store for $170 WITH tax. The store told me they would price match, so I brought a printout from an online store in. The manager was hesitant because they're "not really" supposed to be doing price matching with other stores (even though that's what price matching IS), but she did it for me.

The worst part about ordering online is the shipping. Quality Cage has it for cheap, but it's $65 to ship.
 
Ferret.com has them for $179.99 and their doing free shipping on orders over $75 until Dec. 15. I have 1 fn and am thinking of ordering another. But I would order from ferret.com instead of going to petsmart because the closest petsmart to me is 4+ hours drive. So for anyone who doesn't live close to a petsmart but would like to order a fn you could order one from ferret.com with free shipping. I think that you do have to use the email coupon link that ferret.com sends by email.

I think this is the link: http://www.ferret.com/?srccode=09DEC08A&emid=09DEC08A

If it doesn't work let me know.
 
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