Which nation cage to buy?

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freedom

freedom

Active member
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Messages
44
Location
Wenatchee Wa
I hate the cage I bought from amazon.com you have to lift the whole thing off of the bottom to clean! Who in the heck thought that stupid Idea up? I was just so Dang excited that I wasn't paying attention to that detail. So any how income tax money is coming and I want the best cage of all cages! I have to chinys one female one male no babies wanted at least not now. which cage which nation cage? where can I get the very best price and shipping, so I can fill it with wonderful chin chiny loving stuff? :hammock:
Thanks for your help,
Leslie aka freedom
 
If you ever plan to have kits the bar spacing on the Critter Nation is better. With the Ferret Nation you would need to cover the bottom portion with hardware cloth to make it escape proof.

Shop around for pricing. There are usually good deals posted in the Housing & Supplies section when people find them.
 
Are the male and female separated? If not you may have unexpected babies on the way. If you get either a FN or CN you can separate the top and bottom sections so the male could have half and the female the other half.
 
I would go with the FN over the CN. I have both, and I have so many broken and repaired bars on the CN, and wobbly shelves because the bars seem thinner and less sturdy. Never broke a bar on the FN yet. I want to put wheels in my CN, but I'm afraid the side panel will snap off...
 
I'll second everything greychins said. I too have both types and many of the bars on my CN are broken and have had to be patched with hardware cloth to prevent babies from escaping. FN is nicer in my opinion because the bars are more sturdy, and it is easier to see into with an unmodified FN. If it happens that you do end up having babies at some point, you would have to baby proof the cage, which in my experience is about an extra $50 in materials per section (at least the way I did mine, 1/2" x 1/2" hardware cloth attached with many nuts, bolts, and fender washers. you might find a cheaper way) But then after the babies are grown up you can always take off the modifications and return the FN to its original state which is stronger and easier to see into than the CN counter part. Either one though does make a great cage, but my money would always be on a FN. Especially an older used 142 model. I like those the most because I find them to be more structurally sound.
 
halfstache said:
Especially an older used 142 model. I like those the most because I find them to be more structurally sound.
Click to expand...
Would definitely have to agree. One of my FNs is a 182 and I also have a CN -- both of which sort of slide together (the new version, versus the old one with the screws). Some people (with new FNs) have told me that they would have a heck of a time getting their new FN/CN apart, but mine don't fit together tightly at all. You push a tad bit too hard, pushing even slightly upward, on the top level and you can start pushing the cage apart. The top piece on my CN was so loose that I had chins trying to wedge noses up there to get out, cause with little chinny nose pushing, the top would move. I now have the entire top held down with metal cable ties. They aren't getting out now. Not that I think they could have succeeded on actually pushing the entire top off, no. But that's not the point, the point is, it just doesn't hold together well, at least not in my opinion. Of course, all my FNs/CN were purchased used, but I was only second owner on each, I can't believe they went from tight to barely-holds-together in one user, considering I picked them all up put-together. And the top is not the only place on my two non-screwed cages that I feel the need to use the metal cable ties. I have other loose places held together so I can push the cages to move them (to clean) without having to re-align the whole cage when I'm done. I like the old version with the screws much much better. I feel the sturdiness is so much better -- and all you really needed to put it together was a screwdriver -- I would love to know what made the company think that most people wouldn't have one of those and decided to go with the slide together instead.
 
I have the Ferret nation also and it works great! I have to agree with you guys about the Critter nation because I have hear that bad things happen to the bars.

I got my Ferret nation for an incredible deal on ferret.com. They have sales all the time so that is the like best place to get it! I got mine for $179.00 which is an incredible deal on the Ferret nation.
 
I have a ferret nation that I actually bought from petsmart. I LOVE it, as do my chins.
 
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I recently got a Ferret Nation cage. Best thing I ever bought for my Chins. They love it! I love just sitting there and watching them romp around in it! Better than tv I think lol

One thing I just learned: They will chew the heck out of the plastic pans. So you'll have do do some mods. Like fleece liners/covers or metal or wood levels/pans.
 
Well I ordered my first fn cage today! Thank you Chinchilipuss for sending me to ferret.com. free shipping. cage was 219.00 I know if I had waited it out a bit I might have gotten a better price, but....my chins needed instant gratification. :rotfl:
 
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