Bucatstate 100cm perspex and metal tank

Maz

Maz

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I was wondering whether to add this to the cages list. Although don't know anyone who has tried one. It costs about £180 and is apparently stackable as well. 100cm x 50cm x 52.5 cm tall. I also wondered how large the ventilation slots are - particularly at the top of the side perspex. Some reports were that it was a bit flimsy for the price (perspex isn't cheap) but they do seem popular from what I've seen (people rehoming hamsters into them).


Bucatstate cage.jpg
 
Hmm, i don't think there's enough ventilation. The lid should be meshed but then it couldn't be stacked.
 
I wondered that too. It probably has a lot more ventilation slots on top but I don't think there would be enough if they were stacked possibly. In some ways the amount of ventilation is not that different to the eco habitat - except that has a wood lid.
 
I have the 80cm version of this tank. I use it for temporary accommodation for gerbils and as a split tank for gerbil introductions (as shown below). I think it's quite good quality and very sturdy.

I think the ventilation is adequate but it would be quite easy to replace the metal lid with a mesh one to improve the ventilation if needed.

I love the combination of front access and top access.

Overall, assuming the 100cm version is equally good quality, I'd definitely recommend it for hamsters as well.

The only thing I would say is that a particularly enterprising hamster may figure out how to push the front door outwards slightly and then chew a hole to escape. I think this only likely to happen with some Syrians as it would take some strength.

20230624-134526.jpg
 
Thanks Daisy. I saw some reviews for the 100 cm one that said the Perspex panels could push out/bow out and come out of the grooves. Maybe that’s just the 100cm version (or maybe they didn’t put it together properly!). I’m interested to know how big the side ventilation slots are - they look quite large and I wondered if a dwarf hamster could get through them (although I know they are high up).

It probably does have enough ventilation if there are vents on the side and top.
 
I think the panels would only bow out if they weren't installed properly, or possibly if you had very deep bedding that put a lot of pressure on the sides (particularly with the 100cm version). In that it might be necessary to reinforce them in some way.

The side ventilation gaps are 4mm, so very safe and the gaps in the lid are 1cm.
 
Thank you that is good to know. Maybe it was someone with very deep bedding then. I wonder how you would reinforce for that. I haven’t heard of it being an issue with the eco habitat which has Perspex sides.
 
Possibly a sheet of fairly rigid metal slotted in with the front/back panel would help support the perspex.

It is also an issue with the Eco Habitat, especially when the grooves in the base get filled with dust so the panels don't sit in them properly. I'm always have to scrape all the dust out of the grooves in mine! I also had to add extra wheels to my Eco Habitat so that the base doesn't bow, which exacerbates the issue.
 
Seems like designers don’t test these perspectives cages with deep bedding!
 
It was the front opening door that I thought made it good as well. If it could be pushed open - would a lock resolve that?
 
I think the Eco Habitat was first designed as a guinea pig cage so wasn't intended to have deep bedding at all. At some point they realised it could be marketed for hamsters too but they never really made the proper adjustments to make it suitable for hamsters.

The designers of the Bucatstate obviously intended for it be used with a few inches of bedding as the photo shows it with reasonably deep bedding. It's possible that they didn't actually test it as such, just set it up and took some photos.

The door comes with two locks but I suppose it would be possible to install extra locks if needed, for example near the corners.
 
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