I have a Savic Plaza 120

Maz

Maz

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I managed to obtain a Savic Plaza 120 cage which arrived the other day. The box was so big it had to stay in the porch until I could find somewhere to put it. I'll do a proper review later, but for now I can just describe it as a bigger Savic Plaza 100!

It's still not fully unboxed and will take me about a week to get organised and set it up probably as have sent for a new shelf to fit inside it. And also need to rearrange the furniture a bit so it has something to sit on that's deep enough!

It's an upgrade for Raffy (who has always needed a bit more space being a very active Syrian). So the idea is to keep the layout exactly the same as he has now, for familiarity and so the upgrade doesn't stress him. The wood shelf in his current cage won't be long enough so have sent for another wood shelf and will re use the hemp mat from his current shelf on top of it (so it smells familiar) and add a bit more to fill in the gap.

At the moment I have the base out of the box. It's clearly a deeper base, but surprisingly doesn't seem quite so enormous as I imagined. I plan to keep his layout the same as now, with the same items, but there will be more space so may add a couple more shelves and some more floor items. I actually have perspex panels already - to fit the 100cm cage so intend to use those (even though there will be the odd gap).

As it's a cage upgrade, rather than preparing for a new hamster, I'll need to do the changeover and set up in one day. Mainly because I don't have room to have both cages set up at the same time! So at the moment it's just preparation for a set up day some time over the next week. ie waiting for the new shelf mainly. I already have quite a few items to use in the cage.

Here's the box

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And the contents - the same contents as for the standard plaza (I now have four of the green shelves if anyone wants one!). The base has polystyrene fixed to the corners to help protect it and has arrived in tact.

IMG_0452[1].JPG

Underneath the base and cage accessories are the bars and struts

IMG_0453[1].JPG
 
I have been itching to get it all done but need to be patient. I want to get the shelf right (as before) and pick a day that isn't too hectic (and work out rearranging the furniture!).
 
Same here and make sure to remember to take step by step photos as you set it up.

Not only am i looking forward to see this cage set up with Raffy in it but i'd love to see how exactly you create your amazing set ups.
 
I shall try and take photos as I go along :) . The shelf will be the main thing to fit. It'll still need to be cut to size - I didn't know the exact interior dimensions of this cage, so ordered it for the stated width and it will need measuring inside the bars and cutting to size. After that I can make a record of the internal measurements for this cage, for future reference.

This means I need to put the cage together, measure between the bars, and then take the cage apart again - as I don't have the space to have it sitting around until the day I pop Raffy in the pet carrier and disassemble his current Plaza. Then assemble the new one and put everything back in/put it all together.

So I'll update as I go along.

Beryl the set up is nothing unusual :-) Shelf on the right, labyrinth house on the left, Wheel centre back! And a few other smaller shelves to work with access etc. Plus the roof run (the two sputniks and the tube).

The roof run is going to be interesting to try and keep the same (and I really do want to keep everything the same so it's familiar for him) as the tube won't be long enough in the bigger cage. I've done some diagrams and calculations on paper and worked out I have a couple of options. Either keep both sputniks and have an additional tube. Or have two tubes plus a curved end piece onto a shelf (a bit like he used to have originally) and only one sputnik. That bit is going to be some fiddling about.
 
I hope to :-) Although he may just think he's going back into his old cage at first and just go to bed! There should be a new shelf or two so maybe he'll explore those - if he notices.
 
How exciting, really look forward to seeing how everything fits in and how Raffy takes to it. So nice you’ll be able to keep the layout similar with some of his current home items I’m sure he’ll love it 🙂
 
I think I can work round that, as did it in the Barney cage - and will mainly use the front door.
 
I have everything out of the box now and checked over - it takes up a bit less space without the box until I have everything ready to set up. Nothing is broken, thankfully, although one of the handles is slightly off - not hooked in place properly. Looks like it may have got bent somehow - but easily solved with a pair of pliers.

The reason I now have four of the green shelves is - I have had two Plaza 100's for some time. My first one, I wanted a straight wood shelf like I had in the Barney cage as found it worked well, so got one on ebay and cut it to size. I then did the same with the second one (when I had two Syrians). However the second cage got damaged and had to be replaced - hence ending up with a third green shelf. And now a fourth with this new cage. It's not that I don't like the shelf - I just prefer having a straight shelf at one end for ease of set up. Having said that - the same shelf in the bigger cage would work better because there's more space in the cage so still plenty of room for a large house and other items, despite the long ladder and size of the shelf. So if it wasn't for the fact I want to keep the layout identical for an existing hamster (for familiarity) I would have used the green shelf this time.
 
So the shelf is here and I'll try measuring to get it to size this evening - if time. So will need to partly put the bars together to measure. But as the only place to put it right now is the teen room I will have to take it down again! It would be nice to leave it assembled for a few days while I do bits and pieces and I have been trying to imagine moving it from room to room each day so it's not in the way - but that aint going to work. The ideal place to leave it assembled for a few days is the coffee table in the living room. However OH would not accept that as then he wouldn't be able to see the TV.

So am looking at getting it set up during the day at the week-end probably and just try and get the shelf cut to size meanwhile.
 
Here’s the shelf. Not very interesting to look at! It’s just a piece of wood! The holes are pre drilled though which makes it easier and it came with some washers and screws. When I’ve done the measurements I’ll add them in case anyone else wants a shelf cut to size in future. With the right measurements it would be easy enough to just go to a hardware store and have it cut to size. And buy some screws and washers. Although then you need a drill to make starter holes.

Cage 2.jpg
 
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The seller included this bag of pieces of wood with the two shelves which I wasn’t expecting and wondering if they are offcuts from cutting the shelf. But they’re all different shapes so maybe not. Just wondering what I could do with them or if they are intended to be chews. It’s sort of fascinating looking at them and makes me think of puzzles.

The second shelf is a smaller one for the back of the cage where it’s deeper. I did have one already but used it in Pip’s cage.

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