# Cage upgrade dilemma



## Pixxie (Jun 3, 2012)

I would love to upgrade my rat cage to something bigger (I would love a CN so I don't have to mesh it ever) but I have two problems. One, I am not sure I could even fit something bigger in the space where I'd need to keep it. Two, I know I am moving to God knows where in a little less than a year for graduate school, so I have to be able to move the cage relatively easily. I currently have the ALT luxury rat home for my boys (just like the Super Pet Exotics cage), which I really have been enjoying because it is light, comes apart, and isn't gigantic. Is there a bigger cage out there that is like the CN that wouldn't be a nightmare to move? Is the CN able to be disassembled and then reassembled? Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## masquerademegan (Sep 28, 2012)

Oooh, the CN is easy assemble. You just snap it into place. It can be slightly frustrating getting it started, but after that, it was a breeze.


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## pocketmouse (Jun 13, 2012)

The CN is really a pretty heavy cage (and I just have a single story, but then again I have horrible upper arm strength) but it just snaps together essentially and wouldn't be that hard to assemble/disassemble/reassemble unless you were doing it on a very regular basis, I also like how easy it is too clean, but it was pretty much my dream cage so I'm obsessed. I've heard positive things about Martins cages as well, but I don't have any personal experience with them, really whatever you do I'd just make sure to get a quality cage that you know you're going to like/is going to be functional for you and your ratties because you don't want to end up wasting your money replacing it later.


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## Keelyrawr (Mar 7, 2012)

The Double CN took me 3 hours to completely assemble. It's an amazing cage, but let me tell you this.. It's a PAIN to un assemble it. Once the pieces are snapped into place (Which is also a pain) there's lots of pulling involved to get them out of place. Also, critter nations almost always come bent. Meaning you'll most likely need a mallet to bend them back into place. Other than the extremely annoying put together/take apart.. It's an amazing cage though, and I'm sure the single unit is MUCH easier to put together than the double.


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## Pixxie (Jun 3, 2012)

Keelyrawr said:


> The Double CN took me 3 hours to completely assemble. It's an amazing cage, but let me tell you this.. It's a PAIN to un assemble it. Once the pieces are snapped into place (Which is also a pain) there's lots of pulling involved to get them out of place. Also, critter nations almost always come bent. Meaning you'll most likely need a mallet to bend them back into place. Other than the extremely annoying put together/take apart.. It's an amazing cage though, and I'm sure the single unit is MUCH easier to put together than the double.


That's what I was afraid of, that it would be a huge pain to take apart. Which I am guessing it will need to be to move it. How hard is it to move around while put together? It is at least theoretically possible to move it that way.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

You can see if maybe you can custom order a martin cage with a slide out pan that way it's light but easier to clean and large. Then you can just use Zip ties to hold it together and when you need to dissemble it just cut off the zip ties.

Not sure how you would easily transport a Critter nation. I mean you could roll it but remember that its like 3 to 4 ft tall with the stand. Then you have the issue of stairs and getting it into a vehicle. 

I mean, if its in less then a year maybe see if you can find a cage on craigslist that is large but easy to carry. Then when your in your new place if your going to be there a long time get it then.


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## Saladgirl1234 (Jun 12, 2012)

I have a martin's cage that I absolutely love. If you have the right tools (which you can purchase on the martin's website) it's pretty easy to assemble and disassemble. It ships unassembled, so just save the box. You can store it back in it when you move. I was having a hard time deciding which of their cages best suited my needs, so I contacted them. They quickly responded with a way to custom order the cage I wanted for cheaper than the one I was looking at... It couldn't hurt to do the same thing.

Hope that helped. Good luck!


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## centennial (Aug 28, 2012)

I JUST got a single FN and it is pretty easy to put together. I'm not sure if the CN is any different but I doubt it... You need a decent screwdriver but otherwise it's really just a matter of fitting the pieces into place and screwing them in. I am a college student so I have to disassemble/move/reassemble the cage a few times a year and it's not too difficult. The only complication is that it's kind of heavy and ONE of the pieces (the bottom shelf piece) doesn't come apart entirely very easily so it takes a little time playing car tetris to get it to fit with all my other things. 

Really though, if you want it, you can make it work. The biggest annoyance for me is that my old cage would fit in my passenger's seat so I didn't have to disassemble, whereas this one I have to disassemble and put my boys in a small carrying cage which they don't appreciate as much. Oh well--they need some humbling anyways 

Good luck with grad school


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## VampireSmeezeGirls (Oct 7, 2012)

Double Critter Nation here

Transport - I have a full sized SUV I can borrow and I had the back seats all flipped down and just got help to get it in and out and laid flat in the back.

Getting it apart - sledge hammer. Never mind the mallet, get the sledge hammer. Might have been the ferret **** all over mine, but yeah. Sledge hammer and a flat head screw driver. Wedge the screw driver in a stuck point, hit with sledge hammer. 

Putting it back together - mallet works fine.

I've not moved it since I bought it, but honestly, given as it's such a PITA to break down, I'll probably just move it intact.


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## Poodlepalooza (Aug 9, 2012)

My DCN has castors on the bottom so it can be rolled around, so moving it within your house, once assembled, would be fairly easy.


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## Pixxie (Jun 3, 2012)

Thanks everyone, your input has been really helpful! The more I think about it, I will probably get a Martin's RUUD. The depth of the CNs and FNs is really too much to fit anywhere, and the next smaller Martin's cage is only 6 inches taller than the cage I currently own. A custom Martin's that is smaller will probably cost the same, so why not get bigger for the same money? I have heard horror stories about it being annoying to maneuver in though..... I might regret not getting those pretty full doors. Unless there is another cage out there that is big that I am not thinking about I will probably wind up with that if/when I upgrade.


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