Martin's Small Collapsible Carrier (CC-2414)

[smhufflepuff]

Martin's Small Collapsible Carrier (CC-2414)
http://www.martinscages.com/


Please note this is a small cage, the footprint is 24" by 14"
I use it as a "vacation cottage" for my hedgies when we travel by car; not as their regular home.
I would not advise using it as a regular home. However, it fits travel needs wonderfully. And it is with travel purposes in mind that I submit this review.


Description
From the site itself:
- "Small Collapsible Carrier (CC-2414); 24" x 14" x 14"; Flip-top opening; Drop-in plastic pan; Collapses flat for convenient storage; Not suitable for
long-term housing"

My observations:
- interior dimensions are 24" x 14" x 14"
- plastic pan dimensions are 26.75" x 16.5" x 3"
- folded flat, the cage walls and top fit entirely inside the plastic pan
- cage walls are a PVC-coated wire mesh; each square is 1" x 1"
- cage walls sit inside the pan and are secured to the base with spring-loaded attachments
- cage walls are assembled by Martin's Cages with unique hinges that allow them to fold pretty flat
- if you have two of these cages, one pan will next inside the other; both sets of cage walls will fit entirely within the top pan, creating a 26.75" x 16.5" x 3.5" package into which the attachment hooks will also fit along with some fleece.

My usage
Packed two into the car for week-long trip. Upon reaching destination, set them up side by side. With pans touching, there was approx 2" space between cage walls (ie, big enough space that if I had a girl and boy, they could not mate through the wires). I set a thermometer on the small ledge created by the pans between the two cages. I used one thermostat with the probe in one cage... set along the "shared" wall. We went two places, so there were two set-up's and take-downs.

Equipped each with a:
- liner from Quills 'n Things (http://quillsnthings.webs.com/accessoriesforsale.htm). Liners covered the floor bottom and 4-ish inches up the side. Each corner had ribbons that I tied around the corner of the cage to help keep them up and in place
- hat from Quills 'n Things
- Carolina Storm Bucket Wheel (http://www.carolinastormhedgehogs.com/s ... wheel.html)
- fleece wheel mat under and in front of the wheel
- food dish
- water dish
- spare fleece to be used as blankie when someone (Marlee!) would accidentally collapse her hat
- CHE on top


Pros
- nice small package for shipping to consumer and fitting in car for travel
- easy to set up and take down upon reaching and leaving destination
- pan is pretty rugged and easy to clean
- entire top swings open to allow full access to hedgie's environment
- can set CHE lamp on cage top (ie, will support its weight)
- large enough to fit a bucket wheel, hidey-spot, food, water, and leave a bit of room for walking about. In retrospect, the Carolina Storm Express may have been a better option to give the hedgies a touch more floor space, but it worked out pretty well as-is.
- secure. Friend's house had cats that were kept out of the room, but human kids also went in and out, so I never felt 100% sure that a cat absolutely couldn't walk in there. The metal hook/springy things held things sufficiently tight (though never subjected to a real cat test... thankfully!).
- store nicely in closet when back at home


Cons
- wire cage walls sit inside the pan; they go all the way to the floor. A climber will be able to climb very easily; a pooper will be able to poop all over the grid (in my case, problem anticipated and solved by having liners that went up the walls several inches and neither of my hedgies are climbers)
- grid is 1" x 1" a bad choice for babies - they will be able to get through. (At approx 375g and 590g, this was not a problem for my quill kids)
- the metal hook/springy things were a bit hard to get attached to the side walls. I fear that the act of installing and removing them may wear away at the PVC coating. With two set-ups and take-downs, there isn't any evidence of wear and tear, but logic and experience tell me that it will likely occur in the future
- entire top swings open, so must move the CHE off it and place it somewhere safe. (Since I had two side by side, I slid it over onto the other cage and slid it back when done)


Random
- to protect it during shipping (ie, not on this trip, but when I received it from Martin's), they packed it with newspaper shavings... paper strips on my floor; newsprint on my hands; newsprint on the pans... had to clean... and clean some more. Fortunately, that was a one-time only deal!
- customer support is good; I had questions before ordering; I emailed and had a good conversation
- Martin's can and will build custom sizes, provided there exists a pan into which the cage top can fit. Consider, if you have a plastic bottom that you really like and want to replace the existing wire top, they can help.
- despite it being labeled as a "carrier," this is NOT a carrier that you'd strap into your car to hold hedgie during a trip; it's a cage to use at your destination!