# Tommy: The indecisive shopper (cage advise)



## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

Hello! I'm wondering if any of you are even close to how indecisive I've been lately. So I ordered all my hedgie stuff (luckily I still have about four weeks til he/she gets here) and I'm about to return half of it.

I love Amazon but I'm pretty sure it hates me right about now with all my returns hah.

The cage I bought was fairly big (Guinea Pig Habitat Plus) but between the lid driving me insane, trying to get something for the bottom to make it easier to clean out, and everything else I've had enough. So my two returns relating to that are the cage itself and a piece of plexiglass that should have fit nicely in the bottom but didn't.

8.5" lamp, exchanging for a 10" one. The water bottle because water bowls are better. My flying saucer wheel because it's kind of wobbly and I don't like that colour :3 8 cubic FEET of aspen bedding (mainly in order to lower the price difference between the new cage I'll be getting hopefully and to just go with fleece)

Also being returned most likely (again to make the price difference between the new stuff minimal) a exercise bike that I bought because I thought I'd use it but it's just been sitting in a corner!

I shall wait until Isaac gets home (my fiance) and hopefully I can convince him that returning all this stuff is worth it. I usually get my way 

With that being said! What cage should I buy?! (Don't suggest C&C please )
I want the cage to be around the same size as the one I'm returning (the only thing I'll miss about this cage is the divider but that'll just make cleaning harder)

Happy Home Small Animal Cage
Kaytee My First Rabbit Home (Supposedly the newer version of Super Pet My First Home XL - it's a little skinner than I'd like but it is fairly cheap)
Marchioro Tommy 120 C This cage (along with the K model) is so hard to find online! If anyone can find this one or the K one (the one that I'm mainly interested in) for under $120 I'd be really happy!

So are any of these three good?


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

They all look great. I have not used the Kaytee or the Happy Home, but have used the Super Pet which is basically the same. Although I love the Marchioro and have one, the thing I really like about the Super Pet style cage is that it very easily folds down flat. If you are traveling with hedgie, fold the cage up and take it with you. The Marchioro, does not fold easily and has these 8 little corner clips that can easily get lost if you decide to fold it to travel with. 

Somewhere on here is a tutorial on how I made the whole front of the Super Pet cage flip up for easy access. It looks like the same thing could be done to the Kaytee or the Happy Home.

Yeah, get rid of the Guinea Pig Habitat. Flimsy and hard to clean. 

I will never suggest a C&C. A proper, plastic bottomed wire topped cage is far superior than a C&C, IMO.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

I have the SuperPet My First Home XL (basically the same as the Kaytee) and I like it. It looks almost identical the Happy Home, too.


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

So I opted for the pricier Marchioro for a couple reasons:

1. I haven't seen any reviews on Happy Home (and I don't like the black bottom and whatever it is inside it). So I decided not to get that.

2. The Kaytee/SuperPet My First Pet Home XL is a little too small for what I want. I'm so used to having the Guinea Pig Habitat Plus (and that still seemed kind of small) I didn't want to lose about a half foot off of width and length. 

3. The cage has my name in it 

-- 
I did put in a return order for the bedding. Going to miss the smell but everyone recommends fleece so I'll do that. Hopefully I can find some place that sells fleece for fairly cheap (Walmart was kind of pricey- 10 bucks per yard)

How many fleece liners should I have? How many layers of fleece? Should there be an absorbent layer or anything under the fleece? I don't plan on washing them right when I take them off as I don't have a washer in my building so I have to pay at the laundry mat so I'd want to have a couple to wash or something I can wash with it (not clothes obviously) instead of having a really small load because then I'd just be spending the same, if not more as buying bedding.


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

Also, what's a good price for fleece? (Good prices during sales maybe?)


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## Sonics1AndOnlyGirl (May 25, 2013)

Good price is about $3.99 a yard at Joann. Normal price is $8.99. Their having a sale right now of $5.39 which isn't too bad either.


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

Sonics1AndOnlyGirl said:


> Good price is about $3.99 a yard at Joann. Normal price is $8.99. Their having a sale right now of $5.39 which isn't too bad either.


I know fleece is sold by the yard- do you know the average width of the fleece? Trying to figure out if I need to buy 1 yard per liner or 2. Cage is 4' x 2' about.


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## Sonics1AndOnlyGirl (May 25, 2013)

Tom said:


> I know fleece is sold by the yard- do you know the average width of the fleece? Trying to figure out if I need to buy 1 yard per liner or 2. Cage is 4' x 2' about.


Found the answer on yahoo "The dimensions for a yard of fabric is usually 44 inches wide by 36 inches long. The width can change according to the bolt size that you have"


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## ZeeMartin (Aug 5, 2013)

Try walmart too... some of the stores will have a craft section with fabric and it will be *much* cheaper than a fabric or craft store.

fleece is typically 40-44" wide, but may come in 50-52" wide or sometimes as much as 60", or rarely in 36" wide.
flannels more often come in the narrower widths (as opposed to fleece). you do have to read the end of the bolt to know for sure.

if you have a Han**** Fabrics or a Fabric Outlet near you, try them also, they have better prices than Jo-Ann's.

Denver Fabrics has a BIG on-line presence and excellent sale prices... and right now they're shipping free (for a week or so)... just know you may not be able to return things to them... check their policy on returning cut yardage.

I'd say you could just drive on over, but I think Denver Fabrics is based in St. Louis... http://www.denverfabrics.com


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## ZeeMartin (Aug 5, 2013)

Sonics1AndOnlyGirl said:


> Found the answer on yahoo "The dimensions for a yard of fabric is usually 44 inches wide by 36 inches long. The width can change according to the bolt size that you have"


 this *totally* depends on the type of fabric, and the individual mill. having sewn thousands of items, I'd have to say there is no 'typical' that applies to yardage in general, although *may*be you could say what's typical for a specific type of fabric.

I bought fleece in 44" and 60" widths this weekend... and flannel in 36"...


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

Thanks everyone! Side note: Just bought a sewing machine! 
That's where most of the money from the exercise bike I returned went to  But now I can make things!


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

As someone stuck in the pay-laundry cycle: you can do week's worth of hedgie-liners in a bathtub hand-wash, and it'll air-dry super-well. ...this doesn't work for babies, since they poop everywhere all the time generating truly absurd amounts of laundry, but once they get out of that phase, it's a manageable amount. I still run everything (clean and dirty) through a hot-wash once a month to kill off anything. By not paying the $4/load for every set of dirty liners I can save more for the hedgie-vet-fund.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

All the fleece I have bought has been 60"


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

Do you recommend one layer of fleece, or two layers of fleece or fleece+flannel, or what would be your good liner that doesn't cost a lot of fabric.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Any of the above.
I have a pillowcase-style slipcover made of cottons. On top of that is 1 layer of fleece. My friend likes to liner-dive, so the secondary-liner protects me from having to scrub poopy-footprints as frequently.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

All the fleece I've ever bought has been 60", same as Nikki. 

Since you have a sewing machine, you don't need to use fleece. Fleece is used mostly because people don't have to sew it, but there are other options. I personally like a flannelette top and fleece bottom, or corduroy top and bottom with fleece in the middle.


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

I'm going to Denver Fabrics on Saturday (wish it was closer ! About a half hour away- but that's living in a big city for ya). Ill probably get some corduroy, flannel, fleece, and maybe some quilted batting.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## redhead38 (Jul 11, 2013)

I found some fleece at my wal-mart for like $3 a yard.... haven't bought any was just looking at prices...but all that I have bought was from the remmant section in the fabric department at Walmart. Luckily it was just the right size to make 2 liners from each set. I just fold in half and cut to right size so it's thicker but I didn't have to try too sew anything!


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## ajweekley (Aug 8, 2013)

Annie&Tibbers said:


> Any of the above.
> I have a pillowcase-style slipcover made of cottons. On top of that is 1 layer of fleece. My friend likes to liner-dive, so the secondary-liner protects me from having to scrub poopy-footprints as frequently.


Question about this -- what does the slipcover slip over? Do you have a picture? I'm planning to use fleece for my girl but I was wondering how to keep poo from getting under it, and it sounds like you've solved that problem.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

I use bins for my cage, and the bottom isn't perfectly flat (it has a little ridge). To solve this, I cut chunks of coroplast (the ridgid sign-making plastic) to fit the bottoms and put a single layer of fleece on top.

When my friend demonstrated a love for liner-diving, I sewed pillow-cases that I can slip the coroplast into. I went a bit fancy-pants, using pretty (but pricier) fabric on top, and cheap (but plain) fabric from my scrap-pile on bottom. In the first incarnation, they were literally shaped like pillow-cases and I just tucked the ends under, but in a quest to reduce fabric-waste the second incarnation instead are exactly-to-size, but with a top flap that tucks over the end, under, and into the bottom of the case. My scrap fabric happens to be slightly-stretchy, so sizing is really forgiving; with non-stretchy fabric I'd be careful about pre-wash shrinking everything.

My particular friend has 4 bins for his living quarters. In the playpen & food areas, I've switched to using just these covers, with a "placemat" of fleece under his food dishes. I need to swap the placemat out maybe 2x/week, but otherwise these covers are pretty much always clean. In his sleeping & wheeling rooms, I have a fleece-liner on top, with another "placemat"/litterbox chunk of fleece under the wheel. I need to replace that litterbox-fleece about 3-4x/week, and the fleece liners & slipcovers in both bins weekly. 

His poopy little footprints get on the slipcovers, so I end up with more laundry but less cage-scrubbing. I like letting him liner-dive to his little heart's content, so it's a good tradeoff for me.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Here's photos of the slipcovers around the coroplast.


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## ajweekley (Aug 8, 2013)

Awesome, thanks!


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## mollshephs (Aug 5, 2013)

Cage wise I would just get a sterilite bin with holes drilled into the top. You don't need the fancy guinea pig or rabbit cages.
Tons of breeders use sterilite bins and let owners!
Plus they're super cheap. 15$ for a 106qt bin from walmart


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## NancNanc (Oct 16, 2015)

I have the Kaytee cage, and one yard of fleece fits perfectly in the bottom with some hanging over the sides for the top to hold in place. Last week I got 3 yards of different fabric for less then 10$ at walmart.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Please check the date on threads before posting to them, this one is over 2 years old.


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