Prevue Hendryx Black Feisty Ferret Cage Review

This review is part of our best chinchilla cage 2020 review series.

Chinchillas require ample space and proper surfaces to run and jump freely. When purchasing a proper cage, it is important to consider factors such as size, ease of access and safety.

Although not made specifically for chinchillas, the Prevue Hendryx Black Feisty Ferret Cage can be a great home for your chins with only a few easy adaptations. This cage is similar to the Prevue Hendryx Earthtone Chinchilla Cage in design but offers much more space for the cost!

 

Made for Chinchilla ( 9 / 10 )

Comparable in height to the extra-large Deluxe Critter Nation, the Black Feisty Ferret Cage is a two-level cage measuring 31” long, 20” wide and 54” tall, giving your chinchillas enough to room to live comfortably and play freely.

The enclosure comes with one divider grille, one plastic pan, two plastic platforms, three plastic ramps and one hammock.

The cage sits on a storage shelf and four caster wheels for easy moving and transporting.

The removable bottom plastic pan makes clean up quick and easy while the large double doors make accessing the inside of the cage a breeze.

The cage can be customized with chinchilla chew toys and many other accessories available from many other brands.

Despite being spacious enough for playful chinchillas, the Black Feisty Ferret Cage requires some adaptations to be completely a completely suitable space.

Design

• The two levels of the cage are separated by a wire grille. Each level has a plastic shelf midway between the floor and the dividing grille. Each level is connected to the plastic shelves with plastic ramps so your chinchilla can easily access each perch or level.

• The plastic shelves and ramps may not be ideal if you have a chinchilla who enjoys chewing through everything. If your chinchilla can chew through plastic easily, you may want to switch the plastic shelves and ramps for chinchilla friendly materials like kiln dried pine wood or cover the plastic accessories with a thick lining of fleece.

• The cage’s bars measure 7/8 of an inch, which may be too large for small or young chinchillas. However, most adult chinchillas are safe from falling, or escaping, through the bars. The bars are vertical, which is not as easy for a chinchilla to climb and jump from, so ensuring you have appropriate shelving is important.

• Both levels of the Black Feist Ferret Cage have locking double doors spanning the entire length of the cage for easy access to the interior. These large, double doors make it easier to install accessories and provide your chinchilla with enough space to enter and exit the cage during play time.

• Because this cage isn’t made specifically for chinchillas, both levels contain wire grilles as flooring. With the bottom wire grille sitting on a removable plastic pan for easy clean-up. Because of the near 1” spacing of the wire bars, your chinchilla may be at risk of hurting their feet or becoming stuck. It is recommended to replace, or cover, the wire grilles with safer materials such as wood, Plexiglas, cardboard or fleece.

Safety

• The dual levels and several attachable platforms makes this cage a safe space for your chinchilla to run and jump without risk of falling a long distance.

• However, as mentioned above, due to the larger spacing of the wire bars, it is imperative to cover the grilles with a safer to avoid broken or sore feet. Also, the spacing may be a danger to young chinchillas, but wrapping the cage in chicken wire can help prevent escapes.

• Although the four wheels make transporting this enclosure easier, the caster wheels do not lock. This is can be a hazard for households with young children or other pets like larger dogs and curious cats.

Accommodation

• Unlike the Prevue Hendryx earthtone dusted rose rat & chinchilla cage, which is made by the same manufacturer, the Black Feisty cage is taller with more space to move around.

• Due to its ample size, the Black Feisty Ferret Cage can comfortably home two chinchillas. The two levels can provide your chins with enough space to play, but can also be separated into two cages when you need to keep your chins apart.

• The large double doors provide your chinchillas with easy access in and out of the cage.

Ease of cleaning ( 9 / 10 )

The Black Feisty Ferret Cage has many features that makes clean-up a quick and easy task.

The bottom wire grille sits above a plastic pan which is convenient for collecting solid and liquid waste.

The plastic pan can be filled with the litter of your choosing and the entire cage can be cleaned with a mild soap and warm water.

Cleaning the cage

• The 31” double doors on either level give you easy access to the inside of the cage for easy cleaning and sanitizing.

• The bottom pan can be easily removed and replaced by sliding the pan in and out of the cage just below the bottom wire grille. The pan can be washed with a mild soap or a pet-safe cleaner like Arm & Hammer or Nature’s Miracle. You can also wipe down the plastic pan with paper towels or a soft rag.

• The metal bars should be wiped down with a paper towel or soft rag and pet safe cleaner or mild soap. The attached wheels make it easier to move the unit to a more convenient spot for cleaning, but keep in mind the wheels do not lock.

• Prevue Hendryx sells the Prevue Hendryx Cage Saver Scrub Pad, a non-abrasive pad made from a 100% split poly fiber mix which will protect the metal bars of your cage from being damaged or worn out.

Bedding

• The removable plastic pan below the bottom level wire grille catches your chinchilla’s waste and makes it easy to clean out the pan and replace with your choice of bedding. However, the litter pan is extremely shallow which makes it difficult to fill with the necessary amount of bedding and also does little to contain messes.

• Again, you can easily adapt the litter pan to fit your chinchilla’s needs by building, or purchasing a scatter guard to hold in bedding and litter or by purchasing a deeper pan for the cage. Keep in mind that if you are covering the wire grille to protect your chinchilla’s feet, the bottom pan will be unusable.

• For better quality mess protection, you can create your own scatter guards using scrap wood cut to the height you find best to contain the bedding, litter or waste falling into the pan.

For even easier clean-up, the dual level cage can be separated into two units by closing the hatch door on the middle wire grille, blocking off the section you are cleaning while your chinchillas are waiting safely in the other section.

 

Versatility ( 7 / 10 )

The Black Feisty Ferret Cage was originally created to house ferrets, unlike the Earthtone Chinchilla from the same company, but because of its adaptability and versatility, you can easily adjust it to create a perfect space for your chinchilla.

Adaptability

• Although you can find several accessories for this cage, and you can easily DIY many necessary adjustments for your chins, the design of the cage itself cannot be altered since the ramps rely on exact placement of the plastic middle shelves and the middle wire grille.

• This cage can be separated into two smaller cages by closing the hatch door which your chinchilla will use to access both levels.

Accessories

• The manufacturer, Prevue Hendryx, sells accessories for your chinchillas such as hideaway tunnels, huts, grass balls, external play pens for safer play time and a limited selection of toys, but this enclosure is large enough to fit other accessories that you can find online or in pet stores. With the ample space you can easily fit your chinchilla’s favorite toys and enrichment options.
  
  

Value for money ( 9.5 / 10 )

Although this cage is not a one-stop shop for chinchillas, and requires quite a bit of adapting and adjusting, it comes in at nearly half of the price of comparable models like the Midwest Deluxe Critter Nation.

For those who can take on a project and are budget conscious this cage gives you some adaptability and a lot of space at a reasonable price.

With this cage it is important to remember to protect your chinchilla’s feet from the wire flooring by covering it with a safer material like wood or Plexiglas.

You may also need to replace the plastic shelves and ramps with options that are safe to be chewed, like kiln pine wood, or that may deter your chin from chewing, like fleece lining.

This cage comes with everything you need to install it. Installation does require two people and you may want to keep an extra Allen wrench on hand.

You can find comprehensive videos online made, by the manufacturer, guiding you through putting your Black Feisty Ferret Cage together. This cage comes with a 90-day warranty covering manufacturing defects.