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Sharples N Grant Summer Lodge Double Hutch

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1 Review

Brand: Sharples N Grant / Type: Small Pet Hutch

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      17.09.2012 19:26
      Very helpful
      1 Comment



      Great hutch for your pets and loads of room for them to run around

      This review is also on my ciao account under the username alexcatt97. I bought this hutch for my Guinea pigs after getting rid of a smaller one and thought I would treat them to a large one such as the one I am currently reviewing. For the size of this hutch I found the price of £99 to be quite cheap especially as you find one floor hutches for around £60, you would expect a two floor hutch for around £120 so I was happily surprised by the cheap price. I bought it from my local pets at home store although it is only sold in store and not available on their website for delivery which would be useful if you have a small car because it is quite big and that was an inconvenience for us trying to actually get it back home. One of the things that caught my eye about this hutch in the shop was the sheer size of it with a small price so it really stood out from other hutches in the shop.

      ===Design and look===

      Firstly the hutch contained two stories as I said earlier so it was very large especially as it was also very wide meaning even more space for the guinea pigs which is always better. The hutch has four doors to access the cage, two downstairs and two upstairs with stairs leading to the upper level.
      The first floor is larger than the upper level and is mainly where the Guinea Pigs will be during the day and where there toys and tunnels etc will be because of the larger size and my guinea pigs love the extra space that they have now especially as that floor is around the same size as the all of the first hutch I had for them. The increased space means that they are able to run around more, play more and therefore get more exercise which is obviously key to a healthy guinea pig especially in the winter season or wet days when they are not able to be put outside for exercise. Despite this the large space means it is harder to catch the guinea pigs when you want to take them out of the hutch as they have loads of places to run away from you too. The two doors on the bottom floor as made of a wood frame with metal wiring so that lots of light and air is able to flow through the hutch and so that it does not overheat especially on the warmer days which is very important. Also in between the two wire doors is a small gap covered with the same metal wire as the doors and is a perfect place to put the water bottle on the cage which I found convenient because if it is on the door it falls of sometimes when you open them.

      The second floor has two main parts to it, one which is where the guinea pigs should sleep which is larger than the other part to accommodate for the stairs. The door to the sleeping compartment is solid and opaque so no light able to reach the guinea pigs while they are sleeping. The is also a wall separating the two parts of the upper part of the hutch with a gap for the guinea pigs to get through to the other room. Again this wall is very opaque which means that a minimal amount of light is able to reach the sleeping room through the wire door leading to the other part. In addition to this, the wall and solid door also mean that when the guinea pigs are sleeping, the hutch is very more insulated than the rest of the hutch so that the animals are not really cold when trying to sleep. This is especially beneficial in the winter season and colder days when you want to keep as much warmth in the hutch as possible. The wall separating the two rooms is as I have just said very beneficial but makes the overall design of the hutch better in my opinion just it makes it more a more complicated hutch with more rooms that they can use.

      The second part to the top of the cage is as I said before a lot smaller than the other part as it is a not very wide floor leading round to where the stairs are so they can go to the downstairs part of the hutch. I say it is not very wide but wide enough that you could fit two guinea pigs side to side and a food bowl on that floor easily. I find it is a convenient place to put the food bowl because they can come straight from their room to the food bowl where they can eat their food although I wouldn't see it as a good place to put things like toys there. The stairs that allow the guinea pigs to go up and down from both parts of the cage and good as they are not very steep so even young guinea pigs are able to go up and down it without difficulty which is beneficial. The other three doors on the hutch are different to the one leading to the sleeping room as they are made of a wooden frame and covered in metal wiring. This means that air and light is able to flow through the hutch in the day with is especially good on the hotter days where you don't want your guinea pigs to overheat of become dehydrated too quickly because that is bad for their health. The locks on the doors of the hutch are slide in barrel locks which in my opinion are more secure that simple plastic latches which you can find on some hutches which I found beneficial because it is virtually impossible for them to become undone by accident.

      The hutch also has a slanted roof where it is higher at the front and lower on the back. You will find that this means that when it is raining the water will not collect of the roof but it will slide of off the back of the hutch and this will prevent the water leaking into the hutch which is very annoying as you have to replace all the wood shavings so it is very useful that this is prevented.
      Overall the design of this hutch is excellent in my opinion with loads of room within the hutch for the guinea pigs to run around and play and this boosts their exercise. The design also has many beneficial things to it which is good although I do have to say that it isn't largely different from the design of many other hutches except from things such as the size of the hutch but still and excellent design.


      There are not many things really to talk about in this section because in my opinion this has been a very Durable cage and has lasted a good 3 years so far and looks like it will last a a lot more so I am quite impressed and there are only a few bad things which I need to mention. Firstly the guinea pigs love to gnaw on everything and a few things they have gnawed on in hutch are the wall on the separating two rooms in the hutch and the stairs. Gnawing the wall means that more light is able to get to the guinea pigs while sleeping although this is only a very minor problem. Secondly on the stairs they chew the part that the guinea pigs step on to get higher and this means that it is harder for them to get up the stairs although again this is only a minor problem and I don't think it affects my guinea pigs much so overall.


      This is the one thing that I dread doing every week but it has to be done so that the guinea pigs can live in a clean environment. The hutch itself is easy to clean, it is just the size of it which makes that process so much longer but the only part that is hard to clean are the corners of things and places such as under the stairs and this is made harder only because of the size but overall it is not too hard to clean, it is just takes a lot longer too do it.

      ===Value For Money===

      If you think about the size of this hutch and for the price of £99 the value for money is brilliant considering many hutches which are around half the size can cost from £60 - £70 in some stores so this is a real bargain in my opinion especially because it will last a long amount of time and has a good design so you wont have to spend money repairing parts and should not have to replace it will you have guinea pigs which is obviously good so overall the value for money is also brilliant although it is only available in store and not for delivery which can be annoying especially if you have a smaller car like us.


      Overall this is a brilliant hutch which you guinea pigs will enjoy to the fullest with a great design, minimal faults and all for a good price so I would definitely recommend this hutch all guinea pig owners if they want a good hutch which their pets will love and enjoy while being safe and kept dry and warm.


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