alosha
Well-Known Member
This is my review of the collapsible carrier I got from Quality Cage Co.. When I was trying to decide what carrier to get, I made a topic to solicit opinions and the other carriers I was considering are shown in that original thread (viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19762).
This is what I ended up with:
RT-1810 Collapsible Rat Carrier - Powder Coated White (RT-1810PC-WHI) (http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_p ... ts_id=2330)
"The RT-1810PC-WHI Collapsible Rat Carrier is 18" wide x 10" deep x 10" high. It is made of ½" x 1" 16 gauge wire, powder coated white, and folds down to store in it's own 3" high tray. Suitable for rats, gerbils, large hamsters, and baby chinchillas. Not recommended for adult chinchillas, degus, cavies, or rabbits. If not in stock, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for Powder Coating."
I chose it because it was one of the larger carriers I was considering, and I wanted a collapsible one for easy storage, and I wanted one that had very little or no plastic to prevent escapes, even from determined rats.
I needed the carrier in a bit of a hurry so I contacted them first to make sure they had the powder coated white in stock and they did (they were good at responding to my emails, responding within 24 hours each time I emailed them). I also live in Canada, and Quality Cage's default shipping is via UPS, which charges the most for tariffs/duty/etc. out of any other shipper, plus they are notoriously difficult to deal with. I emailed Quality Cage to request specially that they send my order via regular USPS (the least hassle and least [none in this case] duty charged by any shipper). USPS randomly charges duties on packages (so mostly does not charge any duty, if you are lucky) and can be easily picked up if you are not home to receive the package. If you live in Canada and ever order anything from the states, I HIGHLY recommend you do what you can to get them to send it via USPS.
I paid $50 for the carrier and $34 for shipping (higher than the UPS quote but MUCH LESS MONEY after duties) for a total of $84 USD.
It came extremely well packaged, so well that I felt compelled to take a photo. Nothing could have happened to this thing. I was very impressed. It also comes fully assembled (but collapsed). I didn't have to do anything but open it.
And I made a video of me talking about the carrier and showing how it works. One thing I forgot to mention in the video is that the wire feels a bit more heavy duty than the same wire spacing in a Martin's cage. It flexes less, so the wire itself feels slightly stronger. In short, Quality Cage really is quality. There are a couple of downsides though, the placement of the handles on this particular carrier is a bit wonky, and also you can't place anything on top of the carrier when it's collapsed (see video for both points).
[youtube:3gywu1ik]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uZirlIHByhE&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uZirlIHByhE&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube:3gywu1ik]
This is what I ended up with:
RT-1810 Collapsible Rat Carrier - Powder Coated White (RT-1810PC-WHI) (http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_p ... ts_id=2330)
"The RT-1810PC-WHI Collapsible Rat Carrier is 18" wide x 10" deep x 10" high. It is made of ½" x 1" 16 gauge wire, powder coated white, and folds down to store in it's own 3" high tray. Suitable for rats, gerbils, large hamsters, and baby chinchillas. Not recommended for adult chinchillas, degus, cavies, or rabbits. If not in stock, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for Powder Coating."
I chose it because it was one of the larger carriers I was considering, and I wanted a collapsible one for easy storage, and I wanted one that had very little or no plastic to prevent escapes, even from determined rats.
I needed the carrier in a bit of a hurry so I contacted them first to make sure they had the powder coated white in stock and they did (they were good at responding to my emails, responding within 24 hours each time I emailed them). I also live in Canada, and Quality Cage's default shipping is via UPS, which charges the most for tariffs/duty/etc. out of any other shipper, plus they are notoriously difficult to deal with. I emailed Quality Cage to request specially that they send my order via regular USPS (the least hassle and least [none in this case] duty charged by any shipper). USPS randomly charges duties on packages (so mostly does not charge any duty, if you are lucky) and can be easily picked up if you are not home to receive the package. If you live in Canada and ever order anything from the states, I HIGHLY recommend you do what you can to get them to send it via USPS.
I paid $50 for the carrier and $34 for shipping (higher than the UPS quote but MUCH LESS MONEY after duties) for a total of $84 USD.
It came extremely well packaged, so well that I felt compelled to take a photo. Nothing could have happened to this thing. I was very impressed. It also comes fully assembled (but collapsed). I didn't have to do anything but open it.
And I made a video of me talking about the carrier and showing how it works. One thing I forgot to mention in the video is that the wire feels a bit more heavy duty than the same wire spacing in a Martin's cage. It flexes less, so the wire itself feels slightly stronger. In short, Quality Cage really is quality. There are a couple of downsides though, the placement of the handles on this particular carrier is a bit wonky, and also you can't place anything on top of the carrier when it's collapsed (see video for both points).
[youtube:3gywu1ik]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uZirlIHByhE&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uZirlIHByhE&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube:3gywu1ik]
