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The Ultimate Critter Nation Vs Ferret Nation Cage Comparison!

The popularity of keeping small pets is on the rise again and although it has seen steady growth over the last couple of years, the number of people keeping small pets in their home has drastically increased in recent years.

Due to the prices and features of critter nation and ferret nation being so similar, we have been seeing more and more people reaching out and asking for a dedicated critter nation vs ferret nation comparison article.

Both critter nation and ferret nation cages are excellent options and they are so similar that most people will be fine going with either option.

Their larger cages are almost identical making the few differences between them close to irrelevant but some of their smaller and entry level cages do have some more important differences that may make one better than the other for your requirements out of your cage.

As with all things, there is always going to be exceptions for the rule but the general consensus is that the critter nation cage range tends to be better for smaller pets due to their bar setup and the ferret nation cage range tends to be better for people keeping the larger small pet species due to their bar layout.

What Is The Difference Between Critter Nation And Ferret Nation?

The main difference between critter nation cages and ferret nation cages is that the critter nation rage has a bar spacing of half an inch where as the ferret nation cages have a bar spacing of one full inch.

This is why critter nation tends to be better for smaller species where as ferret nation tends to be better for larger species with the majority of other features on the cages being very similar.

Some people will just stick to a critter nation cage no matter what as you are able to keep most larger species of rodent and other small pets in the cage without issue.

Although ferret nation cages are excellent options for larger pets, you can’t usually keep smaller pets in them due to the bar spacing being larger and smaller rodents often being able to escape with relative ease.

Another reason that more and more people are opting to go for the critter nation cages is their more modern design that comes with a snap together system when actually building the cage.

The ferret nation cages are still very easy to assemble but do require tools to put the cage together.

We have seen some people on social media mention a new cage model from ferret nation that uses the same snap system as the critter nation cages but we have not seen any official confirmation of this yet.

What Pets Can Live In A Critter Nation Cage?

Most types of small pet can easily live in a critter nation cage with rodents being a very popular option but some people keep rabbits and other animals in critter nation cages without issue.

This means that the critter nation cages are better suited for rats, chinchillas, Guinea pigs, ferrets, sugar gliders, and other pets of a similar size.

The smaller bar spacing makes sure that most types of small pet are not able to get out of the cage but the smaller rodents such as mice or hamsters can often still work their way out of the cage.

If you are looking to keep one of these smaller rodent species then a cage designed specifically for them with quarter inch bar spacing or smaller will probably be the better option for the majority of people.

There is a trend of customizing the critter nation cages that is growing in popularity as it allows you to keep a wider range of pets in the cages.

For example, rabbits can often be kept in a doubled up critter nation cage. We have also seen people adding a number of custom tweaks to the stock critter nation cage setups to allow hedgehogs and other pets like that to be kept in them recently too.

What Pets Can Live In A Ferret Nation Cage?

Ferret nation cages were specifically designed with keeping ferrets in them in mind and that is why they have ferret in their name.

Their larger bar spacing is ideal for animals like ferrets and similar sized animals but many commonly kept small pets will easily be able to escape the cage so you should usually look to avoid keeping the smaller or even medium sized rodents in these cages.

The critter nation cage is the second iteration from the same brand who build the ferret nation cage so it does have a number of improvements to it too.

That’s why a large number of people who do keep pet ferrets or other larger animals will keep them in a critter nation cage even though the ferret nation cage is available.

Not only does the smaller bar spacing on the critter nation cage open it up to more potential buyers in the future if you look to sell the cage but the lack of tools being required when putting the critter nation cage together is a surprisingly popular benefit for the cage.

You can technically still customize the ferret nation cages if you want but it will usually make more sense for most people to just go with the critter nation cage and then customize it rather than have to narrow the bar spacing on a ferret nation cage in addition to the other customization that they want to make.

Are Critter Nation And Ferret Nation Compatible?

Although critter nation and ferret nation cages are form the same company, they do use different build systems so they are not directly comparable to switch every part of the cage between the two.

With similar sized cages having the same dimensions you can swap parts of the cages with each other if required though such as the trolly, ramps, and shelves.

In some situations, you may also be able to switch the actual cage walls between the two if you jerry rig a system to allow to wall to fit onto the other cage.

Just keep in mind that the bar spaces between the two cages are different and are intended to keep different sized pets within them so smaller pets may be able to escape if you replace a critter n nation pannel with a ferret nation pannel.

You can usually find spare parts for both critter nation and ferret nation cages on sites like eBay anyway so it can be cheap and easy to get spares.

This allows you to do a one for one swap with a part designed to fit the cage that you are using rather than having to worry about securing the two together due to both cages using different build systems to lock everything in place.

Are Critter Nation Or Ferret Nation Better Cages?

Both critter nation and ferret nation cages are very similar to each other with it being closer to call for larger pets such as ferrets.

The critter nation cages are definitely the better option for anyone with a smaller pet though due to the ferret nation cage bar space being too large for smaller pets allowing them to easily escape in some situations.

As we touched on earlier in the article, the resale value of critter nation cages is usually much higher too as they can work well for so many pet types making sure there is always a larger potential buyer pool available if you do need to sell.

Although the ferret nation cages do have a solid resale market due to being such high-quality cages, the demand is much lower and you may have to wait much longer to get a fair price for your cage when reselling.

Bot the critter nation and ferret nation cages have outstanding track records within the small pet keeping community though and this is why they are often out of stock due to their popularity that helps to strengthen our point above about resale value.

Most of our readers really should be leaning more towards the critter nation cage though as it will definitely be a better fit for the needs of more people.

Conclusion

That brings our critter nation vs ferret nation comparison article to an end and we hope that we have been able to help you better understand the advantages and disadvantages of both options. Just keep in mind that you will often be looking to pay more for a critter nation cage due to supply issues and demand being so high so many pet stores are putting their prices up to take advantage of the situation. If you do want to heavily customise your cage then either will do but going with the critter nation cage can help save you time and money on reducing the bar spacing for some cage setups too.