This is a review of the Savic Plaza 120 Hamster cage. Also called the Savic Plaza XL. Also below is a "setting up" video.
Cage Size and bar spacing
This cage has maxiumum external measurements of 118cm by 64 xcm deep by 52cm high. The minimum internal measurements (between the bars) are approximately 112.5cm by 58.5 cm by 50cm inner height. This is still a great size – especially the extra depth of 58.5cm. It makes it about 10cm (4 inches) deeper than the standard Savic Plaza, giving a lot more floor area.
It has 0.9cm bar spacing officially, although I measured the gap between the bars as 0.8cm (ie 8mm). It has two large access doors – one on top and one on the front. The door on the front is the same size as the one on the standard Savic Plaza (the 100cm one). The door on top is also the same size.
It’s a really big cage. It’s obviously much larger than the Standard Savic Plaza cage but not overwhelmingly so and just feels like a larger Savic Plaza cage without being too large to handle.
The base is 15cm deep (internal height) and seems fairly strong. It has quite thick, reinforced corner areas, and a fairly thick rim around the edge – presumably for strengthening with a base that large.
Price
The price is £114. Which is a really good price for such a large cage, considering all cage prices are so high these days, and there are many costing a lot more than that. (Edit: As of 2024, this is being sold for £100 with free postage, by Pets at Home).
Assembly
Assembly is the same as for the standard Savic Plaza cage, whereby the panels of bars slide into corner struts and end caps are then fitted to keep it securely in place. It can be slightly fiddly and it’s easier to put the bars together on the floor and then lift the top into place onto the base. The first time I put it together it went together fairly quickly and easily. The second time it took longer for some reason. It’s easy to get one of the bar panels the wrong way round or upside down! It’s easier if you can put it together somewhere with plenty of space around you.
The roof comes ready assembled and needs to be pushed into place once the bars are assembled.
Once it’s assembled it is fairly sturdy and the whole barred top can be lifted onto the base without much difficulty.
The corner cap pieces appear to be identical to those on the standard Plaza, although I haven’t tested that. So it’s possible to have “spare parts” from a standard Plaza if needed.
It has two metal handles at either end of the bars to clip the bars down securely to the cage base.
Contents
The contents seem to be the same as for the standard Savic Plaza. The same green shelf and ladder and the same Savic Rolly wheel, which isn’t big enough. Plus a bottle and bowl and small plastic house. I didn’t use any of the contents. The plastic house isn’t suitable for sleeping in (although a hamster might like it as a treat store perhaps). I already have a bottle and food dish and large wheel.
I would have used the green shelf and ladder – but wanted to keep the cage set up layout the same as the previous standard Plaza cage, for familiarity with it being an upgrade. So had a wood shelf made the same as the one in the previous cage, but longer. (A couple of places on ebay sell them cut to size with the fixings).
If anyone is interested in using a wood shelf like that, mine is 25cm deep by 58.3cm wide. You need to cut small corners off the shelf at the back (as with the standard Plaza cage) due to the curved corner supports. My shelf came with pre drilled holes for screwing into and then you just screw it into place with screws and washers. If you have tools and are ok with minor diy, it's easy enough to just drill small holes yourself into the right sized piece of wood.
As the cage is so much larger, the green shelf and ladder could work much better because it won’t take up as much space and could be good for a quick easy set up. I still don’t like the holes at the front of the green shelf, which are large enough to get a hamster foot caught in, possibly - although have never heard of this actually being an issue. They are there as ladder supports. Some people have stuffed paper bedding in the holes to rectify that. Another option would be to cover the shelf with cardboard or hemp mat or similar, that goes right up to the edges, so the holes aren’t visible or able to be walked over.
Access and positioning the cage
Access is very good due to having the same lovely big front door as the standard Savic Plaza – plus a large top door. The top door is the same size and really helps when trying to attach something to the back (ie holding something inside while you try and put screws etc in on the outside).
Because the cage is so deep I could actually get quite a bit of my upper body through the front door! To arrange things inside the cage. The extra depth makes it a lot easier.
It takes some planning when setting up and deciding what height you want the cage to sit at.
I wanted the cage at the same height as before (on top of a 78cm ish cupboard) so the front access door is about waist height. But that means it’s not easy to reach or use the top door. Without standing on a stool or something.
If you want to mainly use the top door, then having the cage on something lower, like a coffee table, would make that easier. But then you need to kneel to use the front door. So things to think about in terms of what height to have the cage at.
