Kaytee CritterTrail Fun-nel 16-Piece Assorted Small Animal Habitat Tubes

Skip to the 2nd paragraph for the review - The photo I attached to my review shows, from top to bottom: the Habitrail OVO tube, Crittertrail straight 10" tube, two connected Habitrail OVO elbows, two connected Crittertrail elbows. You can really see how much smaller in diameter these Crittertrail tubes are - I recommend them for mice and dwarf hamsters. I do not recommend Crittertrail for Syrian hamsters (teddy bear hamsters), the tubes are just too small to be safe, and instead I would recommend the Habitrail OVO. I'm disappointed that Kaytee markets these tubes for Syrian hamsters because I think they stand a good chance of getting stuck (even if it's a "small" Syrian, if they stuff their cheek pouches full and then try to go through a Crittertrail elbow tube, I fear it would not go well).On to my review of these Crittertrail tubes, of which I have 4 of these value packs for my 2 Robo dwarf hamsters. I use them as fun little tunnel bridges between platforms in their bin cages, as well as a way to get up onto those platforms. I use zip ties to secure them in place. My robo hamsters love them, they have enough room to turn around inside a tube - robos are the smallest dwarf hamster at only 2" long, keep in mind.These Crittertrail tubes have nice ridges on the inside to help them climb. I previously used the Habitrail OVO tubes for them but those only have a few tiny ridges on the inside - my hamsters were slip 'n' sliding and struggling to climb a 45 degree angle in the Habitrail OVO tubes. Robos have furry-bottomed feet that don't grip to surfaces well, so the thick ridges in these Crittertrail tubes are great for them in that regard.A big complaint about these tubes is the connector rings, they are not easy to remove at all. I broke two fingernails trying to get the tubes apart before I remembered I had a retainer removal tool from when I got my braces off (I had Essix retainers which are kinda like Invisilign trays, and they were so tight on my teeth I needed this tool to remove them). It's a plastic tool with a little hook on the end, like a crochet hook, that is SO helpful in getting these Crittertrail tubes apart. If I didn't have this tool, I would probably hate these tubes. So, I docked a star for the connecting rings, I wish they were more like the twist 'n' lock rings that the Habitrail tubes have.EDITED to add: I found a crochet hook also works to get these Crittertrail tubes apart. And what works even better is soaking the tubes in hot water (not boiling water - the water I used was hot but still comfortable to put my hand in) - the heat softens up the connector rings a bit temporarily so that it's much easier to pull apart.

I like these "fun-nels" better than the Habitrail type, although the Habitrail are more transparent which makes viewing the hamsters a little easier. Habitrail and Critter Trail are interchangeable for the most part though, so I have a mix of both.Background: I have this cage: http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Critter-Habitat-Hamsters/dp/B005FU4Z4W, which comes with a the cage, water bottle, food dish, and a basic set up of funnels to get to the "petting zone" that goes over the top of the cage.Pros of this set:The elbow pieces give you the ability to "grow" your hamster cage off the sides. You can build up and connect them to the "roof" of the cage or to the petting zone (if you have it).My Chinese Dwarf Hamsters are easily able to climb up and down these tunnels. They are skinnier than Habitrail though, so they might be too small for bigger hamsters.The connectors are SO much easier to use than the connectors included with Habitrail. These are simple pop on/pop off, where Habitrail you have to do some magic twisting to get it on the first tube, then some magic twisting to get it on the second tube, which half the time takes it off the first tube...it gets frustrating. These are much more straight forward -- pop them on the first one, pop the second one in place, DONE!Cleanability is good -- I take off different sections a couple of times a week (that have been pooped in/peed in) and clean them out, and then once a week I give the whole cage a thorough cleaning, running all of them through hot bleach water in the tub and letting them dry out completely before reconnecting.Cons: .You need more than one of these sets, or some other accessories, to make it worth while. What is included is shown -- 3 elbows, a "T" piece, 2 straight pieces (one huge one small), the lookout window, and the connectors. This is still a way better price value than buying them individually, but one set won't get you very far. The largest straight piece does connect to the "roof" of the cage though (it drops down into the cage a ways so the hamsters can climb straight up into it), which makes it nice.I plan on getting more of these sets as our St Hamsterville grows -- I recommend these to other hamster owners!

Hamsters love it and it fit perfect

I love adding to my mouse house.

These tubes worked great for my syrian hamsters. They love to climb around in them & run across the top of them like a bridge. Granted it takes a few packs of these tubes to really build something fun and creative for the hammies but I have found that this exact pack of tubes generally runs at a cheaper selling price on Amazon than in most of my local pet stores such as Petsmart, Petco & also at Walmart. I also searched on other websites because I was looking to buy in bulk but I was still unable to find a better deal on this particular product than on Amazon. Most offer this product in the price range of $15 to $26 with an added shipping & handling fee but I was able to purchase mine here for $12 with free prime shipping! Can’t beat that deal  As far as the quality of the tubes, they are made very sturdy to where they will not easily fall apart while your hamster is running around in them but this does make for a slightly difficult connecting process & a bit more challenging disconnecting of the tubes. Though if done in a patient and gentle manner, these tubes can be taken apart and reassembled without too much hassle and without breaking them. The magic is in the plastic ring at the end of each tube. You just have to not yank them apart as this can cause breaking or chipping of the tube. Also if you have a hamster that likes to devour plastic & munch on it for a chew toy, it is good to provide them with some sort of wooden snack hut or chew block to help detour them. If that doesn’t work then you can rub some vinegar or lemon juice in the area which they are chewing away & they will most likely lose interest & stop eating their tunnel highway. I would definitely recommend this product to any hamster owner looking to help entertain their critters!

Llegaron un poco lastimados, aunque si consideramos que vino en la bolsa dentro de otra bolsa y es exportacion estan bien, cabe bien mi hamster sirio

Fácil de montar. Lo hemos puesto para que suba y baje de una plataforma al suelo de la jaula por el interior de los tubos y ha quedado perfecto.

This product arrived very early, which was a nice surprise. They came already put together with handy instructions on the bag. The colors were very vibrant and there was no great difficulty in connecting them. However, my hamster does not fit in these tubes!!! I am so utterly disappointed, from the measurements shown they appear to be of an adequate size, this is a misinterpretation....They are WAY TOO SMALL, i can see no hamster (whether adult or baby) fitting through them, maybe mice of small/average sizes but NO HAMSTERS etc. This is clearly a false advertisement because they state suitable for hamsters, they are not! I thought before they arrived that they were a little over-priced aswell, but considering the apparent quality i was willing to look past this, but they are not as big as they were made out to be and definitely not suitable for hamsters, which makes me very upset! I see no point in trying to return them as i have opened the packaging and it is a huge hassle. My only option now is to try and sell them (at a loss which will be very difficult. I feel with this product like me and my hamster have been cheated, me out of a fair amount of money and Nibbles out of a fun time. Not happy :(

These tubes are versatile and very cute to create a nice critter habitat if you are going to buy multiple cages for your hamster which you will have to as the cages are far too small to meet the min. sq. inch requirement. I have four cages and have attached them all with these tubes and the latest one I was able to find is the Kaytee super cage which is 540 sq. inches. My sirian is not too big at the moment as it is only 4 mos. old my only concern is that she is barely fitting through these tubes and if she gets any bigger this will be very uncomfortable for her, therefore, although I like the cute concept of these tunnels I wish that they had made this bigger for Sirian hamsters as these tubes are better suited for robos, Also to connect and reconnect them is very difficult sometimes they do not pull apart and end up breaking in the process. I think for robos they are fine but I wish that I had known this before purchasing it for my Sirian. It should not be advertised for Sirian hamsters.

These work well to connect 2 cages for our hamster although I am glad I ordered 2 packs as only 3 of the curved tube attachments would not have been enough also our hamster just fits inside them so if you have a larger hamster or other pet will probably not fit