# explorer vs royale



## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

Am getting my boys their new cage when I get paid at the end of the month. always knew would need to get them a bigger cage than the one I got from the rehoming place but they have grown so fast! Want to get either the explorer or the savic royale (or something very similar). which one would people recommend?


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

I don't have either if these cages, but a friend of mine has 2 Explorers for her boys and a SRS for her girls. She says she doesn't see the point in spending the extra money on the SRS when the Explorer can be made just as good with a few minor modifications (magnets on the doors, splash guards).


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## ceretrea (Jan 24, 2011)

Neither, I got an Explorer and didn't get on with it. With my messy boys it was so hard to keep clean. I sold it and bought a Furet Tower instead:-

Ferplast Furet Tower Cage For Rats and Ferrets : Ferret : Rat

You need a knack and a second pair of hands sometimes to furnish it but I wouldn't swap it for the world. You can easily dismantle the whole thing and sit it outside for a sluice down and full wash if needed.

Pros:- Huuuuuge cage, great for GMR. Can hang lots of stuff anywhere in the cage. Horizontal bars easier to climb. Very easy to clean. Fits in my front room better 

Drawbacks:- The top can get heavy to lift down if its got a lot in it and you don;t have a helper. Use trays where the rats reular go to the toilet as the base is textured so squishy mess is harder to clean up. Can be seprated into two but not as easy as the others.

Explorer pros:- Large cage easier to seperate for two groups.

Explorer drawbacks:- No furnishings can be attached to the front. Shelves quickly get nasty buildups of urine (within a weeks clean) and when we took ours apart for transport what we found in between the sides (which you can't get to without unscrewing it all) was pretty gross. Base is shallow and is often replaced by metal trays or deeper storage boxes.
I found the trays were cumbersome to clean but thats me.

Funnily enough I don't think there is a lot of difference between the Explorer and the Royale, certainly not enough to warrant so much extra money.

Go and try and see a selection in other peoples houses if you can. Thats how I decided between the Explorer and Royale. I wish I had seen a Furet but hey, you have trial and error sometimes.

Alot of people get on with all types of cage so the most important thing I can advise you is to look hard at your personal circumstances, the way you like to do things and try and decide which can will suit you best.


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

Or if you want a nice cage for 3 boys I'd recommened the Liberta Abode. It's a very well made cage, and it's easy to decorate.


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## princesslea (Jul 6, 2010)

ceretrea said:


> Drawbacks:-
> Explorer drawbacks:- No furnishings can be attached to the front. Shelves quickly get nasty buildups of urine (within a weeks clean) and when we took ours apart for transport what we found in between the sides (which you can't get to without unscrewing it all) was pretty gross. Base is shallow and is often replaced by metal trays or deeper storage boxes.
> I found the trays were cumbersome to clean but thats me.


I bought a second hand explorer last month for £70, if you can get a second hand one for less than £100 then I say go for it. I think the savic royal is a better cage but I couldn't justify spending that much on a cage and you don't really see them second hand.

With a bit of tweeking my explorer is perfect, I've don't have a problem with the shelves smelling as one I spot clean the cage often and sometimes I remove the shelves and add hammocks, tubes , snoozetubes e.t.c for a change. My husband fitted 6 inches of perspex round the sides to stop litter falling out and I also have wooden boards covered in lino underneath the trays which also stops litter falling out. I've probably spent about £20 modifying it, but I love it now and so do my boys and girls.


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## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

ceretrea said:


> Explorer pros:- Large cage easier to seperate for two groups.
> 
> Explorer drawbacks:- No furnishings can be attached to the front. Shelves quickly get nasty buildups of urine (within a weeks clean) and when we took ours apart for transport what we found in between the sides (which you can't get to without unscrewing it all) was pretty gross. Base is shallow and is often replaced by metal trays or deeper storage boxes.
> I found the trays were cumbersome to clean but thats me.
> ...


sadly dont have any rat owning friends...they all think I'm a little weird :lol:

Does anyone know if you can seperate the royal in the same way as the explorer? Are the trays better with the royal?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I love my explorer, its big, the doors are huge so plenty of access, and Ive even extended it with another half an explorer. The only things I can see that make the Savic Royal Suite a better cage is that the fact that they have horizontal bars so the rats can climb more easily and the locks apparently are better (although Ivbe never had an issue with mine), I think the trays are deeper (although Ive got some deep metal trays). I dont think they are worth the extra money and I dont know if I would have been able to extend the SRS.


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## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

thedogsmother said:


> The only things I can see that make the Savic Royal Suite a better cage is that the fact that they have horizontal bars so the rats can climb more easily


on the explorer is it hard to attach toys as the bars are vertical? how do you get round it?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

manic rose said:


> on the explorer is it hard to attach toys as the bars are vertical? how do you get round it?


I use cable ties for almost everything I attach to cages, there are bars on the roof of each level so hanging toys are easily attached and there are some horizontal bars, I havent really had a problem attaching anything tbh.


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