Dome top versus play top - which is better?

[natzback]

I just wanted some ideas or suggestions about dome top versus play top.

I just can't make up my mind.
Obviously the play top is nice because it would allow me to have more than one bird out at a time (I have a play stand too) and the flat top is nice for hanging toys
but
I know how dark the cage can be and afraid of toes getting caught between the top grate and top pan.

The dome top can be a pain for hanging toys sometimes but it would let me UVB lighting in much better.

I would like to know what other bird owner's think

Thanks!

[my-africangrey-echo]

I have a dome top and if I am ever going to replace Echo's cage I would do it with a play top.

[DarwinTheSun]

I think it is easier to hang toys from a dometop, plus the added light. I love my dometop, and would replace it with another without question. One thing you can do is make a playtop on top of the dometop, which we do everyday here. Everything goes up in the morning and down at night. Darwin likes it, because it changes all the time :)

[Courtzrocks]

Why dont you get a flat top without a play stand on top? Thats what I get. Lets the light in and is easy to hang toys from.

[greencinacheeks]

i agree. i ahve always found flat top better....in my opinion....much easier the hang toys and like Courtz said it lets some light in!!!!

~N

[Monica]

Unless you have a large parrot like a macaw or cockatoo who may need a dome top cage, I'd recommend flat top - playtop or not. If you get a playtop, and your worried about light, you could always go out and buy a piece of plexiglass cut to the same length/width as the playtops tray. This allows light in, yet keeps the cage clean! And you still have the added benefit of the playtop!

Or better yet, try and find cages with removeable playtops! They are just flatops with a playtop built ontop to be able to be removed!

As of right now, I don't care for playtops.. (I prefer to have my birds flighted/cage-free, and I make places for them to land on... not much point in a playtop!) or dometops (I have one dome top cage - hate hanging toys! "Small" bird, HUGE cage! One flight cage with a cury/dome like top... small birds... small doors... it's alright... one flight cage with a metal top that comes to a point in the center... [like a house that has a roof that slants two ways] hate it..... hq flight cage, good for hanging toys, if the bird occupying the cage enjoyed the toys! and some smaller flat top or some sort of fancy top cages).

Of course, if you don't get a playtop but a dometop or flat top, you could always do what DTS did and create a gym on top of the cage, which works just as well, if not better!

[ljhassell]

I personally like the extra room, all of our large birds have dome tops, we dont allow playing/hanging out on top of cages, we have play gyms for out time and they need away from cage time.

[Lucky498]

I have a a victorian top for my CAG which I love - it is basically the same as the dome except it isn't quite so round and the top opens up. I don't ever open the top because the cage is huge and taller then me and frankly I can't reach the opening, but I like the victorian look better then the dome as it isn't so round looking. My breeder birds all have flat top bird cages (no playtop) because they are in large flights. I used to have play tops and personally I don't like them much. I would go for either a victorian, flat (no playtop), or dome, but thats just my opinion.

PS - I never have had a problem with hanging toys in my victorian cage, I had a dome top cage once and hanging toys in that cage worked out perfectly fine also.

[natzback]

Thanks for the input everybody!

I decided to go with the dome top for him, it allows more room and since I use UVB lighting I figured it was the best choice.

Now I just have to go get him more goodies for his new diggs :-)