For most of my life I had caged animals ... rodents, reptiles, birds, etc. At some points in my life with some pets, it was fine. But, honestly, the reason I don't have them anymore is time they took - cleaning the cage, trying to spend enough time with them. It is a huge time commitment to do it right. And if you aren't going to do it right, it's best not to do it at all, IMO.

The only thing we have now in a cage is one little snake, and he would MUCH prefer we never touch him or take him out of the cage. So that's fine. But when he's gone, I will never get another caged animal. At least not until all the kids are grown and gone, and probably until we retire and have lots of time.

Rehoming an animal because of changes in life circumstances is sometimes unavoidable, and sometimes best for the animal. Of course, like jackie mentioned, hopefully anyone that has to do so will learn from the experience and not repeat it.