Running on top of the wheel

[TheJadeRat]

So my Pearl runs on top of the wheel. Penelope runs inside of the wheel. It is a light blue wire mesh wheel you can get at Petco. I hang it on the wall for more floor room. :stickpoke:

Will she keep doing this forever?
How do I teach her to run in the wheel?
Does anyone else have or had a rat do this?

I eventually want to get a Wodent Wheel or the Stealth Wheel, but not until I get a new cage for them.

 

[ametropia]

Be cautious about wire-mesh wheels, as toes and even tails can get caught in them. I know personally of a horror story involving a wire-wheel and a tail

If she has found she really enjoys being on top of the wheel, you'll be hard-pressed to stop her because rats are so intelligent they REMEMBER these things

What I'd probably do is invest in a solid-surface wheel which will essentially prevent her from doing this because she'd never find any grip on the top of the wheel without the mesh. My main concern for her now is getting a toe caught while she's on top of the wheel which I can picture being at least twice as dangerous as getting a toe caught inside the wheel :\

If you can't replace the wheel, when you see her on top of it, I'd probably pick her up and place her inside the wheel and give her a treat. Or, try installing a make-shift shelf (I have several dollar-store plastic containers zap-strapped to my cage making interesting shelves for the rats) or something similar right above the wheel, giving it enough clearance to turn but not enough for the rat to be up there.

 

[TheJadeRat]

Okay, thank you! I really love the Wodent wheels. I might try to order one, when I get my CN cage.

 

[KTyne]

Ugh, yeah definitely stay away from the barred or meshed wheels.
A year or two ago a friend of mine got a rat from a pet store, she was a pretty little PEW, and she had a wheel with bars in the cage.
I guess she came home one day to find that her little rattie had caught her leg in the bar (she was still a baby at the time) and broken her leg and had also cut off circulation to the leg. The poor baby died from her injury, probably because my friend didn't have any proper information about rats really. I didn't hear about the incident until atleast a month afterwards.
ANYWAYS, bars or mesh = BAD! :'(
I think putting a shelf above the wheel would be an excellent idea for now! Get a plastic wheel asap though.

 

[Moon]

Mesh wheels are fairly safe, the ones with bars are the concern. MY problem with mesh wheels is the SQUEAKING uggghhh

I had a rat who tried to run on top of my silent spinner. That didn't work out so well

 

[KTyne]

The mesh I'd just worry about their little toes, especially on babies. I do think they are safer though.
I wish I'd known more about wheels back then though and then I could have warned my friend about buying one with bars. :|

 

[rhapsody]

Hehe, just be warned, having a Wodent wheel doesn't always keep the really determined kids from attempting to run on top of the wheel. One of my hamsters figured out a ... unique way to accomplish this:

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Still, a Wodent Wheel would be less accident causing than a mesh one.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Mesh wheels are fairly safe, the ones with bars are the concern. MY problem with mesh wheels is the SQUEAKING uggghhh

I had a rat who tried to run on top of my silent spinner. That didn't work out so well

That pretty much sums up what I was going to say LOL. My Mom's hamster runs religiously on his mesh wheel (which he much prefers to a solid one) and there have never been any issues however we have to constantly put Vaseline on it. I have also witnessed rats try to run on top of a silent spinner, its quite funny.

 

[SQ]

I would suggest a stealth wheel or the silent spinner.

 

[Godmother]

LOL, love the video of Hazel!! Some of mine take a while to learn not to try running on the top of their wheels.

 

[ametropia]

We have a "comfort wheel giant" from super-pet for ours. They like it just fine, it's quiet as hell, and it's a nice solid surface. I just free-stand it in the cage. They also come in smaller sizes. The next size down I think would still suit rats, but I decided to go with the big'un because we had the space for it. Would also depend on the rat, there's some awfully big boys out there :lol:

I know many people vouche for the mesh wheels, but I had a gerbil who broke a toe on one of those blasted things So I don't like 'em. But I know that is also an isolated incident and thus skews my perception (I'm biased haha

 

[TheJadeRat]

I might also look into the silent spinner wheel. I know it isn't really silent.

 

[Moon]

I might also look into the silent spinner wheel. I know it isn't really silent.

It's more silent than everything else I've had, personally. They still make a noise but for me it's a nice "whirr whirr whirr" not "SCREECH SCREECH SCREECH"

 

[Dazzle87]

I've had mesh wheels, comfort wheel, silent spinner, and wodent wheel, in my experience the wodent wheel is the quietest and definitely my favorite. Plus it comes in so many cute color combos It's also much cheaper than all but the cheapo mesh wheels. I'd suggest the wobust though, mine didn't seem to like the small holes of the senior, could just be my silly girls though...

 

[jorats]

Are your little girls young still? I notice the babies will do that but when they get older they stick to inside the wheel and not so much on top.

 

[TheJadeRat]

I'm not sure how old pearl is. But I think she is younger.