Hamster wheel reviews

Maz said:
Great reviews. I just love the photo of the 9" Silent runner with a robo peeking out!

I'll add to those. The Trixie wood and cork wheel and the Karlie Flamingo Bogie wheel (which look identical but the Karlie one tends to have better quality control I've found). The Trixie one is easier to get hold of and cheaper though usually - and it might be fine - if not send it back for a replacement. The Karlie one is only available on Amazon. The trixie one comes in 28cm (Syrian) or 21cm (dwarf).

These are also silent wheels but not so easy to attach to bars. They are basically free standing wheels. Which means if you have a fair depth of substrate under them they might need something underneath to support them - so they don't topple over or in case a hamster digs under it and it falls on them. I have usually just tied the back of it to the cage bars to keep it from falling/sinking.

However I have attached them upside down in a cage before. You just remove the base and use the screws and a pair of large washers and screw it upside down through the top bars. This is very stable and works well in the hamster heaven (but not in the Plaza which is taller and it might pull the top panel out of its grooves). It needs to be an all in one solid bar top for that to work. One wheel I couldn't get the base off so left it on - this worked equally as well but just means the wheel sits a bit lower in the cage (by the depth of the base).

The trixie version is fairly inexpensive from Zooplus. It used to be about £9.99 for the 28cm one but like so many things and hamster items, it has doubled in price!

Below is a photo of how I had it attached upside down in the cage. The advantage of this is - you get substrate under the wheel and it won't fall over. But it's also fine standing in the cage as well, if care is taken. That's the same for most freestanding wheels.

Most people paint the inside of the wheel with plastikote enamel water based paint (including the cork) so it's wipe clean inside.

www.zooplus.co.uk

Trixie Wooden Exercise Wheel | zooplus.co.uk

Order Trixie Wooden Exercise Wheel now at zooplus. Free delivery from £39. Check out customer reviews to see what others think!
www.zooplus.co.uk

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I've just ordered this myself and found a small wedge of wood in the box (please see photo) - Any ideas what this is used for please?
Did you lubricate the wheel with anything to make it quieter? Thanks
 

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I’ve had that wheel quite a long time ago but I have no idea what that bit of wood may be for.
You shouldn’t need to lubricate it with anything, they usually spin freely.
As it’s wood it will need a couple of coats of Plastikote enamel paint to waterproof it.
 
Very strange! I've never had anything like that before. Maybe an offcut got in by accident. It looks like a useful door stop though! Is the wheel itself ok? The quality control has been pretty ropey in the last year or two and some lean forwards a bit while spinning, or can have splintery bits (which a bit of sand paper sorts in a few minutes). I tend to just plastikote the inside of the wheel - the cork surface, the back and any other bits inside. Because I'm lazy :-) It's always been fine that way.
 
Maz said:
Very strange! I've never had anything like that before. Maybe an offcut got in by accident. It looks like a useful door stop though! Is the wheel itself ok? The quality control has been pretty ropey in the last year or two and some lean forwards a bit while spinning, or can have splintery bits (which a bit of sand paper sorts in a few minutes). I tend to just plastikote the inside of the wheel - the cork surface, the back and any other bits inside. Because I'm lazy :) It's always been fine that way.
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🤣 Yes I was thinking of using it as a diddy door stop. Wheel looks to be in good condition. It's huge! Thinking back to when I had hamsters as a child, it's a lot bigger (and more expensive now!)
 
I think it's had that for quite a while. I'm not sure why they got rid of the metal one, but the plastic one allows for height adjustment.
 
I haven’t looked at wheels for ages so hadn’t seen it!
 
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It does say on the Exotic nutrition website that it has a “grid like” base for traction so that might be why they changed it, the metal base does slike about easily.
 
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Tom's Pet Creations have been selling them with the plastic stand and base for some time - I just happened to notice a while back :)
 
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