Wheels...Wheels...Wheels

[melon_mayhem]

So i've tried a few different wheels and my rats wont even touch them.
Is a wheel needed in their home??
I dont want to have something taking up space if they dont even like it. So should i just leave it in there or move on to bigger better things?

 

[SQ]

Some rats like using wheel, others don't.
It may take them awhile to figure out a wheel and decide they like it if thay haven't had one before.
What kind of a wheel is it?

 

[melon_mayhem]

Well at first i had the silent spinner but it was too small and the bigger one was more then i wanted to spend at the time. The other day i got a comfort wheel giant but they wouldnt so much as look at it plus it took up a TON of space. So i went ahead and took it back to the store since they didnt like it...

 

[ryelle]

I had a wheel in the cage for a good few weeks and thought i'd wasted my money on it, but then one day i heard Patrick running in it He used to run in and out of it but not round
If they haven't ever had a wheel in their lives (which my boys hadnt) then it will take a while for them to figure it out

 

[jorats]

Some rats love their wheels while others don't. As well as one day, one rat that never liked the wheel will all of a sudden use it. If your rats get lots of exercise every day outside of the cage then it's not necessary.

 

[SQ]

As long as they have a huge cage to climb etc around in for exercise and as jorats said, lots of daily out of cage time to run, climb, etc then they likely don't need one.

 

[melon_mayhem]

Okay well thats good. They climb in and out of my cage all the time so they get plenty of excerise

 

[Moon]

I had rat that didn't use their wheel for running but used it for storage, among other things. It was being "used" so I left it, was it was still "habitat enrichment"

 

[SQ]

:thumbup: I have a few rats that like to use the silent spinner as their bed.

 

[Catibrie]

I have one who loves to run in it, and another who uses it to store snacks.... it's an odd combo.

 

[melon_mayhem]

Maybe when i upgrade to a bigger cage i'll introduce the wheel again. My rats never used wheels when they were babies because i got them from a pet store selling them as feeders (i wasn't aware of adoption or good breeders at the time).

Thanks for all the replies everyone

 

[minnow]

Don't give up hope - I have two girls who were rescued from a rat mill situation, and once they figured out what the wheel was for they loved it. They're probably my most avid wheel runners short of Mimsy.

 

[Rattie Kisses]

[center:3d0f02pc]

I ordered a Crittertrail revolution, meant for a hamster cage (a bad hamster cage, at that), but is a great rat wheel.
Just take off the doors and tunnels and you've got a rat wheel! It is quiet, safe, wire floored, so the poo falls through. The downside is its a little big...but hey, no wheel tail![/center:3d0f02pc]

 

[melon_mayhem]

I have thought of this also because it seems pretty handy but until i get my bigger cage i cant fit it through the doors of my current cage :gaah:

Thank you though!

 

[xxchelle]

Every time I offer my rats a wheel, they look at me like they're saying, "Are you crazy, lady?"

I have a giant Comfort Wheel, made by "Super Pet".

Has anyone ever tried a flying saucer with their rats? My chinchilla loves his.

 

[Moon]

The people who have tried a flying saucer have typically been met with disdain by their rats, from what I have read.

 

[Petitepuppet]

My boys love there wheel :thumbup:

 

[Rattie Kisses]

Yes, Moon, I tried the flying saucer for my rat, she loved to run on the wheel, but she didn't even touch the saucer.

 

[melon_mayhem]

I've heard that some people have tried it, and their rats had that :lol2: look to them.

 

[sausage4ever]

At least 5/7 of my boys use their silent spinner, when I get money I have to invest in a second one!!