Battle with Wodent Wheel

kylieblue · 07-07-2015, 07:51 PM

My new hamster Willow (got her 4 days ago on Craigslist) has declared a feud with the black metal stand for her Wodent Wheel. She's chewing the curved section where the vertical part curves down to the ground, and when she chews, she's very intense, angry even. The funny thing is that her predecessor, who died about a year ago, did the exact same thing and chewed the same part of the wheel. The wheel is clean and doesn't have any food on it.

Do any of your hamsters do this? Willow is an adult female Syrian hamster. Maybe it reminds her of a snake?

Oatmeal_Cupcake · 07-08-2015, 01:02 AM

YEP! I've been there with two syrian females. I discovered that in both my cases they just wanted to have enough room to fit behind the wheel. So instead of placing the wheel right up against the side of the cage, move it inwards so that they have about 3-4 inches to move behind it. They never chewed on it again.

The other thing it could be is that they just don't like where it's at. You could try moving it to a different spot of the cage. Let me know if this works for you. Best of luck, I know your pain.

Pebbles82 · 07-08-2015, 06:59 AM

Can you hang it upside down? That way they can walk behind the wheel without the stand getting in the way. I hung Charlie's Wobust from the top of the cage and it actually spins better like that. It's quite easy (assuming you have a cage or a tank top with mesh in it). You take the wheel off the stand (keeping the washers and pin safe!), slot the stand through the top bars (mine is about 3.5 to 4cm from the back so the wheel clears the cage base without rubbing where the base curves in at th bottom), and it just hangs there. Then put the washers, wheel and pin back on the stand, then put 3 cable ties on the stand to secure it (I found 3 was just right - too many and it skews the way the wheel hangs). The rear bar is then much higher up and they have free run behind the wheel! If you want to see how to cable tie it to the top and where to put the cable ties I did a video on it.

If you have a tank or bin cage with mesh top it would be a bit more tricky, because mesh isn't as strong as bars and it might need a piece of wood or something to support it once the stand is slotted through.

Hekomi · 07-08-2015, 07:04 AM

Yes, do hang it upside down. Some of mine do that and it totally does help!

I've managed to mount it in tanks and in bins with mesh, just let me know if you need help and I probably have pictures.

Pebbles82 · 07-08-2015, 07:31 AM

Hi. I just saw your cage set up on the 'Lets see your cages' thread. Assume the Wodent wheel is in the larger unit. That unit is very small for a main cage for a Syrian (the added pods would be classed as add-ons rather than part of the main floor area) and the wheel must take up a fair bit of space in it. It could be she is chewing it because it is reducing her space in that unit. Also is the same wheel her predecessor had because she might still be able to smell hammy on it - not very likely if it has been cleaned and disinfected, but they do have very sensitive noses!

I hope you don't mind me saying, but most people on Hamster forums would find your cage set up doesn't give the recommended minimum floor space required for a Syrian Hamster, or allow for deep enough substrate. You could solve this by swapping the main unit for an 80 x 50cm cage or a similar sized bin cage or tank, and attaching it with tubes. You would then be able to give her deeper substrate for digging in and the continuous floorspace for natural activity. Although tubes and add-on pods can be nice, they don't really count within open continuous floorspace required. Habitrails are quite unpopular for this reason, although they can make good add-on units to a main cage.

Nancy's Hamsters · 07-08-2015, 08:33 AM

You can attach a WW to both a Bin cage lid, as well as a Commercial Tank lid by this method.

Bin Cage:
Drill a hole in the lid big enough to thread the stand through from the OUTSIDE of the lid. Make sure the drilled hole is far enough from the bin sides to prevent it rubbing the sides. Remove the wheel and the washers and clip and set aside in a safe place. Thread the stand through from the end which attaches the wheel so that the rest of the stand lays flat to the lid. Use twist ties or cable ties(I used twist ties so I could remove the wheel stand and all, and still be able to keep the lid on the Bin while cleaning the wheel).
Stand attached to bin lid
W W attached to the lid of bin-a.JPG
Lid with wheel attached and being removed for cleaning(Pardon the messy dirty wheel but this is the only pic I have showing the wheel attached on the inside of a bin lid)
W W attached to the lid of bin-g.JPG
The finished product in the bin with Sunrise scoping it out
W W attached to the lid of bin-f.JPG

Stand attached to a commercial tank lid. With this method the stand remains inside the tank and is attached with twist, or cable ties placed through the mesh and around the stand.
WW attached to a Tank lid-a.jpg
Sir Prise enjoying his screen lid attached WW
WW attached to a Tank lid-c.JPG

It's hard to tell in your photo which shows the WW but I think the lid to that cage can be drilled so you could attempt to attach it like the bin cage or if it is mesh you should be able to use the tank screen lid method.

Also it looks like you could replace that whole cage with a good size bin and still have it fit on that very same shelf if you wanted to give her more floor space but still keep the fun for you of the tubes and things.

Pebbles82 · 07-08-2015, 08:43 AM

Wow Nancy, that's an excellent tutorial on how to hang a wodent wheel!

Nancy's Hamsters · 07-08-2015, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Wow Nancy, that's an excellent tutorial on how to hang a wodent wheel!

Thanks Serendipity, I only wish the reason for all the info was not at the cost of a life of a Hamster.

I had a very big girl who had a bent stand which when she attempted to crawl through that small space between the stand and the back panel of the WW got caught and was strangled to death. The manufacture of WW worked with me and was very concerned at what had occurred. Together we found the cause and the solution for this to never happen again.

This was many many years back and I am ever thankful to the owner of WW for taking immediate action to find what caused this death. The problem was the metal stand being bent during shipping. I had to check every wheel I had to be sure no other stands were bent making the space between the stand and the back panel too small for a full grown Syrian to easily run through without getting stuck. We also concluded when owning a show sized Syrian to NOT use the 8 inch Jr wheel but get the Sr wheel or better yet the Wobust wheel which has a large gap and no possible way for a Syrian Hamster to get stuck and die like my Girl did.

When this occurred many who already had WW Jr's got together and showed people how they removed the space from being inside the cage thus removing completely the risk of harm. We donated many of these ideas to Transoniq and they have posted many on their site along with a warning to check the stands upon arrival and how to rebend the stand so it can be safely used on the bedding as well. I still have the wheel which killed and it is currently being enjoyed by Elkan.

Pebbles82 · 07-08-2015, 04:19 PM

Oh that is sad, and well done you for getting it dealt with. I have to say though, Charlie got half stuck between the back of his Wobust wheel and the stand. He is a big hamster though and he was having a frantic moment. He ran behind the wheel and got one leg caught between the stand and the wheel and was trying to keep running in a panic and the more he tried to run away the more his leg got jammed. I had to take him and the wheel out - and that's when I hung mine from the top, to get the rear stand away from the base as he often goes behind the wheel.

Nancy's Hamsters · 07-08-2015, 06:25 PM

Wow Charlie must be huge to get stuck with a Wobust size WW. I personally like the looks of them when hung plus they don't stuff them with bedding as much if hung. Very glad you were there when Charlie got stuck and was able to free him. I would bet your stand is bent though as you said in the thread you did WW Vs. I think Silent Spinner that you had to hang the Wobust a bit off the side to prevent it from rubbing the cage wall. It shouldn't do that if straight. If you ever feel like it take a look at the wheel from the side while it is spinning and see if it wobbles back and forth while spinning. If it does the axel part of the stand has been bent. Take the stand and step on the triangle base and pull up or push down on the axle part until it doesn't wobbly any more. I would guess yours needs to be pulled UP to straighten it out.