Robo Hamster Flying Off Wheel

[achilleshamham]

So I bought my tiny little robo hamster a wheel, as one should, and every time he runs on it he flies off. Can wheels be too big? I bought an 8" wheel because everyone said the bigger the better but I'm not so sure :/

[NibblesTheHam]

Hi! What wheel did you buy? a flying saucer or an upright, and what brand? An 8" is fine if he can actually turn it, if he can't make it move, it's too big, but it doesn't sound like that's a problem. There are some wheels that have a front piece, like The Wodent Wheel, (see links), or the Silent Runner (see links), which would stop him from flying off. If you have a flying saucer, you also need an upright wheel, as a flying saucer can cause back injuries.

Links:
Silent Runner: Silent Runner 9", Exercise Wheel and Cage Attachment for Hamsters, Gerbils, Mice and Other Small Pets - Walmart.com - Walmart.com

Wodent Wheel: Wodent Wheel 8" For Small Mammals - Exotic Nutrition

Note: The links I provided aren't necessarily the right size they're just to show you the different types of wheel.

[LunaTheHamster1]

What type of wheel is it? I have a robo and i tried a few wheels as the same happened with him.

I did try him with a silent runner when I first got him but he didn't seem to know what to do with it, so I swopped it for a pets at home one, but he kept flying off it, so then I tried him with one of these
Rodent Play Wheel, Free Standing, Large
and it was even worse, so gave him back the pets at home one... anyway fast forward a couple of months and I thought I will try him with the Silent Runner 9 inch again and this time he zoomed along and no flying out. He spends way more time on his wheel now too. I think he was just too little when I first got him, he weighs about 13-14g more than when I first got him (19g)

I think the theory is, the bigger the wheel for them the less chance of them flying off. So no, I don't think it is that the wheel is too small, it's maybe not quite big enough. Some robos can even run really well on 12 inch wheels. Just depends on the wheel and the robo.

[flowerfairy]

My robo, Rafferty has a wooden cork lined wheel from zooplus and doesnt fly out of it.

Hope you find a good wheel for your hamster.

[Pebbles82]

Hi. This does happen at first with robos. Just make sure there’s nothing nearby he could land on and hurt himself- so move any floor toys a bit further away so he just lands on substrate. He will get the hang of the wheel quite quickly and then stay on it! I sometimes think they do it for fun as well and then realise it’s not fun lol. If you have room on the cage for a flying saucer as well as a wheel, they really love those - they fly off the saucer at first as well but soon get the hang of it. I actually got an open wheel for our Robo rather than an enclosed one as I was worried he would try and jump out while it was spinning, miss the hole and hurt himself. At least with an open wheel they can just land on substrate.