Silent spinner dangerous?

[Vierville]

Hello. I recently bought silent spinner wheels for my dwarf hamsters and I'm enjoying how quiet they are and my hamsters seem to love running on them but last night I read a horrifying article about how dangerous these are.

Apparently the small gaps where the two halves of the running surface meet can catch tiny hamster feet and cause serious injuries?

I removed them immediately and replaced the old wheels (then proceeded to wake up at 03h50 to squeaky wheels!).

Has anybody got any information of whether silent spinners really are that dangerous?

[RobinIsACatto]

There have been a few cases, but in the years I’ve used Silent Spinners, I haven’t had any issues. If you want to you could seal the gap with a bit of non-toxic school glue, though.

Also keep in mind of viewer bias—yes, you may see a few scary cases, but if a person is just fine with SSs, there’s no point in being vocal about it, so all the “it’s ok” people don’t get heard, and it seems like the percentage of people with issues is higher than it actually is

[Vierville]

I guess you are right. I was thinking of gluing the gaps and possibly all the way around the join just incase it comes apart.

[Vierville]

By the way, I've just lubricated their old wheels which I put back into service, using coconut oil. Two of my three immediately stood up on their hind legs and licked the coconut oil off the hub of the wheel! They obviously like the taste.

[Ria P]

I bought a SS for our Robo because the wheel i really wanted was out of stock at the time. I replaced it eventually because he kept getting thrown out of it when going fast. It's in our dwarf's play pen now and still in occasional use.

To be honest, i was also a bit concerned about these gaps and feel more reassured now that all our hamsters have silent plastic wheels with a solid and wider running surface in their habitats. They are a Chinese make i always forget the name of.

I don't know whether the SS is dangerous or not but they are not a good design in my opinion.

[Vierville]

I do agree...the only good thing is the silent ballbearing spinning mechanism.

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by Vierville

I do agree...the only good thing is the silent ballbearing spinning mechanism.

Yes and some other, gapless wheels have this ballbearing mechanism too. I've bought so many wheels and other stuff since i started keeping hamsters this March until i found out what works for this little creatures and what doesn't.

Coconut oiling doesn't, lol. I found it very amusing that your hamsters sabotaged your efforts to silence their wheels.

[Vectis Hamstery]

I'm not sure how long I've used Silent Spinners for, but I've not found the gap to be too wide - apart from on one recently where one of the little clip things had broken after many years of sterling service. Even then I only spotted it when checking the enrichment items for safety at clean out and not through any injury.

[Kyrkogrimr]

I've got silent spinners for both of my hamsters and have had no problems

[souffle]

I have also used them for dwarf hams with no issues for years however we do tape over the gap points. We actually just use sellotape and replace as needed and it holds on very well. You can also use aquarium sealant to fill in the gaps as this is safe to use and also washable.