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Old 12-17-2015, 12:18 PM   #1
EbKay82
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Default Help with switching wheels

Hello All-

I'm a fairly hamster mommy- I bought home my sweet little Hammie back in April. She's been so wonderful, even with all my initial "new hamster owner" mistakes, such as having her in the wrong cage. She's very active like female hamsters tend to be, but she's also very sweet and docile. She's never even nipped at me. She's a Syrian.

Anyhoo, she's had her 8 inch wheel since I've bought her home. I can tell that it's a source of comfort to her- she sits, sleeps, eats her treats and grooms in it all the time. I think it's her favorite place to be in her cage, maybe more so than her nest!

The problem is, she's really outgrown it (my baby is a little porker, lol). I need to move her up to a bigger one. I've bought the 11 inch wodent wheel and would like her to start using it, but I don't want to stress her out any.

She's in a 40 gallon breeder, so there's more than enough room for both wheels. I guess I could have them both in there for now, and eventually remove the smaller one, but I'm really concerned about stressing her, or making her upset because her favorite place is gone. Does anyone have any tips on how I can make this transition on her as easy as possible?
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Old 12-17-2015, 01:46 PM   #2
flowerfairy
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

I like your idea of putting them both in at the same time.

That should make things easier for her. Good luck.
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Old 12-17-2015, 04:16 PM   #3
velma
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

I just swapped mine straight over when I did it. But that was all I did. I put it in the cage in exactly the same place as her smaller wheel & I did it between cage cleans so everything else in there was familiar. Cleo doesn't spend all her time in the wheel like yours does -she just runs in it. But I'm sure as long as she has a wheel where her wheel should be, she'll be fine. Maybe you could try rubbing some of her cage substrate over it when you out it in so it already smells like her?
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Old 12-17-2015, 05:03 PM   #4
Scargirl
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

That is a good idea, velma.
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Old 12-18-2015, 04:54 AM   #5
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

I'm sure she'll love it! Some changes stress them, but if it's something they prefer they often take to it well! I can see your point though - if she has a much loved favourite place and it goes, she might be quite upset, even if the new wheel is good. On the other hand if you leave both in, she might still get upset when the old one gets taken out, so probably best to do as Velma says and just swap it. Then the new experience will distract her from losing the old wheel.

And pop a couple of treats inside the new wheel
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Old 12-18-2015, 09:03 AM   #6
EbKay82
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

Thanks guys!! This is all good input, and I like the idea of tempting her with treats, lol.
I just love my little girl so much and want to keep her as happy as possible!
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Old 12-18-2015, 10:26 AM   #7
Bertiebobbins
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

One of mine got a new wheel recently as he got too big for his. I showed it to him during his out of cage time - first he sniffed it, then he ran on it for a while, then he got off and tried to drag it back to his cage. So when it arrived in his cage that evening, it wasn't a new thing he had never seen before and it smelled of him. He is the kind of ham who doesn't like his cage changing at all and will hide for three days if I move or replace anything!
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Old 12-18-2015, 12:00 PM   #8
flowerfairy
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bertiebobbins View Post
One of mine got a new wheel recently as he got too big for his. I showed it to him during his out of cage time - first he sniffed it, then he ran on it for a while, then he got off and tried to drag it back to his cage. So when it arrived in his cage that evening, it wasn't a new thing he had never seen before and it smelled of him. He is the kind of ham who doesn't like his cage changing at all and will hide for three days if I move or replace anything!
What a really good idea. Love the mental picture that I now have of him trying to drag it back into his cage!!!
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Old 12-30-2015, 12:18 PM   #9
EbKay82
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

HI everyone- just a quick update. I left both wheels in there for a few days, but it didn't matter; once she saw that new wheel, it was as if the old one never existed, lol!! She took to the big one right away, and I put some bedding on top of the old wheel to see if she'd still use it, and it hasn't been touched since!! She's using the new wheel the same way as the old. I just love how so much personality is crammed into such small precious creatures!!
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Old 12-30-2015, 12:22 PM   #10
Jenibelle
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Default Re: Help with switching wheels

Haha, so cute! I'm glad it was a welcomed change
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