What wheels do you recommend for a Syrian?

lottieS · 06-17-2020, 03:17 PM

So my plastic Trixie wheel is beginning to squeak quite a bit, and it is not the nicest colours either. I was looking for a wodent wheel or any large enough wheels and none of them ship to the UK (at least without very expensive shipping)! There was the wooden trixie wheel which seemed alright but then I read the reviews on Amazon and one person said you have to get some type of sealant if you want to stop the pee absorbing into the wood, and another review said the surface was too rough and it made a poor hammies feet start bleeding! So, any suggestions? Bear in mind I have a detolf so there is limited space, I don’t think 12 inch wheels fit unless they have a SUPER short stand.

LunaTheHamster1 · 06-17-2020, 04:03 PM

I highly recoomend the silent runner wheels, they are expensive but they are silent. You can normally get them from:
https://southwest-sugargliders.co.uk/t/cage-wheels

Not sure how it would work out with the stand for height though.

sushi_78 · 06-17-2020, 04:03 PM

I have the wooden Trixie wheel and it has a soft cork surface. It isn't rough at all so I don't know how it could have made a hamster's feet bleed, though freak accidents do happen and that review seems to be an isolated case. It does need sealing to last. Most people use Plastikote project enamel, which comes in pots for about £3. It's 32cm high including the stand.

Pebbles82 · 06-17-2020, 05:07 PM

I second the silent runner 12". It's expensive but seems to last years. It is also actually silent, very safe (solid sturdy stand) and you can get a special bar attachment to attach it to the bars.

The trixie wood wheels now come with the cork running track as sushi says (Zooplus sell them) which is nice for hamsters feet. And yes it really does need painting with plasikote so its wipe clean or it gets stinky. You could actually scrub it but it would probably fall apart after a couple of washes.

I have both those wheels for our two Syrians and the Trixie wheel is already on its last legs (some hard running makes the ball bearings go and they end up scraping on the base at a funny angle). It's kind of luck with the wood ones how long they last.

You need to know it the 12" silent runner would fit in your cage though. On it's stand it's 35cm tall so it's taller than your trixie wheel (about 3 or 4cm taller).

Those are the best two options really. The trixie wheel isn't that expensive and a pot of plastikote only costs about £4. It's a little pot, virtually odourless and you just paint it on with a normal household paintbrush - say half inch size. Only takes a few minutes and it's dry in a couple of hours. But needs a second coat - I wait till the next day to do the second coat so its properly hard. I only actually paint the inside of the wheel, not the outside or the stand as they tend to stay clean - you paint over the cork surface as well.

So it sounds like a hassle but not difficult and quite quick to do - just 10 minutes and a paint brush

This is the link to the cork lined one on Zooplus - some of the Amazon listings are a bit confusing as they show the old version with the slats and you're never sure which version you're getting. And yes there were problems with the slatted versions, with splinters and bleeding feet etc. But the cork one is fine.

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small..._wheels/609617

This is the 12" silent runner - it's imported fromt the US and sold by the sugarglider shop. If it fits in your cage I can highly recommend paying the bit extra for the bar attachment plates rather than using the stand. It works really well attached to the bars plus means you can put the wheel at whatever height/wherever you want and keep the substrate level the same throughout the cage. Unfortunately it's out of stock but if you message them they should say when they're likely to have new stocks.

https://sugarglidershop.co.uk/produc...nner-12-wheel/

This is the plastikote. It's a tiny pot but goes a long way as quite thin liquid and paints on easily.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

lottieS · 06-18-2020, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I second the silent runner 12". It's expensive but seems to last years. It is also actually silent, very safe (solid sturdy stand) and you can get a special bar attachment to attach it to the bars.

The trixie wood wheels now come with the cork running track as sushi says (Zooplus sell them) which is nice for hamsters feet. And yes it really does need painting with plasikote so its wipe clean or it gets stinky. You could actually scrub it but it would probably fall apart after a couple of washes.

I have both those wheels for our two Syrians and the Trixie wheel is already on its last legs (some hard running makes the ball bearings go and they end up scraping on the base at a funny angle). It's kind of luck with the wood ones how long they last.

You need to know it the 12" silent runner would fit in your cage though. On it's stand it's 35cm tall so it's taller than your trixie wheel (about 3 or 4cm taller).

Those are the best two options really. The trixie wheel isn't that expensive and a pot of plastikote only costs about £4. It's a little pot, virtually odourless and you just paint it on with a normal household paintbrush - say half inch size. Only takes a few minutes and it's dry in a couple of hours. But needs a second coat - I wait till the next day to do the second coat so its properly hard. I only actually paint the inside of the wheel, not the outside or the stand as they tend to stay clean - you paint over the cork surface as well.

So it sounds like a hassle but not difficult and quite quick to do - just 10 minutes and a paint brush

This is the link to the cork lined one on Zooplus - some of the Amazon listings are a bit confusing as they show the old version with the slats and you're never sure which version you're getting. And yes there were problems with the slatted versions, with splinters and bleeding feet etc. But the cork one is fine.

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small..._wheels/609617

This is the 12" silent runner - it's imported fromt the US and sold by the sugarglider shop. If it fits in your cage I can highly recommend paying the bit extra for the bar attachment plates rather than using the stand. It works really well attached to the bars plus means you can put the wheel at whatever height/wherever you want and keep the substrate level the same throughout the cage. Unfortunately it's out of stock but if you message them they should say when they're likely to have new stocks.

https://sugarglidershop.co.uk/produc...nner-12-wheel/

This is the plastikote. It's a tiny pot but goes a long way as quite thin liquid and paints on easily.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Unfortunately the 12 inch silent runner won’t fit because the stand adds too much height. What about the nine inch one? I know it’s a little on the smaller side, but it’s still over the minimum of 8 inches? And I think the wooden one would fit, but I don’t like the sound of having to replace it a lot 😬

lottieS · 06-18-2020, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LunaTheHamster1

I highly recoomend the silent runner wheels, they are expensive but they are silent. You can normally get them from:
https://southwest-sugargliders.co.uk/t/cage-wheels

Not sure how it would work out with the stand for height though.

Yeah, unfortunately that’s not going to fit. I am looking for a quiet wheel though as it’s in my room and the noise drives me insane haha.

AmityvilleHams · 06-18-2020, 06:21 AM

Syrians really need to have a 12 inch wheel unfortunately, so the 9 inch is definitely not an option for Syrians beyond very small young Syrians who will grow out of them extremely quickly. You could try and create at least a partial raised lid to allow for a properly sized 12 inch wheel though.

LunaTheHamster1 · 06-18-2020, 07:39 AM

I would say no to the 9 inch for a syrian. I started off with that after what I thought was good research but it really isn't big enough for the majority of syrians. I wouldn't get anything smaller than 12 inch for a syrian as then in the future it can be used for any syrian hamster, no matter if a small or large syrian.

I would say out of 4 syrian hamsters I have had only 1, Star was ok in a 9inch wheel and that is because she is half the size of all my other syrians, I am guessing because she was malnuirished before she was rescued.

lottieS · 06-18-2020, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

Syrians really need to have a 12 inch wheel unfortunately, so the 9 inch is definitely not an option for Syrians beyond very small young Syrians who will grow out of them extremely quickly. You could try and create at least a partial raised lid to allow for a properly sized 12 inch wheel though.

At the moment with the 11 inch Trixie wheel I have now my hammies back isn’t arched, so I guess I’ll keep using this although I do really hate it, and I don’t think there’s any 12 inch wheels that fit in the detolf. I’ve already made the lid, I guess I could try to make a new one but it seems kind of complicated haha.

Pebbles82 · 06-18-2020, 01:32 PM

11” is fine

. I would go with the trixie wood wheel. It’s pot luck but some last a lot longer than others. However the silent runner would fit in a detolf without the stand! It would mean drilling a hole in one of the end panels and bolting the wheel to the end panel with the cage mounting kit - but you’d need a slightly longer bolt. Without the stand it is of course only about 30cm tall.

The other option is one of the wood wheels from Rodipet. They’re not cheap but well made. They would also need plastikoting. This is the 11” one - although it says 27cm rather than 28cm that is the internal diameter so still a good size.

https://www.rodipet.co.uk/exercise-w...ise-wheel.html