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Pebbles82 · 06-30-2022, 01:37 PM

I've been meaning to update this for a few days

. I put the wheel in Raffy's cage - and the labyrinth house, a few nights ago.

Before that I put the wheel in the playpen so Raffy had a go on it first (and it would smell familiar once in the cage). He absolutely loves it! He had a go on it straight away. He went back and forth between that and his trixie wheel in the playpen a few times, then abandoned the trixie wheel entirely and spent ages in the Rodipet wheel. So I took that as a sign of approval. Now last time I tried that (with the Getzoo wheel) it was the other way round. After trying the Getzoo wheel he abandoned it and went back to the Trixie wheel. The only real difference, apart from a lip at the front on the Getzoo wheel, is it was incredibly smelly! (Like glue fumes) - so maybe that put him off. It certainly put me off!

Anyway the 31cm Rodipet is HUGE! It does fit in the cage though. Sits about a cm or two below the edge of the cage base. The wheel itself is totally silent - not even paws pattering due to the cork surface. It spins incredibly well - a bit too well at first - it carries on going round a bit after they've finished running. This was something Raffy got used to very quickly and he now stops before getting out of the wheel (I was worried he'd get "carpet burns" at first with it still going round after he jumped off and stood next to it). But he got the hang of it and absolutely loves it.

To fix it to the cage it definitely needs something to attach it to - not just straight on the bars. I didn't want to cut up the stand in case I need it in future. But I do have the stand from Pip's rodipet wheel - which is smaller but the same depth of wood. So just cut the base off that.

So basically the wheel is still screwed onto the stand, but the screw and one washer are on the outside bars. This keeps the wheel well away from the cage base and very stable. (I was concerned, with it being so big, that it might rub against the tapering cage base inside but that's not an issue as it sits well proud of the bars).

I was going to update Raffy's thread as well, as have a video of him running in it in the playpen but haven't got round to uploading the video yet. But here's a picture of the wheel in the cage.

Now although the wheel itself is completely silent, once attached to the cage there is a very slight bit of rattling occasionally (only when Raffy really hammers the wheel and thunders in it). Nothing to do with the wheel - it's the Savic Plaza - the bars aren't as strong as on cages with fixed wire tops - so it's actually the cage bars rattling slightly. But it really isn't noisy and nothing like the noise the last wheel had attached to the bars. It's very secure and stable though, and very well made.

Wish Rodipet did a 29cm wheel though! Quite a big difference between 27cm and 31cm. They are regularly out of stock the 27cm ones as well.

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06-30-2022, 01:37 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: 31cm Rodipet wheel I've been meaning to update this for a few days . I put the wheel in Raffy's cage - and the labyrinth house, a few nights ago. Before that I put the wheel in the playpen so Raffy had a go on it first (and it would smell familiar once in the cage). He absolutely loves it! He had a go on it straight away. He went back and forth between that and his trixie wheel in the playpen a few times, then abandoned the trixie wheel entirely and spent ages in the Rodipet wheel. So I took that as a sign of approval. Now last time I tried that (with the Getzoo wheel) it was the other way round. After trying the Getzoo wheel he abandoned it and went back to the Trixie wheel. The only real difference, apart from a lip at the front on the Getzoo wheel, is it was incredibly smelly! (Like glue fumes) - so maybe that put him off. It certainly put me off! Anyway the 31cm Rodipet is HUGE! It does fit in the cage though. Sits about a cm or two below the edge of the cage base. The wheel itself is totally silent - not even paws pattering due to the cork surface. It spins incredibly well - a bit too well at first - it carries on going round a bit after they've finished running. This was something Raffy got used to very quickly and he now stops before getting out of the wheel (I was worried he'd get "carpet burns" at first with it still going round after he jumped off and stood next to it). But he got the hang of it and absolutely loves it. To fix it to the cage it definitely needs something to attach it to - not just straight on the bars. I didn't want to cut up the stand in case I need it in future. But I do have the stand from Pip's rodipet wheel - which is smaller but the same depth of wood. So just cut the base off that. So basically the wheel is still screwed onto the stand, but the screw and one washer are on the outside bars. This keeps the wheel well away from the cage base and very stable. (I was concerned, with it being so big, that it might rub against the tapering cage base inside but that's not an issue as it sits well proud of the bars). I was going to update Raffy's thread as well, as have a video of him running in it in the playpen but haven't got round to uploading the video yet. But here's a picture of the wheel in the cage. Now although the wheel itself is completely silent, once attached to the cage there is a very slight bit of rattling occasionally (only when Raffy really hammers the wheel and thunders in it). Nothing to do with the wheel - it's the Savic Plaza - the bars aren't as strong as on cages with fixed wire tops - so it's actually the cage bars rattling slightly. But it really isn't noisy and nothing like the noise the last wheel had attached to the bars. It's very secure and stable though, and very well made. Wish Rodipet did a 29cm wheel though! Quite a big difference between 27cm and 31cm. They are regularly out of stock the 27cm ones as well. Attachment 53369 Attachment 53370 Attachment 53371 Attachment 53372 Last edited by Pebbles82; 11-26-2022 at 04:18 PM.