Fluffy prefers his fly n saucer to his normal wheel?

[Fluffy_Unicorn]

Hello,
I am a wee bit concerned that my russian dwarf, Fluffy, isn't running on his regular wheel. It's an 8 inch trixie wheel. He prefers to run on his fly n saucer and he only runs in one direction? I got him on the 20th of April when he was about 7-8 weeks old.

[Ria P]

I had a dwarf who preferred his saucer. He also had an upright wheel but i very rarely saw him use it.
It didn't worry me though and he always had both wheels in his cage.

You could try him with a bigger wheel and maybe get the 28cm Trixie wheel for the playpen/area to see if he'll use it.

[AmityvilleHams]

Does the upright wheel spin easily? Some wheels end up having issues that make them harder for some hamsters to use.

Flying saucer type wheels really aren't a substitute for a proper upright wheel. They don't allow hamsters to run in a completely straight natural position, something that could potentially lead to problems later on especially if your hamster is using the flying saucer instead of a proper upright wheel rather than just occasionally using the flying saucer wheel.

You could try removing the flying saucer wheel entirely and only offer it during out of cage time though, which may very well be the only solution in some cases unfortunately. Once you've done that, if the upright wheel you have currently doesn't freely & easily spin you could also try other upright wheels.

[Fluffy_Unicorn]

Hello, thank you for your replies. I got an 11 inch wheel for Fluffy to try and he definitely seemed more interested. Unfortunately it is faulty so waiting on another one being delivered. I will probably have to remove a level from the cage to fit the new wheel, which is a shame, but I think having the wheel is more important.

[Pebbles82]

Our robo used both . But dwarf hamsters do love flying saucers generally. I think they're fine for a dwarf hamster. The issue as a permanent wheel is for Syrians really, who are longer and can run a bit bent.

[Ria P]

Originally Posted by Fluffy_Unicorn

Hello, thank you for your replies. I got an 11 inch wheel for Fluffy to try and he definitely seemed more interested. Unfortunately it is faulty so waiting on another one being delivered. I will probably have to remove a level from the cage to fit the new wheel, which is a shame, but I think having the wheel is more important.

What kind of cage do you have that doesn't fit an 11in wheel without removing a level?
I'm just wondering if the cage is big enough because a 80cmx50cm cage would fit a wheel of that size.

[Pebbles82]

Maybe the hamster heaven? Needs one of the two shelves removing to fit a large wheel in.

[Fluffy_Unicorn]

Hi, sorry I call it a level. I meant platform. It fits anyway, I did not need to remove the platform. I think the cage is called savic plaza, it's 100x50cm.

Do you think my 20cm (just under 8 inch) trixie wheel would suit a robo in the future? Or would a robo prefer an 11inch wheel as well?

[Ria P]

Yes, that's the Savic Plaza, lucky Fluffy.

The 20in Trixie wheel is fine for a Robo.

[Fluffy_Unicorn]

Thank you