I have a 28cm Trixie wheel (the green and blue one) and it worked a dream for the 16 months I had my last hammy and the first month of having my current little lady. It was quiet and my hamsters used it all the time and liked it, but now it won't run smoothly and shakes a lot when she's running in it. It also clunks at night when it occasionally hits the stand.
I figured that perhaps it had just seen better days so bought a new one, exactly the same model, from Amazon and it's even worse! The wheel itself hits the stand and makes such a racket that I can't sleep. I've tried with all possible combinations of the new and old wheel and stand and can't get it to work how it did.
I'm going to return the one I just bought as it was a waste of money to buy a new one (I'll wipe it down first of course, even though Peggy only had it in her cage for about 2 hours).
I have two questions really:
Has anyone had the same kind of problem of this wheel becoming unstable over time and do you have any ideas on how to fix it?
Or, can anyone recommend another wheel of the same size that I could try instead? Peggy's a big gal and I can't find another large wheel for sale online.
I should also say that I have tried attaching the wheel to the bars of her cage without the stand, but the plastic tray sticks out so much (she's in a Barney cage) that the wheel only hits it, and there isn't room to fix it so it's completely above the tray.
The only place to keep the cage is my bedroom. I think if the sound wakes me up one more time I will go insane.
Last edited by Shadow Cat; 03-08-2020 at 02:31 PM.
I have a trixie wheel that I use as a spare because it bangs on the stand. It was a bit quieter when I had it attached to a cage once.
I tried the silent spinner but that was SOOOO noisy so I would not recommend. I sent that back.
I have the silent runner. which is expensive but is silent. You only hear the patter of the hamsters feet and I have had 3 of those wheels and not had a problem with any of them.
I know people that have used the big Savic Rolly Wheel, that they think is quite quiet.
I have also used the Savic Orbital which was squeaky when I got it, but I put some vegetable oil on the back of it and it is now quiet.
I have noise sensitivity issues as part of my illness, so I appreciate how you must be feeling.
One other thing I thought of, have you tried turning the wheel upside down and attaching from the roof, I have seen people do that, will you still have the problem of it being noisy?
I don't think the Trixie wheel can be used upside down - people have said it falls off the stand. The wodent wheels could be hung upside down but you can't get those any more.
If it's not too expensive for you, I'd get the silent runner and the bar attachments for it - it's a great solution and it fits really well in the Barney cage. It's also a 12" wheel so plenty big enough for any hamster. I have also found them to be very long lasting (unlike the Trixie plastic ones!) so it was worth the investment in the long run. I used mine for almost 3 years without any issues at all. It's completely silent and spins really well and is also safe and sturdy. The only minor thing is making sure the front and back are firmly pressed onto the running track so there's no gap in the joining strip on the running track - otherwise it wobbles and the gap could get a toe caught. But once you've put it together once it's a piece of cake.
A cheaper alternative would be the wood trixie wheel 28cm and hang that upside down - I did that in the Barney cage as well. You just need to large flat washers. The wheel is held onto the base by two screws. You take the screws out, put the washers onto the screws and put the screws through the top bars (the washers make sure the screws don't fall through and give some horizontal strength) the wheel upside down inside the cage and screw the screws back in again.
That wheel is only about £13 plus £4 for a bottle of plastikote to waterproof it. Whereas the silent runner is £25 plus about £6 for the bar attachment plates. But the silent runner will probably last a lot longer - as long as you don't submerge the back plate in water or the bearings can go rusty. Just wipe it. I've attached a photo of the Trixie wood wheel attached to the top bars. And a video review I did of the Silent Runner wheel when it first came out (we also had a very large syrian at the time). It's a bit long and waffly but you can fast forward! At the end are some photos on how to put it together. Luna also has a video showing how to assemble it.
In both cases, the advantage is you have the wheel near the top of the cage so the substrate is level in the cage (ie plenty under the wheel) and the hamster can't climb on top of the wheel and fall off!
I have the same wheel, i can hear it whirring but nothing disturbing, mine is upside down and the stand cable tied to the roof, against the side of the cage but not attached to the side, i can take a picture if you like, give it a go, nothing to loose
Trixie wheel woes
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