What do you think of this wheel?

[Hope]

its a type of varnish that is availble in different colours and is safe for kids, so safe for hams too - Ive put a link here to the kid safe page . . .

Decorative spray paints from Plasti-kote, the market leading spray paint

[Hope]

Oh my gosh . . .

Saying that though just looked at the health and safety data sheet and it is kinda scary - I think that its ok once its dry though . . . I mean kids put toys in their mouths and stuff and it says its ok for them. And I have seen and heard of other ham owners using it with out a problem.

[souffle]

The wooden wheels are very good and they are also quiet and a ggod size too.
Plasticote is fine but does need a couple of coats and a while to dry.
Most people just leave the wheels and the wood is very hard and smooth so it is not that hard to wash quickly and dry immediatly. I would equate it to a wooding chopping board type wood! Most syrians do not wee in the wheels much so I think it would be fine.

[Smysha]

Oh, that settles it Souffle - I am getting that wheel! Is the 20cm one suitable?

[fluffymunchkins]

yes 20cm works out as around 8 inches, so thats the best one to go for

[Jesse]

I love that wooden wheel and that would have been my preference but I also considered the wheel weeing (Jesse is a beggar for this!) so I went for the plastic fantastic option of the Wodent Wheel and I must admit its been a great success. Only down side is it kind of acts like a fan so I keep getting a blast of eau d'hammy tiddle! Nice

[Humphrey Furball]

LOL Jesse, I know what you mean about the fan-effect, it can be a bit whiffy

[Smysha]

I guess I'm lucky. Jenga only ever pees in her corner and now she's potty trained!

[Jesse]

That's fab Smysha. I wouldn't know where to start with potty training a hamster, although I've litter trained my bunnies. I shall do some research now Jesse is settled in her new cage. It would be great to have her use one place

[Smysha]

It's pretty easy to do but I had a couple of problems with my hamster. I started by buying a hamster potty and I stuck it in her pee corner and put some of the soiled Carefresh in it which worked except that the potty was awful and broke after a day. I ended up getting a ceramic bowl and filling it with hamster litter or Carefresh but she refused to use it. So I swapped it to sand and there you go - she was potty trained!

Sand isn't a very good substrate though - it didn't absorb brilliantly and it smelt. A pet shop near uni sold their own hamster litter which has the exact same consistency as sand but it absorbs MUCH better. It doesn't clump or smell so it's all good. I'd watch out for a litter like that if I were you.