suspending wheels

Mortiana · 03-20-2016, 08:39 AM

anyone here suspended their wheel from cage lids/tank lids roofs etc? thinking of doing it for hetty, just because her wheel is so wide it takes a good chunk of cage up.

anyone had any issues with doing this? how do you make it safe?

SKB_Hamsters · 03-20-2016, 08:51 AM

I tried to do this with my hamsters wheel, but I have the Trixie wheel and when I attached it to the top of the cage with cable ties but the wheel feel off the stand, so she couldn't use it during the night as I noticed it in the morning. I would only recommend if your wheel doesn't come off the stand as the wheel itself could fall off.

AmityvilleHams · 03-20-2016, 08:59 AM

It's a huge safety risk,so I would just say don't do it.If you honestly feel like your wheel is taking up too much space,it may be a good idea to upgrade your cage.

cypher · 03-20-2016, 09:15 AM

I've seen it done successfully a few times at least, just can't remember who by or where those posts would be now, it would need to be a wheel that had a fixed stand but if you can find a way to secure it so it still works no reason why not.

flowerfairy · 03-20-2016, 10:10 AM

I am hoping to do this in my barney cage with the senior wodent wheel when it arrives. I think people on here mentioned using cable ties. Its a great way to free uo floor space in a cage.

leedsgurl · 03-20-2016, 10:26 AM

With the wooden wheels, this is how I've previously suspended them from the top of the cage, as they already have holes in the bottom where they attach the base (this also works if you leave the base on, but I've taken it off here)

I just used some large washers

Vectis Hamstery · 03-20-2016, 10:28 AM

I use cable ties to attach plastic wheels to cages/tanks. I have a large metal wheel to pop into one of my duprasi vivariums which I'll use metal wire around the stand.

Mortiana · 03-20-2016, 12:46 PM

my wheel at present can easily come off the stand so may have to invest in a new wheel first. i have a tank thats 110 ish cm long, and it has a glass divider in the roof. was thinking of using that to give it a bit of extra stability when attaching.

going to have to move my tank around :/ and here was me thinking it was finally sorted!

anyone ever had injured hamsters because of this? just a touch worried she might hurt herself

Mollie · 03-20-2016, 03:07 PM

I have Wodent wheels and they are all suspended from the bars. I sort of 'thread' the stand through, fix it in place with cable ties and voila! Job done.

This way it runs freely and doesn't get blocked up by bedding etc.

Petplanet sell the Wodent Wheels. I have all three sizes now!

Pebbles82 · 03-20-2016, 03:23 PM

Wodent wheels are brilliant hung from the bars. I've only done it from the top but I've seen it done from the side as well. As SKB says, I wouldn't do it with a Trixie wheel because the wheel could fall off the stand easily, but Wodent wheels don't have that issue due to their design. The spin much better upside down I reckon and you have space for substrate underneath them. Have attached a link to the Transoniq site that has lots of examples of how to hang wodent wheels, either in cages or tanks.

The new Silent Runner wheel comes with two square plates for attaching it directly to the bars of the cage. I have it and it's very stable and doesn't bend the bars because the square plates are big enough and take the strain.

Scroll down for photo examples

Wodent Wheel Tidbits

This is my Silent Runner attached to the bars (fits 7mm bar spacing ok)

This is probably what Molly was describing about threading the wodent wheel stand through - Charlie had the Wobust wheel hung from the top for a while. I found 3 cable ties in strategic places worked better than lots of cable ties and it was really sturdy