Despite seeming like a fairly simple item, hamster wheels come in various designs and styles. Here’s what you need to know before purchasing. Size of Your Hamster This article is about the exercise device for rodents. For the Australian television satirical comedy series, see The Hamster Wheel. Wooden Hamster Wheel, size 33cm Like other rodents, hamsters are highly motivated to run in wheels. Hamsters are protected under The Animal Welfare Act and there is a good argument that small hamster wheels should be banned. In addition, Hamster cages which are too small to fit an adequate sized wheel should also be banned. As well as classically helping your hamster improve health, balance and agility, this wheel is made from 100% wooden material, creating an incredibly smooth motion unlike plastic, reducing the likelihood of annoying noises.

Most plastic wheels tend to be incredibly squeaky and noisy, and given hamsters can run up to 6 miles in one day, the endless rattling can soon become a living hell. Hill, Lorraine (2004). Caring for your hamster. Franklin, TN: Dalmatian Press. p.64. ISBN 9781403708854 . Retrieved 21 June 2020. Morin, L. 1978. Rhythmicity of hamster gnawing: Ease of measurement and similarity to running activity. Physiology and Behavior 21: 317-320 Veillette, M.; Guitard, J.; Reebs, S.G. (2010). "Cause and possible treatments of foot lesions in captive Syrian hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus)". Veterinary Medicine International. 2010: 951708. doi: 10.4061/2010/951708. PMC 2896862. PMID 20613965.

To provide a suitable environment and to protect hamsters from pain and suffering the following changes need to be made so that pet keepers are not breaking the law:

Gattermann R., Weinandy R., and Fritzsche P. 2004. Running-wheel activity and body composition in golden hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus). Physiology and Behavior 82: 541-544.

The majority of hamster wheels are made from either plastic or metal. Metal is obviously a stronger material and is far more durable than plastic, but it is also harder to clean. Wooden wheels are also available and usually the quietest, however, they require varnishing to prevent stains and don’t last as long. Stands/ Fitting Mrosovsky, N.; Salmon, P.A.; Vrang, N. (1998). "Revolutionary science: an improved running wheel for hamsters". Chronobiology International. 15 (2): 147–158. doi: 10.3109/07420529808998679. PMID 9562919. Garland, T., Jr., H. Schutz, M. A. Chappell, B. K. Keeney, T. H. Meek, L. E. Copes, W. Acosta, C. Drenowatz, R. C. Maciel, G. van Dijk, C. M. Kotz, and J. C. Eisenmann. 2011. The biological control of voluntary exercise, spontaneous physical activity and daily energy expenditure in relation to obesity: human and rodent perspectives. Journal of Experimental Biology 214:206-229. Anyone who’s ever had a hamster before knows that while an exercise wheel is often the joy of your little furballs life, it is conversely nearly always the bain of yours. Reebs, S.G.; Maillet, D. (2003). "Effect of cage enrichment on the daily use of running wheels by Syrian hamsters". Chronobiology International. 20 (1): 9–20. doi: 10.1081/CBI-120018329. PMID 12638687. S2CID 21925891.Tierärztliche Vereinigung für Tierschutz ( TVT) recommends wheels should be at least 20cm (8″) for Dwarf Hamsters and at least 30cm (12″) for Syrian Hamsters, since smaller diameters lead to permanent spinal curvatures, especially in young animals. “ The research also found that hamsters use their wheel for an average distance of 8.3km per night. To make it worse, hamsters are nocturnal creatures too, which means you can often say goodbye to sleep and hello to midnight marathons. Belke, T.W., and Wagner, J.P. 2005. The reinforcing property and the rewarding aftereffect of wheel running in rats: a combination of two paradigms. Behavioral Processes 68: 165-172. Try to also choose a wheel with a solid running surface. Classic rung designs can actually be harmful to hamsters as their feet can be easily caught between them while running. Special Features Recent theory suggests that hamster balls are not recommended for exercise outside of the cage. The balls prevent the rodent from using touch (whiskers) and smell to navigate the area. It also restricts airflow and can catch toes/tails in the slits meant for airflow.

It is a criminal offence to ignore the requirements of The Animal Welfare Act: – to provide a suitable environment and to protect your pet from pain, injury and suffering. When selling unsuitable products retailers are misleading you as a customer to break the law. Captive animals continue to use wheels even when provided with other types of enrichment. In one experiment, Syrian hamsters that could use tunnels to access five different cages each containing a toy showed no more than a 25% reduction in running-wheel use compared to hamsters housed in a single cage without toys (except for the running wheel). [14] In another study, female Syrian hamsters housed with a nestbox, bedding, hay, paper towels, cardboard tubes, and branches used a wheel regularly and benefitted from it as indicated by showing less stereotypic bar-gnawing and producing larger litters of young compared to females kept under the same conditions but without a wheel. [15] Laboratory mice were prepared to perform more switch presses to enter a cage containing a running wheel compared to several meters of Habitrail tubing or a torus of Habitrail tubing. [16] Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 1949, p. B20/4 (advt.), referenced in Oxford English Dictionary, Draft Additions, Sep. 2007, under entry “Hamster.”Wheels which are smaller than 28cm (11″) should not be advertised as being suitable for a Syrian Hamster. Blue Cross is one of the UK’s leading animal charities established over 125 years ago, they recommend the following hamster wheel sizes for different species: Cobos, E. J., Ghasemlou, N., Araldi, D., Segal, D., Duong, K., & Woolf, C. J. (2012). Inflammation-induced decrease in voluntary wheel running in mice: a nonreflexive test for evaluating inflammatory pain and analgesia. PAIN®, 153(4), 876-884. Meijer, Johanna H.; Robbers, Yuri (2014), "Wheel running in the wild", Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 281 (1786): 20140210, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0210, PMC 4046404, PMID 24850923 Cages which are too small to accommodate at least a 6.5″ wheel should be banned. This wheel size is only suitable for a Roborovski hamster (the smallest type). A cage that is too small to fit a 6.5″ wheel can not provide a suitable environment for any species of hamster.