Switched dwarf’s wheel, use plummeted. What should I do?

[ModernIdiot742]

I saw abrokecupoftea’s thread but I think this is different enough.

I’ve had a hybrid dwarf for 2 weeks. I think he’s about 3 months old. He had a 10” wooden Niteangel wheel, the one with the cork lining. He loved it, did 2-2.5 miles a night. But it turns out he’s a wheel pee-er and I wanted to get have something easier to clean.

So I got one of their super silent plastic wheels. The one with ridges for traction, and I got 8”. It’s still big enough, I’ve seen him on it. He can run as fast as before too. But he’s turning in distances in the area between basically 0 and 1/2 mile. It’s been 4 nights.

I’ve confirmed the wheel spins easily. The pedometer is correct, I checked that too. The numbers it’s giving me match up with how much I see him on the wheel in my hamster cam overnight. It’s in the same spot as his old one.

He’s behaving totally normally otherwise. He’s not injured. He spends all his time foraging and chewing like usual. He has been digging more than before, I think he might be starting to make real tunnels.

I’m worried his use hasn’t picked back up. He took to his old wheel instantly. I figured maybe he needed a day or two, but things aren’t anywhere near normal. And I don’t know what to do. Should I give it another couple days or a week to see if he comes around? Or do I need to put the old one back and just give up? If so, what’s the best way to manage a wheel that’s getting peed on all the time?

There’s one related change of behavior I’ll note, because I don’t know if it’s useful. From my camera, he liked sitting in his old wheel and eating when he wasn’t running. Now he seems to be doing that in his sandbox instead. He eats in the new wheel a little, but far more in the sandbox than ever before. And that change happened when the wheel did.

 

[Maz]

Hi. If you've only had him for two weeks then a wheel change is a big change for a hamster It takes them about two weeks just to adjust to a new environment, so this has probably disorientated him a bit, and also he probably really loved his wheel and misses it! I recently changed one of my Syrian's wheels - it was slightly bigger than his old wheel and also spun much better as it was a silent wheel so it was an upgrade. But he was also very cautious the first few nights and didn't take to full running straight away.

I think what I would do is - clean the wood and cork on just wash it or wipe it with warm water basically, gently. Then let it dry and then paint it with plastikote enamel paint - it's pet-safe and virtually odour free. It's what people tend to use on wood wheels and I've also painted the cork running surface. That seals in any remaining odour and also makes it wipe clean if it gets pee'd in again. I have only ever painted the inside of wood wheels - eg the inside back and the running track, as that is the only bit that gets affected really - the outside has always stayed clean on mine. You would need two coats of plastikote. However I believe that for that wheel you can just buy a replacement cork running track, peel the old one out and put the new one in - which would make things much easier. Obviously you wouldn't want to replace it every week if it gets pee'd in, but you could replace it and then plastikote it.

Meanwhile you could leave the smaller 8" plastic one in, and give it a few days. But I suspect it's the size that is making him less interested - 10" is much better for a dwarf hamster and easier for them to run in. 8" is technically big enough but a bit on the small side - more for a roborovski hamster, 9" is ok as well. And yes with a larger size like that, they sometimes do like to just sit and swing in it I think also he probably just loved the comfort of the cork! My favourite ever wheel was a rodipet wood and cork one very similar to the niteangel wheel and for all its not as simple as plastic, it is so nice for their feet!

Are you in the Uk? If so plastikote is cheap and easy to get. A coat dries in a few hours but it's best to leave it overnight IMO before doing the second coat, to make sure there's no stickiness before doing the second coat. You would think painting cork would spoil it but it doesn't seem to. It's less matt obviously but still a good running surface.

Then when that wheel is sorted you can swap it back again and maybe keep the plastic one for playpen time. I suspect he really loved his 10" cork wheel and is a bit subdued. But he might start running more in the next few days once he's less suspicious of it. It will smell unfamiliar at first.