Hamster Wheel - Preferences

Preferences

Most wheels are constructed of steel or plastic, both with advantages and problems. Solid plastic wheels are safer for some types of pets, such as hamsters and hedgehogs, because the space between rungs is solid and the animal's feet or legs cannot get stuck between rungs, an injury risk in steel wheels. However, some rodents (such as gerbils) will quickly chew on and destroy plastic wheels, but not steel wheels.

Choice tests with Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) have shown that they prefer larger wheels; the animals chose a wheel diameter of 35 cm (14 in) over 23 cm (9 in), which itself was preferred over 17.5 cm (7 in).An arched back is not a natural position for a running hamster, and if a wheel is so small that the animal must arch its back while using it, then the wheel needs to be replaced with a bigger one although the younger Syrians can use a small wheel while they are still small.

Hamsters showed no preference between a relatively uniform running surface made of plastic mesh and a surface made of rungs spaced 9 mm apart, though they did prefer the mesh over rungs spaced 12 mm apart, most likely because the wider space between the rungs let the legs slip through sometimes. The hamsters neither preferred nor avoided wheels that had small "speed bumps" installed along the running surface to provide environmental enrichment.

Choice tests with mice have also shown a preference for larger wheels (17.5 cm over 13 cm in diameter) and a preference for plastic mesh over rungs and over solid plastic as a running surface. More acrobatic species, such as the canyon mouse, Peromyscus crinitus, and the deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, can develop preferences for wheels that force the animals to jump, such as square wheels or wheels with hurdles along the running surface.