Trixie 61011 Running wheel, plastic, ø 28 cm (Assorted)

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Hill, Lorraine (2004). Caring for your hamster. Franklin, TN: Dalmatian Press. p.64. ISBN 9781403708854 . Retrieved 21 June 2020. 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. A related exercise device, the hamster ball, is a hollow plastic ball into which a pet can be temporarily placed. The ball allows the pet to freely roll around on the floor to explore and exercise while preventing escape.

Wheels which are smaller than 28cm (11″) should not be advertised as being suitable for a Syrian Hamster. A hamster wheel or running wheel is an exercise device used primarily by hamsters and other rodents, but also by other cursorial animals when given the opportunity. Most of these devices consist of a runged or ridged wheel held on a stand by a single or pair of stub axles. Hamster wheels allow rodents to run even when their space is confined. The earliest dated use of the term "hamster wheel", located by the Oxford English Dictionary, is in a 1949 newspaper advertisement. [1] Preferences [ edit ]Hibbert, Clare (2004). Looking after your pet Hamster. Smart Apple Media. p.32. ISBN 9781583404331 . Retrieved 21 June 2020. A cage that is too small to fit a 28cm (11″) wheel should not be advertised as being a suitable cage for a Syrian Hamster. Banjanin, S., and Mrosovsky, N., 2000, Preferences of mice, Mus musculus, for different types of running wheel, Laboratory Animals, 34: 313–318. 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

Hamsters are protected by The Animal Welfare Act, it makes owners and keepers responsible for ensuring that the welfare needs of their animals are met. These include the need: Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 1949, p. B20/4 (advt.), referenced in Oxford English Dictionary, Draft Additions, Sep. 2007, under entry “Hamster.” This silent spinner wheel is distributed by Sharples Pet they also specialise in tiny cages, edible chews and kapok bedding.

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:

Choice tests with Syrian hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus) have shown that they prefer larger wheels; the animals chose a wheel diameter of 35cm (14in) over 23cm (9.1in), [2] which itself was preferred over 17.5cm (6.9in). [3] Kolb, E. M., E. L. Rezende, L. Holness, A. Radtke, S. K. Lee, A. Obenaus, and T. Garland, Jr. 2013. Mice selectively bred for high voluntary wheel running have larger midbrains: support for the mosaic model of brain evolution. Journal of Experimental Biology 216:515-523.

Leaflet No. 62 - Pets, accessories contrary to animal welfare" (PDF). TVT (in German). Germany . Retrieved 21 June 2020. Running in wheels can be so intense in hamsters that it may result in foot lesions, which appear as small cuts on the paw pads or toes. [17] [18] Such paw wounds rapidly scab over and do not prevent hamsters from continuing to run in their wheel. The Hamster loving community get frustrated to see tiny wheels being advertised as suitable for both Dwarf and Syrian Hamsters (This is probably because it would only fit a tiny cheap cage). Smaller dwarf and roborovski breed hamsters don’t require a huge wheel, and something between 16 cm and 18 cm should suffice! This would not be comfortable for larger breeds such as Syrians though, and if your hamster is a portly species you’re best off purchasing a wheel of 20 cm or more. DesignHamsters showed no preference between a relatively uniform running surface made of plastic mesh and a surface made of rungs spaced 9mm apart, although they did prefer the mesh compared to rungs spaced 12mm apart, most likely because of the wider space between the rungs allowed their legs to slip through. [2] The hamsters neither preferred nor avoided wheels that had small "speed bumps" installed along the running surface to provide environmental enrichment. [2]

De Bono, J. P., D. Adlam, D. J. Paterson, and K. M. Channon. 2005. Novel quantitative phenotypes of exercise training in mouse models. American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 290:R926–R934. Rhodes, J.S., Gammie, S.C. and Garland, T., Jr., 2005, Neurobiology of mice selected for high voluntary wheel-running activity, Integrative and Comparative Biology, 45: 438-455.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 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. 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. Beaulieu, A.; Reebs, S.G. (2009). "Effects of bedding material and running wheel surface on paw wounds in male and female Syrian hamsters". Laboratory Animals. 43 (1): 85–90. doi: 10.1258/la.2008.007088. PMID 19001065. S2CID 22308514.