Super Pet Run-A-Round
This is Stella, my Syrian hamster. She's not my first hamster (not by a long shot), but she's the first one who's gone through six exercise wheels in as many months. Up till recently, I was happy with a standard wire-rung exercise wheel, but after many anecdotes of hamster injuries caused by feet slipping on the rungs, I decided that they weren't worth the risk. But the next wheel I tried was too noisy, and the one after that had other safety issues, and... after realizing just how many wheels I was going through in my quest for perfection, I decided to create this web page to share what I have learned with other hamster owners. After all these months of trial and error, there is still no One Perfect Wheel that I recommend without hesitation. I have not tested any wheels with dwarf hamsters, rats, mice, or gerbils, since I haven't got any handy. I am only testing free-standing wheels that can be purchased separately from a cage. Stella's cage is a Martin's cage with 1/2" by 1" wire mesh, preventing most of these wheels from successfully side-mounting on the walls. (I'm not losing sleep over this: a free-standing wheel is fine, if prone to being knocked over, and the corresponding security one gets with narrow bar spacing is more than worth it.) I'd be happy to answer any questions about the wheels or hamsters in general, or to hear your own experiences with wheels; feel free to email me.
Reviews below are listed roughly in order of how much I liked the wheels, from worst to best.
Standard wire-rung wheels
Manufacturer: S.A.M., among others
Cost: approximately $5
Diameter: 7" - 8"
Running surface: wire rungs
Attach to wire cage: usually
Noise level: low
Notes: The typical wire-rung hamster wheel has pretty much fallen out of favor among pet-keepers, because hamsters' feet and legs can be injured by falling through the rungs if they misstep. It's a bit of a pity, because nothing is quieter than a greased all-metal wheel. The stereotype is that they squeak, but I've never had a dab of Vaseline fail to silence them. There's really no recommending them, though; anecdotes of injuries are easy to find and no night's sleep is worth a broken leg.
Super Pet Run-A-Round
Manufacturer: Super Pet
Cost: approximately $5
Diameter: 8" (20cm)
Running surface: wire mesh
Attach to wire cage: Yes
Noise level: low
Notes: This might be considered one step up from a wire-rung wheel, since it has a wire mesh running surface with holes presumably small enough to prevent feet from falling through. However, it has other drawbacks. I strongly recomment against buying this wheel unless you are always going to keep it mounted to the side of a wire cage. When the wheel is free-standing, the small hooks on the base can trap small hamster limbs. I know of one hamster that was severely injured when this occurred. It's also flimsy; although you can't see from the manufacturer's photo (and I don't have my own, because I threw the thing out), the arms do not connect to one another in the center of the wheel (as an axle would). Instead, they're just short hooks. This makes for poor support and a wheel that wobbles significantly when a reasonably heavy hamster runs on it. Stella never built up any momentum on this wheel because of the wobble.
Super Pet Comfort Wheel
Manufacturer: Super Pet
Cost: about $8
Diameter: 8" (20cm)
Running surface: solid plastic
Attach to wire cage: Yes, but greater bar spacing than 1/2" by 1" is necessary.
Noise level: High
Notes: Reasonably well-designed from a safety standpoint, this is nonetheless one of those plastic wheels that goes rattleRATTLErattleRATTLE the entire time Stella is running on it. Squeaks in metal wheels can be oiled out; plastic-on-plastic rattling can't. The wheel looks like it should be detachable from its base, but the finger grips are flimsy and I didn't want to break it finding out. If so, it would only fit cages with bar spacing greater than 1/2" by 1".
Multipet Workout Wheel
Cost: no longer made
Diameter: 8" (20cm)
Running surface: solid plastic
Attach to wire cage: no
Noise level: moderate
Notes: This is an interesting wheel: a hamster owner who was curious about how far his hamster ran in a night rigged an odometer with a magnet, and ended up patenting the idea and having the wheel manufactured by Multipet. It's generally a good wheel, and the odometer feature is truly amusing. I've had hamsters run up to seven miles in a night! (You can, with some care, rig a "Wodometer" for the Wodent Wheel and get similar results.) The wheel itself is a simple and acceptably decent design. It had an annoying rattle, which I chalked up to movement of the two magnets in their plastic housing. I placed tape across the magnets to keep them from moving, and although it's quieter now there's still a somewhat irritating plastic-on-plastic rattle as the wheel rotates. The other drawback? Good luck finding one. They were only made for a short period of time and are rarely seen for sale anymore. (There's a S.A.M. product called the "Workout Wheel" that's completely different. I occasionally see the Multipet Workout Wheel on eBay.)
Super Pet Silent Spinner
Cost: approximately $10
Diameter: 6.5" (16.5cm)
Running surface: solid plastic
Attach to wire cage: Yes, but greater bar spacing than 1/2" by 1" is necessary.
Noise level: very low
Notes: Super Pet makes a wide variety of hamster wheels. Why, then, does this particular one not come in an appropriate size for a Syrian hamster? It's offered only in 4.5", 6.5" and 12" diameters. Most Syrian wheels are 8", though they can generally get by with 7". 6.5", though, is just too small. The central axle only extends slightly into the wheel, in a rounded nub, so I thought perhaps it would be usable, but Stella was quite uncomfortable in it. She had a go at running for a few seconds, then irritably began chewing at the axle nub. Her back was also bowed from the steep curve. I'm not sure she's heavy enough to easily move the 12" version, but I'm inclined to give it a try because this wheel really is beautifully designed (and when I gave it a spin with my hand, it went on and on and on -- it really doesn't take a lot of force to keep it moving). And it did indeed seem to be silent. Not a hiss, not a rattle. However, because it was too small, I didn't give it a proper trial, so any verdict must be tentative. This would probably be a great wheel for a dwarf hamster.
Transoniq Wodent Wheel
Cost: approximately $10
Diameter: 8" (20cm)
Running surface: Solid plastic
Attach to wire cage: No
Noise level: low to moderate (hissing)
Notes: This is the famed Wodent Wheel, endorsed by the ASPCA, promoted by small animal clubs everywhere. They've certainly got a lot of things right: a solid running surface, no possibility of pinches anywhere, a nifty hidey-hole design that's naturally attractive to rodents. Noise is generally low, though mine has a persistent hiss despite efforts at lubricating the axle. It's noticeable enough that I'm glad the hamster cage isn't in the bedroom. So what's the problem? Why didn't my search for the ultimate hamster wheel end here? Because Stella pees in it. And then she runs in the pee and patters around with little urine-stained feet until I clean the thing. I'm really not inclined to wash my hamster wheel on a daily basis; Wodent Wheels do disassemble for cleaning, but you must remove a small pin and washer and I've nearly lost both down the sink drain more than once. I find the pin somewhat difficult to re-insert. Plus, the wheel came with a dark grease on the axle, and it gets all over my fingers. If you have a hamster with normal bladder control, an occasional cleaning will probably suffice, and the benefits of this truly thoughtfully-designed wheel outweigh the drawbacks. But you can see why I prefer open wheels that can be cleaned without disassembly.
