How to make a DIY hamster wheel?

Hamsters are very cute and unpretentious pets to care for. With the right content, they do not give their owners almost any trouble. Due to their small size, hamsters are kept in cages or special small houses. However, do not forget about the natural needs of the animal for sufficient physical activity. In order to enable the pet to be active, various attractions are installed in the home of domestic hamsters. The article will discuss how to make a wheel for a hamster with your own hands.

Hamsters, by nature, are nocturnal rodents. In natural conditions, animals run long distances in order to feed themselves. Hamsters kept at home are deprived of this opportunity. In addition, there is simply no special need to independently search for and obtain food, because the owner provides timely and sufficient feeding to the pet.

But despite the favorable conditions and satiety, hamsters still need to get physical activity from time to time. This is necessary not only to entertain the animal, but also to maintain the health of its cardiovascular system. Regular physical activity stimulates the metabolism and metabolism of the rodent, helps to keep the muscular system in good shape.

And in the conditions of a small cage, it is necessary to give the hamster the opportunity to move, because it is unsafe to let him go for a free walk. Due to its small size, the animal is not very visible, and it can be accidentally injured. But also other pets can be dangerous for hamsters: cats, dogs, large parrots.

A convenient and safe solution to this problem is to install a running wheel directly in the pet's home. Hamsters quite quickly understand how to use it, if they wish, they can climb onto the simulator and run at any time.

The only drawback is that the hamster is a nocturnal animal. That is, its activity in most cases falls on the time of day when we are used to sleeping. Therefore, active night jogging can disturb the inhabitants of the apartment if the wheel creaks or makes a knock.

Before you start making an attraction for your pet, you should at least in general terms figure out what a jogging wheel should be.

• The attraction must be suitable in size. The animal should not be cramped inside, otherwise it will not be able to move comfortably. Too huge dimensions of the treadmill are also undesirable. It will be very difficult for a hamster to turn such a wheel with his paws. For an adult Dzungarian hamster, a diameter of 14-16 cm is suitable. It is better for the animals of the Syrian breed to make the attraction more, since they are larger. For an adult, the diameter of the circle must be at least 20 cm.
• The width of the treadmill also matters. If it is not wide enough, the hamster will periodically fall and may get injured. For small and medium-sized individuals, it is better to make a trainer with a width of 5 cm.For larger breeds, a track width of 7-8 cm is recommended.
• The jog wheel should spin easily. Otherwise, the animal will quickly get tired and may lose interest in its attraction.
• It is worth taking care that the pet does not injure its paws during exercise. This directly depends on the material and surface structure of the treadmill. If you decide to use mesh materials, then make sure that the cells are as small as possible. Otherwise, the hamster's foot may get stuck in them while running. Also, the simulator should not have sharp jags or bumps on which the hamster can trip.
• The treadmill inside the wheel should not be slippery. Therefore, a smooth plastic surface should be pasted over with a thick cloth in advance. The pet will be able to cling to it with its claws.
• When installing the wheel, care should be taken to secure it securely.... The animal moves quite intensively on the track, and the wobbly structure can tip over during its run. Therefore, the treadmill must be attached to the bars of the cage or placed on a solid and stable support.

Required materials: a large round plastic bottle, a nail, a 1 cm dowel, a strip of thick cloth.

Step-by-step instruction:

• measure 7-8 cm from the bottom of the bottle and cut it off at this level;
• in the center of the bottom of the cut container, make a hole and insert the cap of the prepared nail into it;
• insert the nail into the dowel;
• cover the slippery surface of the bottle with a thick cloth;
• attach the homemade wheel to the cage rods with a dowel.

For manufacturing, you need to prepare a strong knitting needle, a sheet of thick cardboard, glue, a ruler, scissors.

The work progress includes several steps.

• Draw two identical circles on the cardboard with a compass and cut them out. They will serve as walls on both sides of the walkway.
• Make 2-3 square or round windows on the circles with scissors. They should be slightly larger than your pet. Through these holes, the hamster will be able to wade into his treadmill.
• Cut a long strip of 5-7 cm wide from the remaining cardboard. This will be the amusement track.
• Glue a piece of cardboard between the two circles.Let the glue dry and hold the parts together well.
• Determine the center of the circle and pierce both walls with a knitting needle at this point.
• The resulting wheel can be put on a support or attached to the wall of a house or cage using flexible wire.

To make a simulator, you will need: a cylinder from a computer system disk (hard drive), a tin can of the required diameter, metal glue, flexible wire, a file, a piece of fabric material.

Making a running attraction:

• the first thing to do is to remove the metal cylinder from the faulty hard drive, for this you need to open the disc cover and carefully remove the part;
• Cut the tin container at a distance of 6-7 cm from the bottom, file the edges with a file.
• cut a strip from the fabric along the width and length of the treadmill and glue it over the inner surface of the tin container;
• so that the design is as quiet as possible, you can glue a circle of fabric and to the bottom of the can;
• take a metal cylinder from the hard drive and glue it exactly in the center of the round wall of the wheel;
• after the parts are firmly connected, the running wheel can be fixed to the rods of the cage.

For a video on how to make a wheel for a hamster with your own hands, see below.