DO RATS & MICE NEED A WHEEL? | Rodent replies 🐭
DO RATS & MICE NEED A WHEEL? | Rodent replies 🐭
Do rats & mice NEED a wheel in their cage? What wheels are safe for them? Find out in todays Rodent replies!
Don’t forget to leave your suggestions for future topics or questions you’d like me to cover in another rodent replies!
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Most big breeders don’t use wheels so "must have " absolutely NOT. The smaller wheels do not cause deformities and if the wheel is taken away they stop carrying their tails up.
My mouse loves to run and pee on his wheel, is there anyway to help keep it from smelling (because it stinks lol) or do I need to just wipe it down all the time? I love your videos btw!
I feel bad…My mouse has a small wheel and his tail curls when he runs. I’m gonna try to buy a flying saucer wheel
I breed mice and they absolutely love wheels 😊
would it be safe to put duct tape over a wire wheel so that its covered?
When I was young 11-14 I had two girls and I’d strongly suggest staying away from the metal barred wheels as my poor girl caught her tail and it broke off a big portion of her tail, she recovered fine but wasn’t the same. Her sister would fight us when we was cleaning her tail to keep it free from infection.
one of my mice useto love using her wheel now she never uses it and my other mouse doesn’t either
"some do provide them with wheels and found that they just use them to sleep on" lmao idk why but i busted out laughing
Thank you for this video! I recently rescued a mouse from a bad storm and I didn’t know about the importance of wheel sizes. Though he seems comfortable running I’m definitely going to get a larger one for him. Thank you❤️🐭
Which rat breeder would you recommend?
Do you need to change your mouse food every day or do you wait until it is gone?
I have a question: do you ever have to cut your rat’s nails?
I couldn’t really find anything on YouTube about if you need to or not.
Thank you!
My male mouse loooooves his wheel.
I like the way u talk……
Hello there, me again. Just wondering, if I’m going to pick up my rats from far away, would you recommend using a small cage instead of a carrier. (About 3h way back to the cage. Thanks!
I have tried multiple wheels but they never use them. It is an 16inch wheel. I own 3 rat boys. Can I take the wheel out? If I take it out i can fit a dig box.
The balls make great huts in my mouse cage if you fill it with toilet paper!
is an 11 ich wheel fine?
G’day thanks for the info, some very good points raised and you further educated me. I’m also really glad you mentioned not forcing them to run in balls, I’m sure there will be some grateful owners and pets alike for that one. Great stuff!
Where can i get a good sized wheel?
3:10 is it just me that or does that wheel say suitable for ferrets. I mean I have seen ferrets demotivated or ferrets that don’t run away from me. But from what I have seen I don’t even think the ferret would even be able to get on the wheel
Can confirm that my two boys only use their wheel as a bed so far 😂
I have got my mouse a new cage but I can’t fit his old wheel in their so I put a silent spinner in it but he has no idea what it is! Do u know why?
My little mice girls love their wheel, it is a solid plastic one. Nova the wee ninja likes to climb on it, and she frequently falls off, but she’s so small she doesn’t get hurt. Love your videos emi
I have a hamster and he loves and is always eager to go into his ball so is it ok to let him go in it still? 🐹🐹🐹
I got a flat kinda wheel for my rats (like the green one you have for the mice but bigger) and they just flip it over and toss it around their cage
Please, Do not buy a wheel for your mice! It is a fact that mice are not smart enough to understand the wheel and they will just think they are running away. There have been many studies about this. Buying a wheel is just very very sad for mice!
Can you get the Prevue 528 for 2 or 3 female mice? Is that a big enough cage? Also is the Kaytee clean and cozy bedding safe for mice or should I use aspen shavings?
I was young so I have forgiven myself but, I put my hamster in its ball and left it alone to roam around. I forgot about the poor thing and the ball was very fragile so it broke open. My dogs found the hamster and then it just went downhill. I was very hurt and hated myself for a long while. That was ten years ago and I now feel a lot more comfortable with my pets and I am looking to get two rats in the future! Love the videos btw <3
I got the largest Wodent Wheel for my rats, and ended up with (female) rats with wheel tails.
So I shouldn’t put one of my mice in a ball?
My boys don’t even sleep on the wheel, they sleep under it. At least they’d be using it for something if they slept on it but nope.
Would you mind linking a good rat wheel that is not too expensive?
My female rats use the wheel nonstop! I’m thinking about adding another one to the cage because they have to share it between the three of them.
My frisky rat, Faerie, uses it the most, and bumble loves sitting on it just to watch faerie scrabble around trying to get it to move. Clover walks on it sometimes
I put my old hamster wheel in my rat cage but they don’t know how to use it
I’ve had a lot of (girl) rats over the years and none have shown any interest in wheels. They love to run in straight lines, especially along the back of a large sectional sofa we have.
I had Merlin who recently passed away. 🙁 and he was smart to pee in the litter box most of the time. But my 2 girls play tag with their marking. While playing one will pee on me and the other will pee on the same spot. They’re very competitive. They have a marble stone yet they won’t use that for peeing alone. They’ll pee EVERYWHERE so I need to clean often. Is there a way to train them? I’ve tried many ways but they just don’t get it. And one of the girls is very competitive and defiant. She respects my authority per se. But they pee everywhere especially while in estrus. Also I am allergic to it. When they climb on me or I’m in contact with them for a long time it affects my breathing. And where their little nails touched I get welts as if I’ve been stung by bees or bitten by ants. They itch and irritate. I’ve heard allergy to rats can come from urine and saliva. I think it’s the urine. They walk all over it. I always manage the temperature and check their tails to make sure they’re warm. And cool when needed. Yet one of them pees in their hammock and lays in it. She has always done this. So I have to constantly wash their bedding and hammocks and clean the cage. How do I better this issue?
I read the title as “do mats and rice need wheels”
My mice don’t know how to use their wheel, lol. Only 1. So I keep a saucer and a wheel in one cage
I have a big wooden wheel for my rats, only one rat uses it 😅
The only reason I have resorted to a metal wire wheel is because all the plastic wheels I have gotten have been eaten by my rodents. I’ve had to replace all my plastic accessories for glass or metal to prevent them from ingesting the plastic because once the wheel was gone they’d move on to their bowls and water tanks.
I’ve bought them several chew toys and sticks to chew on instead but they have no interest in them. I honestly do not know what to do about them lmao
What is the largest size of wheel for a mouse? I want to get my mouse a 11 inch wheel but before I do I wanted to make sure it’s not to heavy for them to push. Thank you!
I got my mice a 9 inch wheel, is that too big? They don’t have enough weight to get it going. I think they might be kinda young, so I really hope they grow into it.
I have two girls rats and they do have a wheel
If the smell of rats makes you ill then is there any other way to stop the big smell? Like a type of bedding mabye or air conditioning?
I have the Metal wire wheel for my 2 mice 😬😬😬 sorry
No, mice do absolutely not need a wheel as long as their enclosure is big enough. There are some individual mice that would benefit from wheels/saucers but those individuals most likely have higher energy or they might be stressed for some reason. If given the mice a wheel or saucer I would suggest to only offer it to them once or twice a week to ensure they don’t develop stereotypical behaviours. Wheels for rats is very uncommon in my country as far as I know, it’s a taboo subject I’d say. Personally I have never thought of giving my rats a wheel for a variety of reasons 1) Rats are big, heavy rodents so finding a big wheel that doesn’t take up all the space of the cage would be expensive as shit and hard to come by. 2) A big enough cage, a big variety of enrichments, puzzles and outside-time should be enough. 3) Stereotypical behaviours is something I really do not want in my animals lives. 4) Running in a wheel can never replace running free, it’s just not the same thing. Just the same repetitive movements over and over while outside they jump, twist, turn, dig, climb etc. 5) I have never ever seen a big enough wheel. Their backs and tails always curve which is something you definitely do not want.
And yes, wheeltail in mice is a true diagnosis and is caused by small wheels. There is also a gene (in the US or something I believe) that makes the mice tail curl, which is horrible.
Is there such a thing as a wheel that’s too big? If I can get a 14" chinchilla wheel from someone, can I use it for rats too? (I’m hoping to get 2 dwarf rats and 2 full size rats, so wondering if a 14" wheel might be too hard for dwarfs to move.)
Okay, I’m kinda concerned. A certified mouse breeder I’m involved with doesn’t recommend wheels of any sorts. They say that it isn’t normal behavior for mice at all. A wheel running mouse is addicted to running on the wheel because it gives them runners high.
They say it’s best to give them more options to climb, explore and burrow. Mice are able to exercise themselves without a wheel. And they are not like hamsters anyways and running isn’t their main way to release energy.
What concerns me, is that I kinda see the addiction side on all the pet stores I’ve ever visited. The mice just keep running until exhaustion. Every single one of them. It’s almost as if their life had nothing but the wheel in it. Isn’t it odd that a mouse such an intelligent creature just starts using all of its time doing such a mindless task like running?
The pettube keeps pushing this idea of wheels all the time as something that is necessary. A must , and practically the very most important thing in a mouse enclosure. I don’t know what to think about this. If they are addicted to running, their life isn’t as good as it could be. I can’t even find anything that talks about wheel addiction, it’s all about how much they enjoy running…but enjoyment is part of an addiction and thus means nothing.
Petstores naturally wouldn’t care about the wheel addiction, rather they would encourage it because mouse who’s experiencing withdrawal would change everybodys opinion about not buying one, and it is one of the most expensive items in a mouse enclosure.
Idk, pettube seems so strict about this.
My rats never use their wheel 😑😑😑