How to make a wheel for a hamster with your own hands?

Hamsters are very cute and unpretentious pets to care for. When properly maintained, they do not cause their owners virtually no trouble. Because of their small size, hamsters are kept in cages or in special small houses. However, do not forget about the natural needs of the animal in sufficient physical exertion. 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 their 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, an independent search and obtaining food is simply no longer necessary, because timely and sufficient feeding to the pet is provided by its owner.

But despite the favorable conditions and satiety, hamsters still need to periodically receive physical activity. This is necessary not only for the entertainment of the animal, but also for maintaining the health of its cardiovascular system. Regular physical activity stimulates the metabolism and metabolism of the rodent, helps to keep the muscle system in good shape.

And in a small cage, you need to give the hamster the opportunity to move, because releasing him in a free walk is not safe. 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 desired, they can climb onto the simulator and run at any time.

The only drawback is that the hamster belongs to nocturnal animals. 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 should be suitable in size. The animal should not be closely inside, otherwise it will not be able to move comfortably. Too huge dimensions of a running design are also undesirable. It will be very difficult for a hamster to twist such a wheel with his paws. For an adult Dzungarian hamster, a diameter of 14-16 cm is suitable. It is better for animals of the Syrian breed to make a larger attraction, since they are larger. For an adult, the diameter of the circle should 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 be injured. For individuals of small and medium size, it is better to make a simulator 5 cm wide. For larger breeds, a track width of 7-8 cm is recommended.
• The running wheel should spin easily. Otherwise, the animal will tire quickly and may lose interest in its attraction.
• It is worth making sure that the pet does not injure its paws during classes. This directly depends on the material and surface texture of the treadmill. If you decide to use mesh materials, then make sure that the cells are as small as possible. Otherwise, during the run, the hamster's foot may get stuck in them. And also on the simulator there should be no sharp notches or tubercles that the hamster may trip over.
• The treadmill inside the wheel should not be slippery. Therefore, a smooth plastic surface should be pre-glued with a dense cloth. For her, the pet will be able to cling to the claws.
• At installation of a wheel it is necessary to take care of its reliable fastening. The animal moves on the track rather intensively, and the shaky structure can tip over during its run. Therefore, the treadmill needs to be attached to the rods of the cage or put on a solid and stable support.

Necessary materials: a large round plastic bottle, a nail, a dowel with a diameter of 1 cm, a strip of dense fabric.

Step-by-step instruction:

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

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

The course of work involves several steps.

• Using a compass, draw two identical circles on the cardboard and cut them out. They will serve as walls on both sides of the track.
• On circles with scissors, make 2-3 square or round windows. Their dimensions should be slightly larger than the dimensions of your pet. Through these holes, the hamster will be able to get inside his running wheel.
• From the remaining cardboard, cut a long strip 5-7 cm wide. This will be the path of the attraction.
• Glue a strip of cardboard between two circles.Let the glue dry and hold the parts together.
• Define the center of the circle and pierce both walls with a spoke in this place.
• The resulting wheel can be put on a support or attached to the wall of a house or cage with a flexible wire.

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

The manufacture of a running attraction:

• the first thing to do is to remove the metal cylinder from the faulty hard drive, to do this, open the disk 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.
• from the fabric, cut a strip along the width and length of the treadmill and glue it on the inner surface of the tin container;
• so that the design is as quiet as possible, you can glue a circle of fabric to the bottom of the can;
• take the metal cylinder from the hard drive and glue it exactly in the center of the round wheel wall;
• after the parts are firmly connected, the running wheel can be mounted on the bars of the cage.

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