Chinchilla Wheel

Chinchilla is a very mobile animal. Cell tightness and lack of movement can have a catastrophic effect on his health. For such a pet, a running wheel is a prerequisite for living in a cage. A mini-simulator is available at the pet store. But some owners of animals prefer to make a wheel with their own hands.

The homeland of Short-Tailed and Long-Tailed Chinchillas is South America. These animals live in the Andes mountains, at an altitude of 500 to 5000 meters above sea level. As a home, they use cracks in the rocks, and where they do not exist, they dig holes. Chinchillas can live up to 20 years, but often become victims of predators. The indefatigable energy of animals helps them survive in the harsh conditions of the Andes.

Domestic chinchillas are as fussy as their mountain relatives. Paws of animals are able to make long jumps, animals need active running. Blood stasis caused by a passive lifestyle in a cramped cell can lead to atrophy of the muscles of the hind limbs. Therefore, the wheel is not only an entertaining element, but also solves the serious tasks of preventing various ailments.

A running wheel for chinchilla has a number of requirements. They relate to the safety of the animal and apply to both factory and home-made products.

• The running surface should be smooth, even, but not slippery.
• The simulator should be firmly fixed to the walls or floor to avoid turning over.
• If the foot enters a mesh or plank surface, it may injure the animal.
• The running wheel should not be too heavy, since the weight of an adult rodent does not exceed 500-600 g, it will be difficult for him to spin a powerful simulator with small paws.
• The volume of the wheel is selected by the size of the pet, that is, one and a half times larger than the animal itself.
• Making the simulator yourself, you should not get carried away with paints and varnishes, you need to remember that the rodent will taste everything.

Pet shops sell running wheels for rodents. Dimensions of devices should range from 28 to 45 centimeters. But in reality, there are small wheels designed for hamsters, for chinchillas such simulators are suitable only in childhood. Occasionally, larger specimens made of metal can be found. Their cost is much higher than small plastic models.

If the owners of plush animals cannot find the right wheels, they order them from the craftsmen or make trainers with their own hands. By type of running wheels are divided into plastic, metal and wooden. Considering each group separately, the user himself determines which material he has more confidence in.

Plastic products are difficult to find for an adult chinchilla, since their diameter does not exceed 32 centimeters. But the material itself has many advantages:

• it is lightweight, durable, does not absorb moisture and odors (if the animal mixes it with the toilet);
• rodents do not taste plastic, which helps the wheel maintain its original appearance for a long time;
• it is easy to look after a plastic product, it is easily washed and disinfected;
• such wheels belong to the cheapest price category.

Of all types of structures, it is metal products that are recognized as dangerous. If the wheel has a mesh surface, the animal can claw to one of the cells with its claw. During the movement of the wheel this is fraught with injuries. Sometimes, instead of a mesh surface, you can find a lamellar. This type of simulator is even more doubtful, there is a danger of getting the paws between the plates.

In other respects, metal simulators have many advantages:

• they are strong and durable;
• the pet will not gnaw them;
• the wheel does not absorb moisture and odors;
• the simulator is easily disassembled for disinfection and the possibility of caring for it.

Wood is an environmentally friendly material, tactile and energetically close to animals with its natural properties. The ideal structure does not have sharp edges and a mesh surface; it is safe and comfortable. But wood is inferior to metal and plastic by the following criteria:

• it easily absorbs moisture and odors;
• difficult to care for;
• chinchillas happily gnaw at a wooden surface.

The size of the wheel should match the size of the pet. A comfortable size is an indispensable condition for the simulator, because a chinchilla runs several tens of kilometers per day. Daily running in a tense unnatural state will lead to spinal deformity and disorders of the musculoskeletal system. An adult chinchilla will need a wheel with a diameter of 40-45 cm, for a baby animal - 35-40 cm.

If the question of the need for a chinchilla with a wooden wheel is no longer there, you can begin to manufacture it with the given parameters. Before starting work, the necessary materials are prepared:

• plywood for the manufacture of the base of the wheel and its rim;
• measuring instruments;
• screws, large bolt;
• jigsaw for working with plywood;
• drill;
• 1-3 cm wide rail.

Using a drill, you need to drill a small hole on a plywood sheet, it will become the center of the circumference of the wheel.For an adult chinchilla, the size of the simulator should be 40 cm. With this parameter in mind, a circle is drawn around the hole.

During the run, the body of the animal should be at the bottom of the structure, and not distributed in a tight circle, turning up. Too compact a product will cause the rodent to stumble and crank; failure to move can result in personal injury.

The measured circumference must be carefully cut with a jigsaw and cleaned off the end part with coarse-grained emery paper to a perfect smooth state. In the final version, the circle will be connected to the rim with a plank surface. At this stage, the bezel should be cut out of plywood. It should repeat the diameter of the circle and be a few centimeters wide. The cut part must also be sanded.

A treadmill is collected from pieces of reiki. It is cut into fragments of 15 or 17 centimeters (the width of the treadmill). The outer ends with which the animal can come into contact are also treated with sandpaper. Using self-tapping screws, fragments of the battens connect the circle and the rim. Gradually, a rodent treadmill is formed step by step.

The design is ready. The next step is to create a rotation node. For him, you need a long bolt (15 cm), the diameter of which must coincide with the hole drilled in the center of the circle. The bolt is inserted from the inside of the wheel and goes to the outside, where the washer is screwed onto it. For smooth sliding on the bolt put on a rubber bearing.

On the outside of the simulator, a bracket is attached to the bolt, which is cut out of plywood. Its design parameters depend on the tastes of the master, the main thing is that the wheel does not cling to the floor during movement. A holder connects the product to the platform. It is better to fix it tightly to the floor so that the animal does not turn it over.

A fresh, just made wheel has a pleasant smell of wood. The scent can attract the chinchilla, and it will begin to nibble the structure. For this reason, the product should not be painted or varnished so that the animal is not poisoned by paintwork.

Most often, special efforts are not required, the pet quickly evaluates the gift, and so quickly that it completely forgets about the owner. If the animal still does not understand what the thing was put in the cage, he can be prompted in certain ways. You should wait a bit first. A comfortably exposed and fixed wheel should interest the chinchilla. If the animal still does not understand what to do with the new toy, the wheel should be slightly turned up and down, but so as not to frighten the pet.

A rodent can be invited to the running surface using treats. Climbing on it, he will feel the movement and can figure out what to do next. If he does not climb, he should be helped, put on the wheel. Then shake slightly, covering the entrance with your hand so that it does not slip out. Sometimes the fresh aroma of wood encourages the rodent to take a completely different action, and he perceives the new toy in his own way. In this case, time and patience will help, you need to leave the chinchilla alone until everything happens in a natural way.

After reviewing user reviews, you understand that chinchillas are more likely to encounter the opposite problem. They ask questions how to instill the animal with the skills of the reasonable use of the simulator. The animal runs in it for days. He sleeps, eats and relieves his need next to a new toy. It is especially depressing to the owners that the animal no longer asks for arms and, it seems, does not need people at all. The experienced "chinchillovods" reassure, offer to let the rodent play enough for a couple of weeks, promise that in the future everything will go as it should.

Watch a workshop for making chinchilla wheels in the next video.