# New Wheel



## sawyerashton (Dec 14, 2009)

So I finally got my girls a 12" comfort wheel. 

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753360

One of my girls immediately hopped in and enjoys it very much. Although, she did look at me like, "You idiot, why didn't you do this sooner!" 

Now if i can only get her to stop chewing it.


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## AvaAdoreSmashing (Dec 31, 2009)

You might want to be careful about wheels. I've heard they can misshape rats tails so the curve upwards so it might be best to not leave the wheel in at all times. maybe just give it to them in the evenings or at night to stay active. 

Also watch out for hair loss in the middle of their back. I had a wheel similar to that one and my hamster ran it it all the time, and that nob in the center pulled out some of his hair. 

I've thought about getting my girls a wheel, donno if they'd enjoy it or not. They're out of their cage a lot anyways.


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## AMJ087 (Aug 27, 2008)

Where did you hear that about there tails AVA? Ive never heard that before. Has anyone ever had that happen to their rats? ive only heard that the metal wheels are bad as there feet can get stuck. I have considered getting a wheel for my rats but my female chews a lot and im concerned she'll ruin it right away if its plastic.


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## AvaAdoreSmashing (Dec 31, 2009)

I had heard it a while ago but wasn't sure if it was true or not. A girl posted on here from Sweden and said that there they call it 'Wheel-tail' because it curves their tail upwards. A wheel doesn't allow rats to run naturally (tail straight out behind them) Here is the photo she posted http://img440.imageshack.us/i/dsc05782.jpg/?a=V&ci=0&rt=


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## AMJ087 (Aug 27, 2008)

Thats really interesting. Have any other rat forum users had this experience?
Thats really interesting AVA Im glad you mentioned that, Ill make sure to get more answeres before I decided to ever get one.
Do you know if the tail being like that has any health effects? I suppose balance is effected for sure.


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## sawyerashton (Dec 14, 2009)

Here's what I found....

"Some rats will run on a wheel, but make sure it is a large rat wheel. Rats who run on wheels can develop "wheel tail" which is when they run around all the time with their tails up just like if they were running on the wheel. (This is not a medical condition and can be easily fixed by the rat not running on a wheel anymore.)"

http://www.80stoysale.com/rathouses.html


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## AvaAdoreSmashing (Dec 31, 2009)

It is really interesting I don't have any first hand experience with it. I thought it might be worth mentioning though.


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## sawyerashton (Dec 14, 2009)

yeah, I'm glad you did, but now she gets limited access to the wheel for another reason. She runs on it so fast, it starts bouncing and hops all around the cage bumping into everything. Very Noisy. (not the wheel itself) 

I think the wheel is slightly off balance. I think I'm going to try to set up someway to hang it from the ceiling.


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## AvaAdoreSmashing (Dec 31, 2009)

You could try attaching it to the wall. That might be easier the the ceiling.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I have seen 'wheel tail'
not in my own rats however,
I was at petsmart buying carefresh, and I was "awwing" at the rattys, and noticed one of the girls had athat. I never understood why though. They are weird there, no hammocks at all, no iggloos, and the hamsters had tiny 5 inch wheels (syrians need min of 8 inch)
I have never owned a rat that ran on a wheel oddly enough.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Wheel tail occurs generally when the wheel is too small. It should be large enough the the rat can run with the tail almost straight out. That also helps reduce stress on the rat's spine


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## PaisleyClown (Mar 31, 2010)

All three of my rats have wheel tail, and their wheel is plenty big. I had another rat who constantly used the same wheel and never developed wheel tail. Running in their wheel is probably their favorite activity and I would feel terrible taking it away from them for an extended period of time. They're not in pain, so I don't see a problem with them having a curly tail.


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## TamSmith (Mar 1, 2010)

If they do get wheel tail, it's not a problem. It happens in big wheels too and it doesn't hurt them. It's just an over used muscle. 

And if the wheel is big enough, you shouldn't have to worry about the center of it pulling out hair. I gave one to my girls recently and it has really helped the agression in the cage. My youngest girl uses it the most and a lot of fights have stopped because I guess she just needed something to take her teen angst out on haha


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

They just learn to carry their tail curved when running, some rats will straighten out their tail once off the wheel and others will have a big loop like my Lilith. Take away her wheel or limit her time on it? Never! LOL

There is no damage to the rat unless the wheel is too small, and for females the 11" SP mesh is fine, but bigger males will need the large Wodent Wheel.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Wheel tail is developed because when they run on the wheel they generally have to hold their tails up - and then the muscels get used to carrying the tail that way. However running on a wheel is not really that great for rats because of their curved spines.

I do have a comfort wheel, but I still wont let my rats have access to it all the time. I keep it as a toy for free roaming time.


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