# Do male rats need a wheel?



## ilovemyfatcat (Apr 14, 2012)

I'm wondering, do male rats really need wheels? I'm most likely getting one, anyway, just to be safe, but is it necessary? And also, if I do get it, do you think I could take it out at night? I'd be getting the comfort wheel, which is why, it might be a bit squeaky. Thanks in advance


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## SarahEden (Mar 5, 2013)

Mine hardly ever use theirs so I pulled it out of the cage. They sometimes use it, very rarely when they are out running on my bed. And even then it's only Sam that uses it, I've never seen Dean on it yet.


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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

Mine love their wheels. It's one of the things that make them smile. They use them daily and all night long. 

As for them actually "needing" them...... not sure on that. As long as they get plenty of exercise, they might not. 

As for them being noisy, you can fix that. We used wheel bearings to make our wheels totally silent. Except for the sound of their little claws, they're 100% silent.


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## iHayleyNorris (Jul 28, 2012)

My boys who had wheels as babies use theirs all the time. Splinter, my feeder bin rescue, won't touch a wheel cuz he never had on when he was young. 


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## Aether (Mar 7, 2013)

One of mine absolutely loves his wheel and uses it a lot. The other barely looks at it  Just depends on the rat I suppose.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

My boys love their wheel. All four of them use it, which surprised me since Gus Gus and Bartok likely never saw one in their lives, until I introduced them to one when they were... three or four months old, I think. Bartok goes nuts on it. He sprints and jumps and knocks it over almost daily, lol.

I wouldn't say they need a wheel... and not all rats will use it. Only two of my four girls use their wheel (unless you count using it as a chew toy) and my boys were perfectly happy without the wheel. The only reason I even got them wheels was because a cage I bought came with one, so I introduced each rat to it to see if they'd use it. Once it was determined they would, I bought a better wheel for each cage. Otherwise, I wouldn't've wasted my money just to find out whether or not my rats would use a wheel. It's a risk and an expensive one. The wheel I bought was $17 and I bought _two_. And now one is useless thanks to Cream's chewing. =/

All that to say, don't listen to people who might say "boys never use wheels" (yes, I was told that by the breeder I got Gus Gus and Bartok from), and just get a wheel if you have the money and inclination. It's not a priority, but if they end up liking it, it'll give them hours of fun!

Oh, and as for the comfort wheel; that's what I have. The boys' wheel doesn't squeak. It clatters... loudly. My family can sometimes hear it from across the house. The girls' wheel used to squeak slightly... now it does nothing since it's been chewed so thoroughly. If you're keeping the boys in your bedroom or anywhere near where someone will be sleeping, you'll probably want to take it out at night, depending. It's a good wheel, though. It pops off the stand when Bartok jumps on it too much, and it's very chewable, but I really like it. Bartok likes to use it when I'm watching TV without closed captioning, though... and it gets super loud, lol. Silly Bartok seems to know when I'm watching a show without closed captioning...


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