# My Rats Obsessed with the wheel...



## CassieLopez (Jul 29, 2010)

I just got my little Hairless rat named Chloe about a month ago and she is just the sweetest thing. but she is still not litter trained. my other four girls learned pretty quickly so i was suprised. iv been watching her these past few days and have noticed she realy likes the wheel, i mean she wont stop running to even go to the bathroom and all that does is leave a big mess and a horrible smell... so i was thinking i should remove the wheel for a couple of days just long enough for her to get into the habbit of using the litter boxes, and put it back once she has. Would that be a good idea?? or is their another way i should go about it?? 

Okay so now im noticing she likes to crawl to the top corner of the cage and poop. and it eaither lands in or out of the cage somewhere... i have a lot of patience with my rats but this is kinda crazy... iv never owned a rat like this before xD any way to stop this?


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## Capistrono (Apr 12, 2010)

I'm no expert, but from what I've heard you shouldn't have wheels in their cage 24/7. It's absolutely fine to use, but I would maybe alternate days you have it in the cage? They aren't always good for the rat's back.
That might also distract her enough to learn the litter box. But be warned, only one of my rats knows how to use the litter box and the other two refuse to learn. You may just have a stubborn rat.


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## stephaniechung (Mar 9, 2010)

I've heard many things about wheels, that they're bad for their back, that they're too smart to use it anyways... Honestly if they have that much energy to burn, I prefer just to let them run around outside of their cage.

My rats don't care for the wheel. I left it in there for a while and it just collected dust and poop.

As for litter training, still working on that myself.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

i only have one rat that uses her wheel, and man does she love it  her wheel tail is sort of cute lol. as long as the wheel is large enough like 11 or 12+ inches, and solid like a wodent wheel or silent spinner, or one of the mesh ones, they are pretty safe for rat use. if they like them, why not? i would limit her time somewhat though, like take it out at night or only have it out during play time or something


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## oatsnyogurt (Apr 5, 2010)

I have three rats that enjoy running on the wheel. I have it in their cage all the time, and they only use it at night. They don't use it enough to get wheel tail though. I have an extremely old 11 inch wodent wheel.


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## CassieLopez (Jul 29, 2010)

OatsnYogurt said:


> I have three rats that enjoy running on the wheel. I have it in their cage all the time, and they only use it at night. They don't use it enough to get wheel tail though. I have an extremely old 11 inch wodent wheel.


 Whats Wheel Tail? iv never herd of it before... :-\


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## stephaniechung (Mar 9, 2010)

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.)


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Wheel tail is pretty much harmless however. it is just when the muscles are used to being in that position hehe. All my mice have it despite having a large 8 inch wheel.

As long as the wheel is large enough I don't see why it is an issue unless she is getting hurt or sick.
I know my boy Curly would never forgive me if i took away his favorite toy xD


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## eddricksmommy101 (Jul 16, 2010)

Cute! Curly Q tail!


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Yeah wheel tail is harmless, however rats do have curved spines and even the large wheels do not promote a healthy posture for their spine. So I wouldn't let your rats have access to it 24/7. Its much better for them to get their excersize by free roaming


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

that's my 5 month old girl luna on an 11" wheel  she loves it, but it try to limit her time on it because she won't stop running on it unless i take it out : squeak squeak squeak squeak rattle rattle all night lol. see how she holds her tail up though? when she runs on it she curls it completely with the curve of the wheel so the tip is almost touching her back. if they run on it too much their muscles stay like that so they carry their tail like that even when they're not on the wheel


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Jaguar you always take such great pics 

My one girl LOVES her wheel. I just got it for her, and she is on it allll the time.
It's a 12 inch Wodent wheel, I like the larger wheels better. but my small girls can use the 11 inch wheel.


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## EdieBird (Apr 9, 2010)

I have a 12" Silent Spinner in my boys' cage, and two of them use it from time to time. Not often, though, as they prefer to run and bounce together to burn energy. Lothar's tail is held up high anyway, like the wheel tail everyone describes, but it was like that long before I gave him a wheel. (his younger brother is the same way, he has NO wheel and his tail is always up high. Pretty funny as they both black with a white tip on the tail and when they're playing you see this white tail tip held up like a flag for the others to chase)

My girls have a 12" Flying Saucer, and Pandora uses it ALL the time. If she's not asleep, she's running on it. It's a different shape, though, so the tail doesn't have to arch up. Takes up a lot of floor space, however, and the girls have been chewing on the plastic base. It also moves with vigorous use, and well, Pandora runs HARD. I have to move it back a lot, or it's hitting things when she runs and rattling. I may have to invest in the metals ones that chinchilla owners use! Those at least bolt to the side of the cage and don't move. I think if I took it away, she'd drive the older girls bonkers and I'd end up with fights because she's so hyper. LOL


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