Saucers or Mesh?

by Winter Moose Thu 07 Sep 2017, 5:25 am

Which type of wheel do you like best? Mesh wheels, or saucer wheels? Both have different pros and cons, so I'm excited to see what the overall favorite is! Confused

by CallaLily Thu 07 Sep 2017, 6:21 am

If I could only choose one I would go with the saucer. It's a more natural position for them to run in, easy to clean, quiet, all of my mice have enjoyed them, and they can run together just as easily on them. I know many feel they take up too much room, but it's easy enough to build a MES for them to sit on so no space is wasted.

My mesh wheels are great too but I find they get terribly squeaky if I don't grease them well with coconut oil every week. Where the saucers stay silent practically on their own. That's the main downfall with mesh wheels, imo.

But luckily I don't have to choose just one wheel, so I prefer to have both and give the mice the choice. Smile

by stephlisa Thu 07 Sep 2017, 6:25 am

I think for me it depends on the mouse. Colin actually loves his comfort wheel best of all and has never worked out how to use a saucer...but he does love his big mesh wheel too.

by Peachy Thu 07 Sep 2017, 8:45 am

I'd go with mesh. I already kind of do, I don't think anyone has the saucers in their cages at the moment. lol I think it's easier for them all to play on the wheel at the same time. You know, one of my colonies is a bit bigger so they have three wheels, but all eight of them prefer to pile onto one wheel rather than split up. Don't think they'd manage on a saucer. Shake head

Years ago I bought a comfort wheel for one mouse specifically, and she wouldn't touch it! She didn't like the solid back or something. As soon as I gave her a mesh wheel she was running away on it. Then, last year I gave it to my current girls and they chewed off the knobby part that held it together... and it fell apart. Guess they didn't like it either. lol

by Winter Moose Sat 09 Sep 2017, 2:53 pm

I think I'm going with a saucer wheel. It doesn't take up as much space in my tank, and I've heard that it is good for multiple mice. I am definitely considering getting a mesh wheel later on, to switch out. Thanks for the suggestions!

by Anilec Sun 10 Sep 2017, 6:58 pm

I personally use the silent spinner wheels, the mesh ones aren't great for their feet if they run on it a lot and I've heard horror stories of rodents who got their tails cut or broke their legs on mesh wheels. Also the solid wheels are more quiet Wink

by Winter Moose Sun 10 Sep 2017, 7:21 pm

@Anilec

Actually, mesh wheels are perfectly safe for mice. It's the barred wheels that are dangerous. Mesh wheels give the mouse the ability to grip the wheel if they make a sudden stop, whereas the plastic ones will fling the mouse off. If you oil a mesh wheel often, it will be just as quiet as a plastic wheel. I also think the 6.5 silent spinner is too small, because they don't make a 7 or 8 inch one.

by frankmouse Sun 10 Sep 2017, 9:52 pm

WinterWhisker~ wrote:Which type of wheel do you like best? Mesh wheels, or saucer wheels? Both have different pros and cons, so I'm excited to see what the overall favorite is!

i would always do saucer. mesh wheels are dangerous to tails. my friends mouse mini had a mesh tail and it gave a burn type scratch to minis tail. i have also heard nails can get caught. and saucers and silent Smile

by Winter Moose Mon 11 Sep 2017, 10:27 am

frankmouse wrote:
WinterWhisker~ wrote:Which type of wheel do you like best? Mesh wheels, or saucer wheels? Both have different pros and cons, so I'm excited to see what the overall favorite is!

i would always do saucer. mesh wheels are dangerous to tails. my friends mouse mini had a mesh tail and it gave a burn type scratch to minis tail. i have also heard nails can get caught. and saucers and silent

Actually mesh wheels are perfectly safe for mice. It's the barred wheels that are extremely dangerous. The mouse that hurt it's tail on the mesh wheel could have been too big for the wheel, causing its tail to get hurt from the wheel.

by Anilec Mon 11 Sep 2017, 12:22 pm

WinterWhisker~ wrote:@Anilec

Actually, mesh wheels are perfectly safe for mice. It's the barred wheels that are dangerous. Mesh wheels give the mouse the ability to grip the wheel if they make a sudden stop, whereas the plastic ones will fling the mouse off. If you oil a mesh wheel often, it will be just as quiet as a plastic wheel. I also think the 6.5 silent spinner is too small, because they don't make a 7 or 8 inch one.

Hm personally I disagree. You could have mesh wheels for years and never have a problem but the chance of a little meeses getting hurt on the metal bars at the sides of the wheel is too common for me to risk it. Broken limbs, broken backs, cut tails etc. Also even though it's rare I'd worry too much about bumblefoot. I'm not sure about all plastic wheels but mine has a textured running ground so your pet shouldn't slip. Oh, and don't forget that the silent spinner comes in a 12" size as well as the 6.5"

This isn't meant to come off rude so I hope it doesn't but just to share my opinion in response to yours Smile

by AnonymousMouseOwner Mon 11 Sep 2017, 3:22 pm

Anilec wrote:
WinterWhisker~ wrote:@Anilec

Actually, mesh wheels are perfectly safe for mice. It's the barred wheels that are dangerous. Mesh wheels give the mouse the ability to grip the wheel if they make a sudden stop, whereas the plastic ones will fling the mouse off. If you oil a mesh wheel often, it will be just as quiet as a plastic wheel. I also think the 6.5 silent spinner is too small, because they don't make a 7 or 8 inch one.

Hm personally I disagree. You could have mesh wheels for years and never have a problem but the chance of a little meeses getting hurt on the metal bars at the sides of the wheel is too common for me to risk it. Broken limbs, broken backs, cut tails etc. Also even though it's rare I'd worry too much about bumblefoot. I'm not sure about all plastic wheels but mine has a textured running ground so your pet shouldn't slip. Oh, and don't forget that the silent spinner comes in a 12" size as well as the 6.5"

This isn't meant to come off rude so I hope it doesn't but just to share my opinion in response to yours

I suggest reading over this discussion well: https://www.petmousefanciers.com/t152-why-are-mesh-wheels-safe

There are arguments to just about all of the dangers you are listing. Really, they are no more dangerous than any other plastic upright wheel. Bumble foot in mice is extremely rare, and when this rare occurrence happens, I haven't heard of mesh wheels being the cause. Bumble foot in mice is usually caused by walking on a mesh floor or platform for a very long time.

I actually found an interesting document on bumblefoot written by a veterinarian here: http://sawneeanimalclinic.com/downloads/bumblefoot_pododermatitis_in_rodents.pdf

Also, hamsters can get bumblefoot from mesh wheels, and it happens often, but I haven't heard any cases of bumblefoot from these wheels in mice. Not sure why, but hamsters are a lot more prone to bumblefoot, and people often think that mice are this way too. Including the mice I have now, I have had 14 mice, and they have all been given mesh wheels, I have never seen any injuries from them. Smile