Doesn't seem to realize how to use wheel?

by Cinder Wed 14 Nov 2018, 11:30 pm

I'm pretty sure it's the first time in my boy's life that he has had a wheel. I have watched him (he sniffs it and puts his front paws on the sides but doesn't do much more) and I do a spot clean of his cage often, and his wheel is probably the cleanest part of the cage.

I think he'd have a lot of fun if he realized it's for running. Is there a way I can teach him how to do this?

by Sparrow Thu 15 Nov 2018, 3:10 am

My mice had no interest in their wheels at all, they didn't even bother running on it and I'm pretty sure they knew how. I've only ever seen Foxy run on one and she literally jumped off after not even a minute.

I switched to flying saucers and all of my mice went crazy for them. They started running on the saucer for hours a night (or day). It took them a while to learn how to use them but once they did, it became one of their favorite toys. I tried putting the wheel back in a few more times, no success there.

I don't know if this would work for a mouse, but I know it works for hamsters. If you have a smooth running surface wheel, you could try smearing the tiniest bit of peanut butter on the inside, above the nose level. The mouse would end up pushing the wheel simply by trying to get to the peanut butter. That way he would see how the wheel works and hopefully would pick it up in no time.

Best of luck!

by CallaLily Sat 17 Nov 2018, 4:01 pm

Make sure your wheel is the correct size, that it spins properly, and I’m sure they’ll get the hang of it eventually. Or as suggested above you could try different types, such as the flying saucer. All of my mice loved both upright wheels and saucers.

by Night and Day Sun 18 Nov 2018, 4:24 pm

If you've had him for a while, you could try to "teach" him by spinning it slightly. I did this with my two mice with their water bottle. To them, it was quite confusing. I simply tapped it a bit to make some water come out and they both started using it. If you've only had him for a short while, simply spin the wheel slightly when he's at a distance. If he doesn't get curious, put some of his treats on it.

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