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Q: My hamster, Cheeky, doesn’t use his exercise wheel. My friends’ hamsters all do. Is Cheeky just lazy, or should I get him a different wheel?
A: Most hamsters enjoy their wheels, although some don’t, just like some people don’t relish jogging on a treadmill.
One study of wheel preference found that hamsters like large wheels, the 35 centimeter (13.8 inch) diameter size rats use, more than the standard 23 centimeter (9.1 inch) hamster wheel. They also prefer a running surface with closely spaced metal bars, rather than bars covered with plastic mesh.
Another study investigated hamsters’ foot wounds from standard metal bars versus bars covered with plastic mesh. Almost all hamsters developed tiny pinpricks, cuts or scabs on the undersides of their feet, but hamsters that used the mesh-covered wheels had larger and more persistent foot wounds than the hamsters that ran on wheels with metal bars....