Wheels

[chichichinchilla]

Anyone have any links where I could find safe wheels for chins.Thats not going to cost me out the butt?lol

[mistywaterwoman]

Excerpt from the thread, Basic Chinchilla Care:

CHINCHILLA WHEELS

I highly recommend having an exercise wheel to keep your chinchilla healthy and happy. A chinchilla needs a solid surface wheel that is going to be durable - they can hurt their feet or even break a leg on the wire wheels, and the plastic ones wear out in 3 months or less. Also any wheel should be 15” or more, so that the chinchilla is not forced to arch their backs too severely while running, which can cause injuries.

There are basically FOUR wheels that I can recommend for safety.

The first, and least expensive, is the Home Made Wheel from the ForCHINate Chins Chinchilla Rescue. It is very HIGH QUALITY and very LOW PRICE, only $15 + shipping. It’s a little on the noisy side, but better than no wheel at all.
www.geocities.com/forchinatechins/chincessories.htm

The next wheel is the Chin Spin from Quality Cage. It's $46 for the 15" wheel (don't get the 12" for a chin, it's not big enough). Most people who have these SWEAR by them; I personally have two. They are wonderfully well made and whisper quiet.
qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_143_144&products_id=1802

The third is the Flying Saucer, also from Quality Cage. It's $70, and a marvel of design. It's supposed to be the best wheel for a chinchillas back. However, some chins take a long time to get used to running on this odd wheel, and some never take to it at all. I have one of these also, but I can tell you they don't use it as much as the Chin Spin. It also (surprisingly) take up more room in the cage than a conventional wheel, because of the design.
qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_143_144&products_id=1803

The fourth, and most expensive, is the coveted Leo Braun wheel. This wheel is WIDELY considered the finest chin wheel ever made. They are out of production and the only place to find them is the classified sections on chin forums, or ebay. If you find one, get it fast because they tend to disappear quickly.

[chichichinchilla]

ForCHINate Chins wheels are now $20 plus shipping
and thanks

[Inked Up Tara]

I know everyone loves those wheels, but I still say I am glad I spent the loot on the saucer!

[Stacie]

& I loooove my ChinSpin! ;D I used one of Carise's wheels but my boys couldn't seem to get it going!

[hushabye]

I found this page on the net homepage.ntlworld.com/bri.pollard/Toys_swings_wheels.htm but I don't know how reliable, or how old it is. It pretty much says exactly what Kara said! I think the chin spin looks great, something about the exersaucer scares me! If you search for Leo Braun on youtube there's a video of a chin running on it, no wonder everyone wants one!

[Inked Up Tara]

Fuzzy loves his saucer, and books on it like a champ! I have a video on you tube or photobucket, i will put it here later, if you want. It can look intimidating, but he goes to town on it.

[hushabye]

Ooo, I'll go look it up right now! It just looks like the edges could be sharp, especially if a chin is running really fast on it.

[Inked Up Tara]

I have the "flying saucer" one, and the edges are rolled, do there are no sharp parts on it. But you better have a large cage, otherwise, it takes up a bit of room

[hushabye]

Oooo, rolled edges are good!! They definitely do look huge!

[mistywaterwoman]

The saucer is VERY nice, but some chins just can't get the hang of it. Amy never could figure it out, so I had to buy her a Chin Spin. Once they had both in the cage, they both preferred the Chin Spin to the Saucer.

The Ed wheel is basically the same thing as the Chin Spin, with 3 differences -
1.) It's more expensive
2.) it's an inch narrower in width
3.) I've heard of the seam on the running surface coming up just a bit, and making a potential hazzard of cutting the chinnie feet while they run. You have to keep a very good eye on it and hammer it back down if it comes up.

[chichichinchilla]

Thanks for the information.

I found a plastic flying saucer but she doesn't want that one. *I understand why though...chins can chew it*

She heard that the wheel sold by ForChinate Chins are really loud and can be hard for the chins to turn. Anyone know?

[mistywaterwoman]

Yep, to both things. The noise is like ball bearings rolling across a tin roof, if you can imagine it, and the dust gets in there and clogs them up pretty bad. I had to take it out once a week and clean it, and lubricate the bearings again to get it working.

Much easier in the long run to spend the money on a Chin Spin - it's whisper quiet, and you can put it in the cage and forget about it! And they last forever.

[Tara]

I have a flying saucer and a chin spin, and either is great. Chico has the saucer and figured it out within an hour or so of putting it in the cage. Chico is "extra fluffy" and I'm not sure he'd fit in the chin spin . Beck has the chin spin, had no problem figuring it out, and it's a nice wheel for much less money. You wouldn't go wrong with either.

[chichichinchilla]

Pretty much I'm going to be spending a pretty penny on new wheels right

[mistywaterwoman]

Yeah, but it's SO worth it. Before I discovered forums and the NICE wheels, I kept getting those stupid plastic "Comfort Wheels" from SuperPet. They would break them at least once a month. $15 for each wheel times 3 for the 3 wheels they went through adds up to more than I paid for the Chin Spin anyway!

[baileysmommy]

i bought bailey a wheel... it cost me 17 bucks and he doesnt even use it lol...hes scared of it. maybe it will take a while for him to like it.

[tinam]

I had trouble coming up with the money too but it was well worth it to get the chin spin. In fact, I would rather have them wheel-less unless I could afford a chin spin or flying saucer.

[Lauren]

I have 3 of Carise's wheels. My chins like them ok. I used Pam cooking oil on them and they are really quiet now. I can sleep through all 3 going at once. The only thing is if I don't spray them regularly they get gunked up and won't spin. Also if you have a huge chin (over 650g) they would probably have a hard time running on them because the running surface isn't that wide.

[mistywaterwoman]

By that definition, 3 of my girls are huge!