Post by butsam on Feb 27, 2004 6:40:17 GMT -8
My 2 gerbils, Bosco and Finch, can't get enough of the wheel in their cage. Let me just preface this by the wheel being completely safe, no holes to get the tail caught in. This is important.
Anyway, I could go on and on about their wheel usage, but I will limit myself to a few usage generalities and stories to share.
It's funny when they first start up...they stretch out over about 1/3 of the circumference of the wheel to get it going fast right away! Finch tends to get on the wheel, get it moving, then jump off and watch it spin down slowly with nobody on. Bosco will run for awhile, then stop and look at you for a few seconds, then run some more.
It gets most humorous when they both try to use the wheel at the same time, though. (If only we had room for another wheel in our cage! lol) There are several different ways they do this:
1) The most common is with them alternating turns. One of them jumps on while the wheel is moving, and the other one jumps off. They aren't always jumping on/off at the same time, so a lot of times they push the other one off.
One time, one of the gerbils got going so fast, and was not quite used to the wheel yet, so when he tried to stop, he ended up spinning around the entire wheel! He was not hurt, since the angular momentum was sufficient to ensure he would not fall straight down (same principle at work as with a loop on a rollercoaster, or swinging a bucket of water in vertical circles). He was pretty dazed though, having been quite possibly the first gerbil to go on a loop!
2) They will both sometimes get the wheel going with them on together. This doesn't last nearly as long, as the wheel is not deep enough to allow this effectively. Still, it makes for a very good demonstration of teamwork
3) They try running in opposite directions. Neither one of them can figure out why the wheel isn't turning like it normally does, and look at me like I broke it or something! Occasionally, one of them gets more angular momentum on the wheel than the other, and the other slips down and thinks it very strange that the wheel appeared to move in the *opposite* direction they were going!
Sunflower seeds and corn kernels tend to reinforce their wheel-loving behaviors...feed them right after they run, and trust me, they will run it off!
I am convinced that it is now possible to build a perpetual motion machine. Here's how:
1) Build a clear, solid plastic wheel
2) Dangle a sunflower seed on one side of the clear wheel, out of reach (but in sight) of the gerbil.
There you have it, a perpetual motion machine! lol
They can go on (stopping every 10 seconds or so of course for a short, few-second break) for about 30 minutes in a row, about once per gerbil every other day! So they definitely get their 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3x a week...maybe I should be more like them! lol I'll try to get some of this on video, or at least pictures, if I have problems posting the videos.
Sam
Anyway, I could go on and on about their wheel usage, but I will limit myself to a few usage generalities and stories to share.
It's funny when they first start up...they stretch out over about 1/3 of the circumference of the wheel to get it going fast right away! Finch tends to get on the wheel, get it moving, then jump off and watch it spin down slowly with nobody on. Bosco will run for awhile, then stop and look at you for a few seconds, then run some more.
It gets most humorous when they both try to use the wheel at the same time, though. (If only we had room for another wheel in our cage! lol) There are several different ways they do this:
1) The most common is with them alternating turns. One of them jumps on while the wheel is moving, and the other one jumps off. They aren't always jumping on/off at the same time, so a lot of times they push the other one off.
One time, one of the gerbils got going so fast, and was not quite used to the wheel yet, so when he tried to stop, he ended up spinning around the entire wheel! He was not hurt, since the angular momentum was sufficient to ensure he would not fall straight down (same principle at work as with a loop on a rollercoaster, or swinging a bucket of water in vertical circles). He was pretty dazed though, having been quite possibly the first gerbil to go on a loop!
2) They will both sometimes get the wheel going with them on together. This doesn't last nearly as long, as the wheel is not deep enough to allow this effectively. Still, it makes for a very good demonstration of teamwork
3) They try running in opposite directions. Neither one of them can figure out why the wheel isn't turning like it normally does, and look at me like I broke it or something! Occasionally, one of them gets more angular momentum on the wheel than the other, and the other slips down and thinks it very strange that the wheel appeared to move in the *opposite* direction they were going!
Sunflower seeds and corn kernels tend to reinforce their wheel-loving behaviors...feed them right after they run, and trust me, they will run it off!
I am convinced that it is now possible to build a perpetual motion machine. Here's how:
1) Build a clear, solid plastic wheel
2) Dangle a sunflower seed on one side of the clear wheel, out of reach (but in sight) of the gerbil.
There you have it, a perpetual motion machine! lol
They can go on (stopping every 10 seconds or so of course for a short, few-second break) for about 30 minutes in a row, about once per gerbil every other day! So they definitely get their 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3x a week...maybe I should be more like them! lol I'll try to get some of this on video, or at least pictures, if I have problems posting the videos.
Sam
.