Not running on wheel?

[animelover10143]

Haii So i just had a question about them not using the wheel? Shadow will run like mad in his gerbil ball but not on the wheel and Snowy won't run at all...not on the wheel or in the ball... She just had pups so im not worried right now seeing as theres not a wheel in the cage for her to run haha but im worried when shes not pregos will it affect her weight if shes not having that exercise? sometimes i take her out and she runs on my bed or on the floor/flat surface/etc for SOME sort of exercise...

any tips? or has this happened to anyone before? When i put her in the ball she will just sit and clean her face or curl up and go to sleep right there in the ball haha

If yall could comment it would be much appreciated

[Euro1989]

Wheels and balls are not really suitable for Gerbils in general. I don't use either of them. Balls can be quite scary and intimidating for Gerbils and wheels can cause stereotypical behaviour. As long as they get regular exercise out of the tank to have a little run around and a big tank to burrow that should be plenty for them!

[tangerine]

As far as I know with the wheels, it all depends on the gerbil. My two boys had a silent spinner for a month or two and they never ran on it once, and yet I know of some gerbils who just love their wheel! I'm not a huge fan of the balls because they tend to pick up bits of dust and make it hard to see, and like Euro said it can be quite intimidating, but I wouldn't be too worried about not using their wheel or ball.

[andpeaches]

I wouldn't be worried at all One of my gerbils loves the wheel and used it from day one! The other one just used it for the first time today and I've had them for around 6 weeks now! It may come in time, or not at all! Just make sure lots of other exercise opportunities are given

[gerbilluv3980]

If your gerbils don't run on a wheel or in a ball I think they won't get enough exersise. But both my gerbils run on the wheel. Both of them hate the ball, when I put them in the ball they just stand there and wait for me to take them out.

[sofluffy]

My gerbs love the balls I agree, I also think it depends on the individual gerbil/s and what they like

[redsky]

Just got my gerbils a new wheel yesterday as the old was wasn't suitable really. One of the youngsters sits on it, the oldest one who had the old wheel put his front paws on it and the other youngster won't go near it at all. I'm not worried if they don't use it, they come out to play and change their tunnels everyday so get plenty of exercise.

On the note of balls how do you tell if they like them? My older gerbil runs around but bumps into things all the time, the other two aren't yet stronger enough to push it around.

[sofluffy]

Mine were bumping in to things, so I got stands for them (the ball sits in the stand, so when the gerbils run, it stays on the same spot.) Remy will run for 5 minutes, stop for a couple, run again, stop etc. And I don't think she would run so much if she didn't enjoy it.. :/ Nibbles just sits in it; doesn't run in it very often. But I just use them to keep them in while I clean out their tank So I don't expect them to run in them, but if they want to, that's up to them

[redsky]

Fair enough. Well the wheel has been a success for us. The two younger ones love it, Bournville doesn't. But hey maybe she is just too lazy.

[ahtnamas]

It may depend on the wheel type.

There's the wire wheels and the solid plastic wheels from Habitrail. My gerbils preferred the Habitrail-type wheels, and they also wouldn't get their feet caught between wires.

[rooey]

This is what Roo seems to think his wheel is for flic.kr/p/bbm9d4 haha, he will run on it too for short periods of time, but not very often. He has a ball that he's in maybe once a month while I clean his cage, I use it for containment more than exercise. Honestly he's always so busy digging or chewing I feel like he gets a lot of exercise doing that, I also let him run free in my bathroom once or twice a week to stretch his legs, which I feel is a lot better quality exercise than running on a wheel or in a ball.

[will0wisp]

That video of Roo is adorable, I think he's smart for figuring out how to spin it without running
As to the OP, it all depends on the gerbil. One of my pairs of gerbils that I owned as a girl, well they didn't like their wheel at all so they decided to chew it up. I never bought any more wheels since

[animelover10143]

Aw Roo is so adorable! My hamster does that sort of thing also but I actually think he's trying to run on the top not just spin it haha

Sofluffy the stand sounds like they would like it more then running around dizzily and bumping into things ;D

[sofluffy]

That video is adorable!

[ziggyandgizmo]

Mine NEVER use their wheel. I've heard horror stories about the balls, so I won't waste my money on one of those. While they don't get much out-of-bin time since they escape on me every time I do that, I think they get plenty of exercise. My gerbils have a foot of shavings and broken down cardboard (that they chewed down themselves), and they spend so much of their time building tunnels, tearing them down, and rebuilding them, that I can't see being told they aren't getting enough exercise. I've heard that some gerbils like wheels, and some don't. I would pick mine up, stick it on the wheel, start to turn the wheel to show the gerbils what it was for, and they still wouldn't use it. The wheel is no longer taking up space in their bin, and instead they get plenty of cardboard toys in which to play (plus the foot of shavings, which is awesome for them)