No wheeling?

[hanhan27]

Hi all. I finally got my CSBW in the mail, and got it all set up and at the right height and whatnot.

I put the wheel in Milly's cage the night I got it and gave her a chance to get used to the sight of it. The next morning, there was poop allllllll over the PVC stand, but nothing on the wheel itself.

The next night during play time, I gently put Milly on the wheel and sloooowly turned it. The second it started moving, she got a little concerned and made moves to try to escape. I let her get off the wheel, calm down, gave her some food, and plopped her back on. My fiance turned the wheel slowly while I held my hand near hedgie to make sure she didn't dive out of it. She reluctantly moved her legs, but just kind of... slid down the wheel as it turned. She did that for about 2 minutes. Then she got frantic in her attempts to get off the wheel so I gave it up and let her play UNDER the wheel, which she loves to do.

I guess I'm just curious how to go about teaching her how the wheel works. Sometimes when I try to do things with her, like show her a new toy or try a new treat, she will intentionally pay no attention and walk away, and then 2 seconds after I give up, she'll decide to give it a try (but only after she's decided that it's HER idea to try it, not mine ). She's really stubborn and "my way or the highway", but it genuinely seems like she doesn't get the concept of the wheel.

I checked the wheel this morning and there wasn't even a speck of poo on it, so I'm positive that she isn't using it.

Could she be scared of it? Or just being stubborn? What do I do. I don't want her to get overweight.

[Kenzy]

That's how Oscar was at first too! Poop all over the stand, but none on the wheel. I'm guessing you've already tried showing her how to use it with the lights off? You can put little treats on the wheel as positive reinforcement and see if she responds to that. It might just take her a couple days or a week or two to get used to it? I know at first my wheel was too high, so I put it lower and a few days after the height adjustment Oscar started to run on it all the time (SO MUCH POOP !) Some hedgies are really picky and won't run on it if it's tilted a way they don't like/aren't comfortable with, so sometimes you just have to play around with adjusting the wheel. Maybe she's running but not leaving any poops? Before Oscar started using his as a litter box he would run on it, but just leave quills instead of poop... though I'm guessing from your post you didn't find any quills either?

[panda]

already some good points made but i'll just add too that since the csbw can adjust in so many ways you definitely want to try to play around with it... look at the angle of the bottom of the wheel.. where hedgie would be walking... and make sure it is something that slightly angles down, so poop and what not can fall out, but not too dramatically so that hedgie feels like they could fall out or off. it may just take some time. when i first got my wheel i tried introducing it to my hedgie just like you did and she reacted the same way, i'm sure soon enough you'll wake up one morning to a wheel full of evidence ;]

[LarryT]

Sometimes it takes a few days to get use to a new wheel,most hogs will not run for a audience and need complete darkness. IMO there is nothing you can do except let them grow accustom to the wheel. When you say you finally got your wheel that's because you traded the CSW for the CSBW to fit your cage,sorry just don't want people thinking i'm slow to ship.

[hanhan27]

Oh no, Larry! That's not what I meant at all. It just felt like forever without a wheel for Milly because I could tell she was restless and just wanted to run run run all the time. Your shipping was very prompt, and the wheel itself is well made and trustworthy. Nothing but good things to say from me!

I tilted the wheel a little bit UP last night before bed. By up, I mean the outer edge of the wheel is higher than the inner edge of the wheel, so she can't slip out. I also put a folded up piece of fleece right in front of it in case she was nervous about climbing on, and there's pee on it.

Anyway, I woke up and voila. There is poo EVERYWHERE. Literally everywhere. All over the running surface of the wheel, the sides of her cage, the fleece under the wheel. Ahh. Most people would've gone, "Ewww!" but I said, "Wooooohoo, Mildred!!"

What a relief. I was kind of starting to wonder if Milly is a little slow.

[LarryT]

Originally Posted by hanhan27

There is poo EVERYWHERE. Literally everywhere. All over the running surface of the wheel, the sides of her cage, the fleece under the wheel.

Welcome to the hedgehog world so glad she took to it! I know you meant nothing by it

[susanaproenca]

Oh come on, we all know Larry sits at the post office all day long with a bunch of wheels, just waiting for people to place their orders...

[LarryT]

Originally Posted by susanaproenca

Oh come on, we all know Larry sits at the post office all day long with a bunch of wheels, just waiting for people to place their orders...

Shhh,don't tell my trade secrets!

[hanhan27]

Originally Posted by LarryT

Welcome to the hedgehog world so glad she took to it! I know you meant nothing by it

It took me a good 10 minutes to clean the sucker out. I know you said to avoid getting the roller blade thing wet... that said, what's the best way to clean the inside of the wheel? I used the 50/50 vinegar & water solution and a barely damp paper towel around the inside part of the roller blade thingy, but it's still a little poopy underneath the zip ties.

I am SO happy that she decided to use it! Like I said, she has to think that something is HER idea before she'll try it out.

Originally Posted by susanaproenca

Oh come on, we all know Larry sits at the post office all day long with a bunch of wheels, just waiting for people to place their orders...

I was suspicious of this...

[LarryT]

When you spray it on let it sit 2-3 minutes and the cleanup will be alittle easier. I use the O-celo dishwand filled with Ivory soap and hot water,my hedgies have their own bathtub so I wash them all in there.