Do You Need a Hamster Wheel for Your Dwarf Hamster?

Do you need a hamster wheel for your dwarf hamster or even any other hamster? The short answer is yes! Hamsters are active little creatures that need plenty of exercise. A hamster wheel is not just an accessory for your cage, but a necessary item for the health and wellness of your pet hamster. Robo dwarf hamsters, for example, have been known to travel up to a distance of 4 human marathons every night. That is about 100 miles and plenty of running. In a cage or tank, your pet hamster can only get all that running if you provide it with a hamster wheel.

How to pick a good hamster wheel

A good hamster wheel should be a solid one without rungs. The gaps between the rungs are dangerous and may cause your dwarf hamster to break a limb if they fall though it while running at high speed.

The hamster wheel should also produce little or no sound. If your cage is in your bedroom, you don’t want to get a squeaky wheel because your hamster(s) will be running on it all night.

The wheel should be an appropriate size. Larger may not always be better and your dwarf hamster may struggle running in a wheel that’s too big for it. A 6.5″ wheel is a good size.

Do you need a standing wheel or one that’s attached to your cage? Be sure to get the right one. Some hamster wheels are attachable to cages but cannot stand on their own. If there isn’t a place for you to attach the wheel, make sure you get one with a stand.

The Super Pet Hamster Silent Spinner 6 1/2 Inch Exercise Wheel is a hamster wheel that meets the above requirements.

Here’s another video of my white face robo dwarf hamsters, Ichigo and Blueberry running on their wheels. Sorry about the video quality! This was my first ever attempt at a video.

Here’s a Vine video of Ichigo running on his wheel. You can check out the rest of our Vines here.