Choosing a New Wheel

[Lindsayshae123]

My chins' original plastic wheel broke and I'm looking into getting them something nicer. Looking for something pretty quiet but still not too expensive. Right now I'm deciding between these two:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301109366138
http://www.chinchillas.com/estore/detail.aspx?ID=106
Can anyone more experienced help me out so I can get my little guys a new wheel soon?

 

[Stackie]

I would get the silver surfer. The first wheel pictured is very hard to turn and noisy (at least the one I had years ago was). I have a silver surfer now and my chins love it.

 

[Shenanigans]

I've heard many people on here love their silver surfer, so I would get that out of those two. I don't have experience with either- I have a chin spin and both me and my chin love it.

 

[Lindsayshae123]

I've heard many people on here love their silver surfer, so I would get that out of those two. I don't have experience with either- I have a chin spin and both me and my chin love it.

Awesome, thanks! How is the Chin Spin different from the Silver Surfer? Where did you buy it?

 

[Airyn]

I prefer the Chin Spin to the Silver Surfer, but that's only because my guys somehow managed to wear down the inside of the Surfer after two years. It looked like paint or sealant chipped away right on the running path. I've never read of this happening with others, so it's entirely possible I just got a faulty wheel.

Noise-wise, I found them to be comparable. Both will rattle the cage and cause a raucous if your chin is a hard runner, but the wheel itself doesn't make much noise. The Chin Spin is 15" in diameter with a 6.25" running path, while the Surfer is 14" in diameter with a 4" running path. The Chin Spin is made by Quality Cage Company and is available here.

Oh, and I bought one of those metal wheels you have listed from Ebay. Don't bother. They're LOUD, don't move easily and scared the heck out of all four of mine. It was in the garbage in under a week.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I have 3 silver surfers and 1 chin spin (then my degu has the smaller chin spin). I prefer the Silver surfers. They aren't as bulky so they don't take up as much space as the chin spin does.

I've had the wheels that you linked on eBay and they get the job done, however, they are really loud and you can't make them quieter. When you have more than one going at once, it's like a train running through the room.

 

[Shenanigans]

How is the Chin Spin different from the Silver Surfer? Where did you buy it?

The Chin Spin is 15" in diameter with a 6.25" running path, while the Surfer is 14" in diameter with a 4" running path.

Like she said the chin spins a bit bigger, and the back is also wood- Yuki's never really chewed it, and I can't see where they'd be able to get a hold to start. I actually didn't buy it- I adopted it with Yuki and the rest of his things. But the company mentioned above should have it, and occasionally you can see members/vendors selling them. Im not sure if anyone stocks them all the time though.

One of my favorite stories-He'd been with his owners parents and they had the wheel out because of the small amount of noise at night (Yuki tends to go bonkers for a minute as soon as it's lights out). When I got him I when to put in the wheel immediately. Before it was even all the way in the cage he was trying to get into it, and I had to chase him out of sitting it it like a bowl so I could fix it on. He's seven and he's had it for most of it's life and there's really not much wear on it.

 

[Tagna]

I have saucers, surfers, ed and chin spin wheels. I prefer the chin spin out of all of them. I find the surfers are noisiest out of them all. I have some marathon runners!

 

[Scharp_chins]

I'm looking for a good durable sturdy wheel too. I have the Wodent Wheel, and although my chins LOVE it, they've also chewed the snot out of it. I NEED one that's indestructible to my chewy chins.

It looks like the Chin Spin has wood in it, I worry that would get chewed on or warped by urine etc. Has anyone noticed these issues? Wood would not seem durable to me.
In my searches online for wheels I found this saucer called the Treadmill Wheel at the Exotics Nutrition site. It looks very sturdy, metal and quiet...and affordable. I'll post a link.
Has anyone had issues with the saucer variety and chinchillas falling off? They seem like they'd fall off that type of wheel.

 

[Scharp_chins]

Has anyone tried this wheel?

http://www.exoticnutrition.com/trwhla14in.html