fat hedgehog and wheel options

[akane]

Loki has gotten huge. I haven't weighed him this month but his sides hang out over his feet and my hands. He was already the biggest hedgehog the vet had ever seen when he was still young and skinny. Part of the problem may be a wheel issue. Neither of us have the time or back strength to bend over the bathtub carefully scrubbing away at bucket wheels without getting the bearings wet.

So 2 things:
Lower fat and calorie food for Loki. Our current mix is a bit high for the breeding sows and babies. Maybe just using the natural balance would be enough but if there are better options I'm looking for suggestions.

New wheels. I read about the cake walk supreme being dishwasher safe but it seems to be gone from the market. It was last heard of in 2010 where a bunch of people were complaining they never got the wheels they ordered. The website for it is just blank. No error messages just gone. We are looking at ware plastic flying saucers which are only $15 rather than the $50 metal saucers. We also don't have bars on most of our big cages to mount the metal wheel. Some say though that big hedgehogs can't get on the plastic wheels. Are these suitable for most of our hedgehogs though? We could then rotate the bucket wheels through loki's cage until we have time to clean them with breaks on the weekends. Maybe he would lose enough weight for a flying saucer in the future. Cause the plastic ones I can just throw in a large bucket or the tub to soak off the poop and we can scrub them under running water without worrying about the bearings.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Best to weigh them more frequently than every month or so. Unexplained weight changes can be the first sign something is going on with their health.

Reaper's cakewalk supreme wheel is no longer available. He'd left some folks high and dry... Not a good situation.

Happily, Larry (who posts here on cnh) makes a great wheel for the hefty hog that's called the Carolina storm wheel. Check out his site. I think you'll be pleased.

 

[akane]

We have carolina storm wheels. They are extremely hard to clean. Tons of scrubbing with a brush and sponge to get the caked on poop off every day and it can't be soaked or held under running water because of the bearings rusting. Spending 15-30mins on 11 wheels every day just isn't working.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Thought Larry used the same cake carriers that reaper did. I have two of reapers cake walks and two of Larry's csbw's.

If you fiddle around with the hardware so it's reversed and the wingnut is in the wheel, instead of outside on the stand, you can make it so that you just unscrew wingnut and slide the plastic wheel off (leaving the rotating metal assembly attached to the stand).

I have one wheel that's set up this way. I need to credit a man named Vern for that stroke of engineering genius.

 

[akane]

Changing around the hardware does not work. First the small wheel is still attached and can't get wet. The second problem is as the wheel turns it can unscrew the wingnut.

 

[Raindog]

It's funny, I find the CSW very easy to clean. Usually I will put the whole thing in the tub and angle it so the hot running water hits just the bottom and spin it a few times. Then wipe it off with clorox wipes and then a wet paper towel.

Also my CSW has the small roller blade wheel attached with zip ties so I don't see how switching the hardware wouldn't work. It looks like the bucket part should be all plastic then.

Your best bet might be a comfort wheel. I found them hard to clean but if you soak it, it I would think it might be easier.

 

[akane]

When the wingnut is on the pvc side it is stopped from turning. When it's on the wheel side it turns with the wheel causing it to tighten or loosen. We are testing a ware plastic flying saucer but it may be too light. Jiga has already shoved it from the middle of the cage in to a brick holding his liner down.

 

[smhufflepuff]

I haven't had that problem in the past 7 years. The whole premise behind using roller blade wheel bearings is that you can tighten the center parts down quite a lot, while allowing the outer circle to spin (which is attached to the wheel and, thus allows the wheel to spin).

I've replaced the wingnuts with knobs like these: http://www.brightguy.com/Streamlight/Streamlight+Litebox+Knob+and+Bolt+45916

They hold tight to the center of the bearing without coming off. You do have to ensure that the base of the knob or wingnut only contacts the central part of the bearing. Or put a washer in between the knob and bearing.

If you're interested, I'll take some pics when I have a moment... probably weekend-ish.

 

[Nancy]

I have 2 of Larry's Carolina Storm cake wheels and they are so easy to clean. Most of the time I just give them a spritz with some vinegar and water and wipe out with a paper towel.

 

[akane]

Sometimes spraying the wheels with water while scrubbing with a stiff bristle brush and then the rough side of a sponge doesn't even get them clean. There are often rock hard little bumps that will not come off. I scrape at them with the plastic edge of the brush to try to break them loose after scrubbing the thinner layer off for more than 15mins a wheel.

 

[smhufflepuff]

I wonder if the scraping you describe is where you may have created an issue that is worsening over time. The original surface of the wheels would have been relatively smooth and using water or water/vinegar to loosen any stuck-on poops before wiping would be enough. But scraping probably wore down the original surface and created small ruts to which the poop clings better over time.

Think of the wheel surface like your own teeth. There's a thin layer of enamel that should protect your teeth from issues. Dentists generally recommend using a soft toothbrush so you don't destroy the enamel. But if you go after it with stiff bristles and the hard plastic parts of the brush, you've done yourself a great disservice - here come the cavities!

Fortunately, wheels are replaceable. If you've managed to scratch up the surface, just get a new one and use a wipe... or a soft brush.

Consider the order of events. First apply water or water/vinegar, let sit a few minutes, then wipe down. Letting that water/vinegar loosen things will go far in helping. You may need to experiment with how many minutes to achieve best results. Too short and it won't have done much; too long and it will have soften, then re-solidified.

Consider your timing. Given the consistency of our hedgies' messies, house temp, and humidity, there seem to be easier parts of the day to go after their wheels. One easier time is first thing in the morning. The poop hasn't had a chance to fully harden everywhere, so there's less or a chance of finding "rock hard bumps" everywhere. The very end of the day is another after all the poop has dried out and just pops off without much effort. The middle of the day seems to be the worst. Check out what's going on with your crew.

Consider the angle of the running surface. You want the wheel tilted ever so slightly so that the pee runs off without having hedgie slide out. That lessens the chance of creating that muddy slurry.

Finally, take a look at your hedgie's poop... the logs that aren't mashed into the wheel. How do they look? If hedgie has a belly issue or the food/diet isn't quite right for them, it may contribute to creating funky poop that's more sticky than your average hedgie's.

 

[Bailey59]

Why don't you turn the wheel on the back against the base and fill it with hot water? The barrings wouldn't rust because no water would touch them (Besides the sink bottom). After you do that you then could scrub it so it would be easier

 

[akane]

I don't really have anything to compare poop consistency to. All mine are on the same diet right now and the nearest breeder is 2hrs. The stuff on the fleece is little pieces or slightly smashed and crunches off. The stuff that ends up off the fleece due to liner diving looks about like dried up cat poop.

I started scrubbing the wheels so hard because since day one poop has stuck horribly to them. I doubt new wheels of the same type would help. I have a sleep disorder and it takes 4 prescription and 2 otc meds to get me to sleep before 4am and then I don't wake up until noon so wheels don't get washed in the morning. Sometimes I wipe them out before I go to bed to get the first bit of poop from the hedgehogs starting to run in them and then they get washed in the evening before hedgehogs wake up. Inconvenient for wheel washing but very convenient for handling nocturnal animals.

 

[Raindog]

Wow I sympathize with your sleep problem. I often get the 4am to 12 sleep action but I can usually just use an otc. That is rough.

I was looking around and I wonder if you can treat the metal parts so they won't rust.

Here is an article I found. Not sure if any of the suggestions will stand up to wheel scrubbing, but worth a look.

 

[akane]

Well Jiga says the all plastic ware flying saucers work fine aside from getting shoved in to things occasionally due to being so light. If he wasn't so insistent about liner diving (there's 3 bricks in his cage now and he's still doing it) that probably wouldn't be as big of problem. Not sure everyone will adjust to a flying saucer though. He's my most active, curious hedgehog so I thought he'd make a good guinea pig. I'll have to decide on 2 more test subjects and then we'll have enough variation and wear and tear on the wheels to really see how well they work.