he doesnt know how to use the saucer wheel?

[bianca]

hi, my chinchilla just lost his brother so i went on a shopping spree to make his empty cage more exciting.
with my purchases, i finally found a saucer wheel! since the one he had was extremely loud and didnt move smoothly, i thought it wouldnt hurt to buy this one.
however, i just cleaned his cage and put his new accessories in including the saucer wheel..
he doesnt know how to run on it? will he eventually figure it out or was it a bad idea switching over?

thank you everyone!!

 

[arf2184]

Give him time. He'll figure it out.

 

[InkedupTara]

It may take some time to get him to use it. I have read that one chin had the wheel for over a year before they used it.

 

[cintistatern2005]

He will figure it out eventually. You might not think he is using it but they do lots we don't know of late at night. It took mine about 2 weeks till i actually saw him on it.

 

[Essentia]

Some chins take a day, others take a year. I got lucky with mine and he was running on it within the same hour as I put it in his cage.

 

[Tanya]

When my gal had problems figuring out how to use a Flying Saucer, I just put her on the wheel ( you should hold the wheel to make sure your chin does not fall otherwise they become afraid of it) and let him try to walk a little while you hold it, and he will realize how to use it! If he is already afraid of the wheel try giving him some treats( like oats or alfalfa hay) to keep him on the wheel.
You can even get a toy like a small puppy or something and show him how to run on it!

 

[EveningChin]

Pia had it figured out in about 10 mins. Petra took three days. Nyxie took a week and a half and she still is less then graceful. As every one said give it time, they will eventually figure it out.

 

[bianca]

thank you so much everyone!

but one problem. he was running on it today, but the wheel tends to move around the cage when he runs on it. i tried to put the bedding around it to kind of keep it in place, but it doesnt work. then it eventually falls over and my chinchi gets scared of it.

how can i stop this from happening? i think he may justnot know how to use it properly yet because he runs but hops with his back legs, so i think this is causing the moving of the saucer.

 

[Sandi]

Did you end up getting the metal "flying" saucer? Is it the 2nd one that you mentioned on this thread?

http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8586be

Maybe you need to tighten it more securely? If properly installed, this wheel should not come undone and fall off, this could seriously hurt your chin.

 

[Stackie]

From the description, it sounds like you have the plastic saucer wheel which is a crappy knock off of the real thing and isn't even safe for chins. The REAL saucer wheel costs much more money but is worth it.

 

[bianca]

well. i would spend the extra money but i cant find any of the metal saucers anywhere in my local pet stores.
is the plastic one unsafe then?:O

 

[Chinmama]

Your wheel should not fall over. If you can't attach it securely to your cage, it isn't worth the money.

I don't know of anywhere that sells the metal saucers in a store, I've only seen them sold online.

 

[bianca]

hmm. okay thanks!

 

[tamsam]

Quality Cage used to sell them. That is where we got ours and Capi loves it. Good luck finding one. Sam