wheel size

[thesprychinchilla]

Hello again,

I have a chinchilla about 2 1/2 years old and he seems to be as big as he's going to get. I have a plastic wheel (blue/white with little tracks inside of it) that I got from a pet store. I know people don't like these wheels because the chinchilla can chew it but mine never chews it as I have plenty of toys in there for him.

I was wondering though what is the correct size for a chin wheel? This one measures about 12" in diameter. However he always tries to poke his head out because his nose hits the wheel when he runs. I've seen chin spins that are 11'' and similar to this size...Is my chin just not running right or is the wheel junk?

It has that little yellow cone like thing in the middle. I think you all will know what kind of wheel im talking about

 

[Bethany]

It is junk you need a 15 inch. The 11 inch CS are for smaller animals.

 

[Ziora]

I almost got that one, too, but balked because it was $30. Than I found out about the chin spin and it is twice that price with shipping. It's worth it, though. Now I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting on it to get here!

 

[Chubi32]

I have a 15" chin spin for my female and she still sticks her face out to the side. Although I agree that the chin spins are better (I've had a plastic one as well) I don't know if your chin will stop sticking his head out the side.

 

[Sandi]

For an adult chinchilla you need the 15". I believe anything less than that amount of running space is not good for their backs.

 

[Mystic]

It seems like to me that maybe your chin doesn't have enough running space. Try the 15" chin spin out. I have had mine for almost 2 years now with no problems. Both my boys are chunkers and they can run on it without difficulty.

 

[thesprychinchilla]

Thanks everyone. My cage is 30 inchs tall so the 15 inch wheel plus the 2" space between the bottom will take up quite a bit of space but I think I can manage it. I'm looking at wooden shelves and ledges to replace the current metal ones to open the cage up a bit more.

Thanks again!