HUGE DIY Rat Wheel - I Made A 16 Inch DIY Rat Wheel!
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 10. 04. 2019
- I made an awesome DIY wheel for the rats - not only is it cheaper than the ones you can buy (costing less than $15!) but the stand is working great! I'm going to replace it with PCV pipes soon and then it'll be perfect!
Link to the pan I used: amzn.to/2UrwkB3
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#fancyrats #petrats #diywheel #ratwheel
A fidget spinner... Genius
Thanks! I canât take credit for that though, I saw someoneâs homemade degu wheel in a rodent group and it featured a figit spinner to stabilize it
Love the wheel. đ
You could also paint the wood with lacquer. There are water-based ones available which are used for kid's toys and animal cages.
I did that with the wood stuff for my rats and it worked well.
I like that idea but unfotunantly I have no where to put it while it cures :/
I might still try to lacquer one this summer (I have a whole seperate stand that I could make because the wood piece I chose was huge and when cut I had enough for 2 stands) but I think Iâll try pcv first just to see if it works (I saw the Carolina bucket hamster wheel with a nice pcv stand and Iâd like to imitate that).
@@ShadowTheRat Okay, that's unfortunate. Especially because you would probably need two layers.
It's just something my vet recommended because he said wood is always better than plastic.
I'm looking forward to what you do with this wheel, it's really cool (and really huge đ) and I like your videos. Makes me miss my rats less. đ
Iâm super excited to keep improving it, I just hope it lasts for a while yet!
That looks fabulous! My boys are rapidly outgrowing my 12in Silent Spinner so this might be a good idea for them!
Its much cheaper than a store bought wheel too.
Just ordered a single Critter Nation! Still a ways off before I actually buy any rats as I have to get bedding and lots of toys and hammocks but a big part of my decision is from watching your series. Thanks for all the help!
Make your own hammocks and tunnels. There are loads of videos and youâll save so much money! I havenât bought any of my hammocks beds etc. Just got some material and sewed them myself following tutorial videos on CZcams! Honestly, youâll save so much money by doing it yourself.
I got my first rat today! Her name is Miko. She is staying at my neighbors house that a visit a lot because they have 3 rats and my mom hates rats so my neighborâs mom decided to get me a rat and I love her!
I am gonna steal your rats because they are so cute!
Nooooo! Please don't! They'll be so depressed!!! L
lol
Oh my gosh IS THAT ESPRESSO IN THE THUMBNAIL? Goodness I remember watching your video when she was a baby!!!
Edit: nvm she said it was espresso lol
Horray, no wire to hurt their tail on or cost too much! If you can make one, I can too!đit thanks :)
You can also buy billions of these exact wheels online for $35 (including shipping). Trust me, this idea has been used at least 100 times
Wow - so great! The size, the silence and smoothness of spin are incredible! I would have thought a metal wheel would cause a lot of racket, but the way you designed it is ingenious! I have to say, Iâve gained some great ideas on DIY rat enhancement projects from your videos and site. My babies love their horizontal DCN and the toilet paper forage toys, plus it just gets me in a creative mode so I come up with lots of homemade solutions to rattie issues. Iâm guessing youâve helped lots of people (and their rat babies) with your info, so thanks from all of us! đ
Thank you! I feel the same, very happy about how it turned out!
Iâm curious, for your horizontal DCN what did you end up using for the second unit roof?
I used the grate from the shelf at the bottom of the cage - the one just above the wheels. Itâs held in place with zip ties (I tried using the metal ones first, but ended up cutting my fingers too much since I wasnât wearing gloves - duh!) I ordered Bass pans for the bottom, custom-sized, since I learned from your previous video to consider the extra space where the attached sides are removed. I also got a long table from Ikea because I am too old to be cleaning and redecorating their cage down on the ground! It all came out great, though it definitely took a lot of plotting to get just right...
You could also find at least 200 of these online...I got mine for $35 total (including shipping, plus free chew toys, a free wooden perch/ledge, a business card, and a handwritten card!)
This is exactly what I need for my (rather large) male rats, 12â is too small for them.thanks for the idea.đđ
These exact wheels are extremely common online (like Ebay and similar websites), and you can get one of these for only $35! Trust me, this idea has probably been used at least 1000 times before "Shadow the Rat" thought of it đđ
Iâm doing this! Thanks for sharing, and really nice job!!
Thank you for sharing your wheel. I've been searching for a 16-18" diameter wheel for our hedgehog for months! Try using a solid rubber dolly wheel with included bearing if your fidget bearing gets loose.
OMG this is so brilliant!!!
Thanks! Iâm so glad it works lol, my drilling skills can use some work!
Yep, you can find at least 200 of these online. They're EXTREMELY common & popular, especially for Chinchillas. Just search '16" Chinchilla Wheel" on Ebay (or a similar website) and you'll find loads of them, all homemade, for varied priced (mine I got for $35 total (including shipping))
I need to do something like this for my girls! They have a wheel but I think a bigger one would be nice for them
You can buy one of these exact wheels off of Ebay for only $35! These types of DIY wheels are extremely popular and commonly made, so you should be able to find them almost anywhere online!
@@suitedzombie9846 Oh thank you!!
It looks awesome!!!!
Yeah! I saw, like, 200 of these on Ebay! I got mine for only $25, plus $10 shipping! Plus, she included a handwritten card, a business card, 3 lava rock-like chew toys, and a wooden perch, all for free! I highly recommend trying to find the best deal of one of these (which will probably be really hard, since they're so popular and common). Good luck!
Great idea!!
Too bad over 1000 people already had this idea for over 10 years... đ
Excellent idea
1000 people totally didn't think of this already 10 years ago lol đđ
Way better than the crap from China. You actually did an awesome job!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you! Iâm excited to see how it holds up - thatâs my biggest worry now but Iâm hoping it lasts
@@ShadowTheRat I'm sure it will hold up as like I said, it's way better than the junk from China and it has no wobbles. I'm super impressed and sure you could even sell them. I honestly wouldn't worry about the wood and the pee. Worst case you could replace the wood in a few years. Simple fix! Good job Esther!!!!!!đ A++++
I'm a visual learner...this is genius but DIY instructions would be amazing, especially once you figure out how to replace the wood with PVC pipes!
You can buy at least 1000 of these off of Ebay for about $45 a piece. I got mine for only $35! Trust me, this idea is way overused lol. I've seen at least 300 people make these exact wheels. Well, I guess they're getting more and more popular for Ratties (and similar pets), so that's promising!
@@suitedzombie9846 yeah 45$ apiece with 60$ shipping. I don't live in US. Better for me to make my own. But it's good advice for non-crafty people who live in US.
i love u! and ur rats!
The fidget spinner is a good idea. I made a wheel out of the same kind of pan, based on a diy I found for a cage-mounted version that used a lazy susan bearing. It wasn't very difficult or expensive, but it does not spin all that easily, so I've been trying to figure out how to make it spin easier, I don't think my boys could even get it to spin.
Its worked out pretty well so far - Espresso was just running up a storm on it yesterday and it seems easy enough for her to turn.
I've seen the lazy susan put on top of a roller skate piece before to let it turn but also make it attachable to the cage - you might try something like that
Shadow The Rat thatâs a good idea, thanks!
yes please show a tortorile!! it would be so cool!!
I love this chanell
Thank you!
Very niceđ
I'm sorry to ask but how to make a Rat's wheel? The wheel of my girls are already broke, so I want them to have another one but I can't find a bigger ones at a pet store.
I clicked the link to the pan. Its ÂŁ45.27 plus ÂŁ4.99 P&P (GBPÂŁ) đ±đ± this makes it more expensive to make than buying one đŹđźđ
Selina Oakley The pan is $8.40 when I checked, so Iâd guess shipping is making it crazy expensive. You can probably find a similar pan on amazon uk or in local hardware shops for a decent price, or if you donât mind spending a bit extra tic tac wheels are known to be awesome and they are located in the UK.
The link for the pan is y working.Could you tell me what type of pan it is?
Itâs a 16 inch oil pan!
looks great! i wanted to make my boys a wheel, but they don't touch the one they have so i'm doubtful they'd ever use it. rich i can get to walk on it for a treat, but he won't touch it otherwise. drake can barely even be convinced to put his hand on it for a treat. it wouldn't be so infuriating if they were normal lazy boys, but they're full of energy.
Ellas son hermosas! đđđ«đđâșđ
hey, i have a question about the bedding you use. it looks like pellet bedding. are your rats ok with it? i read that it's to hard for their feet and therefore not very suitable....and now I'm not sure what kind 9f bedding would be best and not too crazy expensive...
That is such a great idea! I will definitely have to try this with all 10 of my girls!!đđđ
Rat Tails , an' as for me, to my boy 45 y.o))
lucky! I only have one rat atm my cage is too small for any more
How did you do it? The attaching part ??
Attaching to what? If your asking how I made the wheel, I actually videoed the process here: czcams.com/video/2ClycBagr-U/video.html
I bought one like that for $32.00 on Ebay. There's a guy who makes them and sells them. It looks like it may be a fidget spinner he used on the back too. The only drawback is that it tends to be difficult for smaller rats to turn and the nuts on the bolts in the back tend to come off when the rats use it if they are put on loosely enough to make it turn with little resistance. I'm thinking maybe replacing the bolts with longer ones may fix that problem but I don't quite understand how to take it apart. Hope you will do a tutorial on how you made yours.
Thatâs a pretty good price - cheapest I saw a wheel made with this was $60 on amazon and they were always unavailable when I checked :/
This wheel cost me around $15 because I had everything but the wood and pan (both which were on sale - the pan was 60% off which is why I made it now lol), but took me 2 hours to make which is kinda crazy. I think someone thatâs good with a drill and who has a plan for how to make the wheel could do it much faster - in my case I initially had other ideas for the stand and didnât realize drilling metal is harder than drilling plastic (obvious when I look back but at the time I thought using a high power drill would help - unfortunately it still took quite some force on my part and Iâm sure people who are experienced with drilling would have some critiques for my method lol) I also expected the pan to be less sturdy - and while Iâm glad itâs sturdier than I thought it certainly made drilling harder.
I canât say how it does with the younger girls yet but Biscuit can turn it - sheâs not super small but is my smallest adult rat. Hopefully the babies will try it but Iâm not even sure they tried the 12 inch - maybe as they grow theyâll start imitating the middle girls more and run on it.
Anyways I do plan on doing a video on how I made it once I finalize the pcv pipe stand - I filmed the process so once I get some pcv pipe it should be set!
I used a fidget spinner too for my diy hamster wheel. It works great.
I hope it was big enough lol
Are your girls wheel hoppers? Mine hop on their wheel they don't run lol
My rats have a wheel but they only sleep in it and I have never seen them use it ( I would know because itâs really noisy) Do you have any advice?
How often do you clean your rat's enclosure?
Will the angle of the container they're walking on cause issues?
Nope, not at all. These wheels are incredibly popular and can be found nearly anywhere online, and for good reason! They're big, relatively quiet, chew-proof, easy to clean, rust-resistant, and can even prevent back issues and "wheel-tail" that most other wheels can cause. I highly recommend these. I bought one of these on Ebay for only $35!
Sounds like rain on a tin roof
Id say take a slab of plywood and bolt it to the side of the cage. Thats what i did with my chinchillas.
Hey do you have any pictures or videos on how to? I need to for my chinchilla as well
Hey. I'm have a REALLY important question. I've done some research that hamster balls can be dangerous for rats (lots of reasons). But I got two really really young rats about two or three weeks ago. My last rats we're both males, so I didn't really know what I was getting into. For they are super active and want to run around. I tried making a box play pen, like you've showed, but they are so tiny and fast it scared me to much. Then I bought a kiddie pool, which they jumped out of. I have a bathtub, but I also have five cats whom I don't trust with them. And they aren't in a very good cage right now (temporary cage)since they could easily before escape. But I have mostly earned their trust and I only hold them while they are in their cage, because they are so fast! I feel really guilty because they have a small cage, with not a lot of space to run around, and I can't find a way to let them run around. So I was wondering if anyone would think it would be fine to get hamster balls, to get a wheel like that, or another idea. Also my other rats I've had, had hamster balls and never broke their toes. But they were jumbos, and I really don't want my new babies to get hurt. Which are meduim fancy/dumbo rats.
I often let my two girls run around on my bed or my desk. Both are high above the ground so they won't jump off. Just make sure there are no cats in your room, keep the door closed (if necessary tell other people in your house not to open your door for a while when the rats are out). Using a bed is probably easiest, since you can sit on it while they play and they'll climb on you and that way you can easily get them back to their cage too (and get more used to you as well).
Side note, how old are they? You say really really young, but I do hope they're at least 6 weeks old, otherwise you shouldn't even have them yet as they need to be with their mother until at least 6 weeks. And lastly.. it's always a good idea to do a lot of research before getting pets to prevent problems exactly like this. Something to keep in mind for next time. GL with your baby rats!
@@Miarije they were 6 weeks it's just one is super duper small
@@deeannaparkinson9897 Interesting, most breeders (at least in the netherlands) won't give away rats until they weigh at least 100 grams. Either way, I'd strongly suggest trying one of my suggestions or finding another way to let them run around, since they really do need it. I wouldn't use hamster balls for several reasons, besides all the reasons that being in the balls could hurt the rats, it also takes away a lot of freedom. My rats will chase after eachother, jump on eachother, groom eachother, basically act like crazy and interact a lot when they free roam (they did it even more when they were young) and since they can't do this in hamster balls, it's not a good replacement for free roaming.
@@Miarije I'll try letting them run on my bed. And thanks for the help
@@deeannaparkinson9897 You know, the really tiny Rat could possibly be a Dwarf. Dwarves stay about the size of a 6-8 week old Rat their entire life! So usually they don't get over 150 grams or so...even males! I hope this helps! Good luck with the baby Ratties you have, and please remember to do as much research as humanly possible before investing in ANY pet (especially expensive ones like Rats). Good luck!
I had a really strange moment because when Espresso was on there she looks really tiny so I thought this was old footage or something đ
I feel the same, she looks so small on the new wheel!
Hi! I know you dont use fleece, but I was wondering if you knew any tips for using fleece. Last week I just switched to using fleece after using shavings for years. I love it so far, but theres one problem. My rats chew the DEATH out of it! The first few days were pretty good, no holes, but it just got worse. I was expecting some holes because they're rats, of course theyll chew. But these are giant holes. They rip holes the fleece, go under it, and chew up the puppy pee pads I use until they're litter trained. I have plenty of chews and toys they can play with so I dont know why they're chewing it up so bad. Any tips would be really appreciated because I really dont want to go back to shavings. Thanks in advance.
Different Rats have different reasons. Most of the time, it's because they just want something to tunnel in, hide in, burrow in, sleep in, cuddle in, nest with, etc, but it can also be because you don't have enough hideaways, tunnels, and other toys to keep them entertained...
@@suitedzombie9846 I have loads of stuff they can hide in, play with, sleep in, I even have a large dig tank they can tunnel in. Idk đ€·ââïž
JEEZEEEEEE IM EARLY FOR ONCE
I own two mice and I have had them for a couple of months and they still don't really trust me and idea why???
Mine took me a while too, I just had to get them used to the idea of being around my hand, when I had them out I would just place my hand near them so they would see it as less of a threat, after a while I had them running all around my shoulders ! Of Course I'm no professional so all I can say is handle them and get them used to your hand in the least threatening way possible
Hello! What is the floring?
What do you mean?
@@ShadowTheRat Sry, What use bedding in the video?
@@Adavi1203 Its yesterdays news cat litter, but unfortunantly they don't make it anymore. Now I use marshals ferret litter, which is also a good pelleted bedding and works great!
@@ShadowTheRat Thx! Have a good day!
@@ShadowTheRat Sorry sir. Is it okay to eat bedding that my rats recommended often?
They want 20$ for the pan now :/ searching for 1 cheaper canât believe every commercial wheel has some flaw unsafe or noisy etc this pan looks perfect but idk bout 20$
2:02
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I bought a ton of these off of Ebay (the lady was really nice and even included free chew toys & a wooden ledge!). Oh, and by the way, this is one of the most popular and common DIY wheels that you can buy really anywhere. I actually bought mine for $35 total ($25 for the wheel alone, $10 for shipping) so I got it for really cheap! Yeah, just wanted to say that this isn't an original idea and that anybody can buy hundreds of these exact wheels off of Ebay or similar websites! Usually, they're like $80, but $35 for s 16" metal chew-proof exercise wheel is really a great deal!
You should put fabric in the weel it would look nice and it would help the sound of there feed
But it would make it a lot harder to clean, and when they'd chew holes in it they could get their feet stuck and make them trip.
Unfotunantly I have to agree with Mika, fabric would make it hard to clean and potentially could be a foot hazard. You might do something like Velcro it onbut for now I actually find this wheel quieter than the comfort one so Iâm just going to keep bare
OwO
The video shows that it is unavailable
Idk why, itâs working for me...:/
It's still too small for a rat
0.5m would be minimum for a rat
Due to a tail needing to be straight
Nope, rats naturally raise their tail while running and moving and itâs perfectly safe for them to raise it while using a wheel. The big thing to look for is that their back is straight while running, as thatâs the natural position for them to run in.
@@ShadowTheRat I guess?
It just seems to be small
@@theender664 I can guarantee its not - there have been zero connections between rats using wheels and any spine/back issues, everything you find is just anecdotal and usually has a genetic link (like with "wheel tail", which should really be renamed as its genetic caused, not due to wheel running).
The only issues you'll find with small wheels is rats won't use them because well, they just aren't comfortable for them to use. On the other hand if you have a 15/16 inch wheel you'll find they use them a lot - even my 600-700+ gram rats have used them no problem, and same goes for my dwarfs. I've found all my rats end up loving the wheel as soon as I add in the large one, eve if previously they had a smaller one which they never used (only my dwarfs will use wheels under 14 inches across, them and young standards under 4 or so months).
@@ShadowTheRat ok then
I'm glad people make so much research for their pets
I would rather buy a wheel than make one in my opinion it looks not that great
Well, these wheels are incredibly popular and common, and you can pretty much get it off any website like Ebay. Just look up "16" Chinchilla Wheel", and you're bound to find at least 200 just like it...
Yeah, maybe it doesn't look all that beautiful, but are Rat cages really meant for aesthetic? Rats want their cages to be shoved full of stuff, and that doesn't really look at that good.
The upsides about this wheel is that it's huge (16"), it's very easily found (online), and it's chew-proof! The downsides are that it can be a little loud, they don't look the best, and they're sometimes hard to fit places...
The rat wheel is to small! The tail and the spine should not bend, as it leads to damage in the spine.
This wheel is 16 inches across lol, itâs literally perfect for any rat! If you research more into wheels youâll find any evidence linking even small ones to injury is circumstantial at best - wheeltail for example has been linked to genetics as opposed to wheels.
Wheels provide great enrichment for rats and you wonât find a better wheel than a 16 inch - itâs more than large enough and the rats donât use it nearly enough to harm themselves even if it was smaller. Itâs just a great way to compensate for the fact that a rat cage can never matchup to the amount of area they can cover running full out (which is what the wheel allows them to do)
Wheels are generally unsuitable for rats. If you were to research more about rats, you would know that the tail is an extension of the spine and should not bend when walking. In your video you can see that the rat is curling her tail while running. the more she does thatthe greater the danger that the tail stiffens in this position.
but you're right, a cage does not provide enough exercise for rats. That's why you should give your rats 1-2 hours daily in an extra spout.