10 Best Sugar Glider Wheels – Reviews & Top Picks
- May 27, 2023
- By Dr. Barry Buttler
No matter how large their enclosure is, it will not be large enough to allow them to run freely and at top speed.
Hamster, like many small animals kept in tanks and cages, can benefit from the installation of a suitable wheel in their living area.
The glider wheel is the primary training piece for your glider, and it comes in a variety of materials (plastic, metal, and base).
Make sure it fits the sugar glider, is the right size, and will work well in the cage you've designed it for. To help you make the best decision possible, BestForPets (bestforpets.org) has reviewed some of the best sugar glider wheels on the market.
User's Manual
The Sugar Glider is a marsupial that lives in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Tasmania, and the neighboring islands. Joeys, baby gliders, spend the first two months of their lives developing within their mother’s pouch.
When they jump, they stretch a webbed membrane that extends from their wrists to their ankles, allowing them to glide up to 150 feet. This is what they utilize to get from one tree to another in the wild.
The huge size of their eyes aids in triangulating their landing location and ensuring a safe flight. They have a complicated diet, so you’ll need to do your homework to make sure you’re providing for all of their needs.
Although they barely weigh around 5 ounces, they have a lot of vitality and enjoy to zoom around their cage and environment. They can live up to 15 years.
Sugar gliders often do better when there are two or more of them in the home, and this is because they require constant handling to maintain happiness and create a deep link with their owners.
Keep reading for more advice, including how to pick out the finest workout wheel for your sugar glider’s needs.
Preserving Your Glider’s Health
A sugar glider requires a spacious cage. A cage for a sugar glider should be at least 2 ft by 2 ft by 3 ft in size, but the more room you can provide it, the better.
Check that the spacing between the bars or wire mesh is adequate to prevent your sugar glider from slipping through. A sugar glider’s curiosity may take it in any direction, including up and down.
Food bowls should be placed high in the cage to simulate the natural feeding environment of the trees. Your sugar gliders should be able to tell the difference between day and night based on the brightness of their environment, so keep the cage out of direct sunlight.
What a Sugar Glider Has to Go Through to Get Its Home
Small but lively, sugar gliders are a lot of fun to watch. You should offer yours with a wide variety of toys, since they require a lot of cerebral and physical stimulation.
Toys like ladders for the birds can be provided. Provide kids with tunnels to run and play in. Offer them toys like balls and bells. There’s a chance your gliders may pick a few favorites, but they might up up enjoying them all.
The branches and leaves of the eucalyptus tree are not only useful for climbing, but also for providing nutritious food.
Whether or not sugar gliders require wheels.
A sugar glider’s cage would be incomplete without an exercise wheel. It gives them room to spread out during workouts. Without a wheel, their exercise options would be confined to pacing back and forth across the cage.
Picking the Perfect Sugar Glider Tire
Choose wheels that won’t damage your glider. Cages that already include wheels are more likely to be intended for hamsters or other tiny animals and may not be big enough for your new pet. Due to their size and physical needs, sugar gliders may use wheels with a diameter of up to 12 inches.
- A bar in the hub of the wheel is unsafe and might inflict catastrophic injury to their backs. Because gliders prefer to hop rather than travel flat, they will likely run against the wheel’s central axis or bar.
- Choose a wheel with a bearing mechanism on the exterior to prevent the glider’s tail from getting stuck inside the wheel.
- Having a supply of nail trimming paper on hand is a great way to keep an eye on your child’s claw and fingernail growth. However, wheels with this paper all over the surface should be avoided since your sugar glider has to grasp onto the surface while he runs.
In addition to these safety considerations, here are some others to keep in mind when shopping for a wheel for your sugar glider.
Flying Saucers and Other Unidentified Objects
The conventional design for an exercise wheel is a vertical cylinder. This style of cage has been widely used for housing tiny pets for decades. Saucers, sometimes known as flying saucers, have a flatter profile.
They protect your little one from potential injury caused by wheels or bearing devices and are appropriate for creatures like sugar gliders, which prefer to hop or bounce rather than run.
Many gliders, however, choose a layout with vertical wheels. When compared to a vertical wheel, which can usually be connected to the side of the cage, a saucer takes up significantly more room in the cage.
Are you looking at metal or plastic?
Materials might range from plastic to metal. The wheel component of most wheels, however, is often plastic. While metal is more resistant to warping, bending, and rusting, it also tends to be heavier than plastic and is more brittle.
Size
There is a wide range of sizes available for tiny animal wheels, from the smallest 8-inch versions to the largest ones.
Despite the fact that the larger wheels are often intended for rats, you’ll need one that’s at least 11 to 12 inches in diameter to give your sugar glider the space it needs to run and exercise.
They risk getting caught or injuring their backs in anything too tiny.
Do you prefer freestanding or permanently installed solutions?
Wheels might be freestanding or attached to the enclosing structure. Those that attach to the cage often do so using a clip or an x-frame that slides through the gaps between the bars of a metal enclosure and locks into place.
The space they need to operate is drastically reduced compared to freestanding alternatives due to their flush fit against the cage.
The wheel may jiggle or squeak if the connection isn’t solid. If your pet is nocturnal like a sugar glider, you probably don’t want to hear any squeaking or knocking from its wheel at night.
Rolling in Silence
Most wheels boast that they are silent or extremely quiet. The revolving axis is supported by bearings or double-bearing systems in certain designs.
These mechanisms are quieter because metal never comes into contact with metal or plastic, the common cause of the squeaking sound produced by hamster wheels.
It seems to reason that double bearings are more successful in reducing noise than single bearings, yet either design is an improvement over the status quo.
Conclusion
Hamsters are lively and playful small mammals that need a lot of daily activity and can develop an emotional attachment to their owners.
You should give your hamster a cage that is big enough and has all the tools and accessories he needs. You should also teach him to glide and carry in your carry bag.
Hamsters need plenty of space both horizontally and vertically, and a wide selection includes toys, food bowls, and more. Among the most useful add-ons to your cage are the workout wheels.
Both discs and regular wheels are available in plastic and metal, with 11- and 12-inch diameters to suit your curves.
There are many options, from those that can be modified to regularly nail your glider to those that use a dual bearing system to ensure silent operation.
BestForPets (bestforpets.org) has given you reviews that will help you choose the best sugar glider wheels for you and your pet.
Reviews
Top Pick: Ware’s Flying Saucer Wheel
A wheel inspired by spaceships, the Ware Flying Saucer Wheel. Your sugar glider’s feet and tail won’t get stuck in the wheel, but the saucer does take up more space.
The makers of this product state that it operates discreetly. When empty, it makes less noise than regular wheels but more noise if it’s loaded with food and bedding.
Most owners can attest to the exercise wheel’s incessant squeaking throughout the night. The sugar gliders appear to like the saucer shape because it allows them to look around while they’re on the go.
Even though the Flying Saucer Wheel comes in a few different sizes, the smaller ones are still likely to be uncomfortable for most riders.
Additionally, you may choose from a variety of colors to choose one that works with the rest of your enclosure’s decor. While the Flying Saucer may cost more than a standard wheel, it is still within the price range of most consumers.
The choice between a wheel and a saucer for a sugar glider’s transportation needs will usually come down to the sugar glider’s personal taste.
Pros
- Zero noise production or usage
- There is no danger to the paws or tails.
- An excellent color scheme
- Size options
Cons
- More expensive than wheels
- Insufficiently silent despite assurances
Best Price on the Kaytee Silent Spinner Wheel
Your sugar glider may get the daily workout it needs with the help of the Kaytee Silent Spinner Wheel. The wheel has a mounting hole, so you may attach it to a metal wire, or you can use it as a freestanding wheel for your miniature glider.
The wheel is available in a range of sizes, the largest of which is suitable for the sugar glider. Small as they are, gliders require a bigger wheel than other animals of a comparable size so that they have room to spread out when in motion.
The bearings inside the wheel system of the Kaytee Silent Spinner Wheel help keep things quiet. Even though the manufacturer says the wheel is silent, it will make a rattling noise when it is full with food and other debris.
The Kaytee Silent Spinner Wheel is not the cheapest sugar glider wheel on the market, but it is the greatest value because to its silent operation, nice size, and affordable pricing.
Pros
- It’s versatile enough to stand on its own or be mounted on a wire enclosure.
- Size options
- Spinning on bearings is a peaceful experience.
Cons
- Not recommended for use on wire enclosures
Foreign Dietary Supplements Premium Silent-Running Wheel
Another wheel that promises to be 100% silent is the Exotic Nutrition Silent Runner Wheel, which has a double bearing to prevent noise.
You should get the medium size (12 inches) out of the three options, as this will give your sugar glider plenty of room to stretch out without causing any discomfort to its spine.
The Silent Runner Wheel may be placed anywhere thanks to its stable, high-quality stand. The lack of a central axis in the wheel’s construction also prevents animals from becoming wedged there.
The wheel is pricey, but it doesn’t make any squeaking noises, albeit its size makes it susceptible to shaking in a cage with a plastic or glass bottom. The front wheel hub is difficult to remove and reinstall, but this is a high-quality wheel, therefore the price reflects that.
Pros
- Totally noiseless functionality
- Lack of a central axle
- Sizes and colors to choose from
Cons
- The metal feet might make the cage shake.
- Hard to get the front off and back on again
- Expensive
Wheel Exerciser for Small Animals, the Kaytee Comfort
The smaller of the two sizes available for the Kaytee Comfort Small Animal Exercise Wheel, the 12-inch version is recommended for sugar gliders. The wheel has both a sturdy wire support and a clip for affixing it to a wire enclosure. The ridges on its surface provide more grip for your glider as it attempts to run.
Thanks to this, he can go faster without worrying about losing control. The design eliminates the risk of snagging feet or tails on the frame when running, but despite the manufacturer’s promises of whisper-quiet operation, it can make noise and isn’t particularly stable when used by larger animals.
As soon as your glider is within the wheel, the design becomes top-heavy, which can lead to vibration and even tipping over due to the metal frame. You probably won’t have to worry as much about this with a sugar glider as you would with a rat, but if your small glider is a runner, be cautious.
Pros
- Utilize alone or join to a cage made of metal
- A textured, grippy exterior
Cons
- Irregular in a few places
- A loud voice
Wodent Wheel of the Suncoast Sugar Gliders
Those who own sugar gliders will appreciate the Suncoast Sugar Gliders Wodent Wheel. It contains a tail shield to keep your baby’s tail safe and a diameter of 11 inches.
The company claims that the Wodent Wheel’s closed wheel design is preferred by sugar gliders.
Suncoast Wheels are built to last and their closed shape makes them more sturdy than open wheels. To further improve your glider’s health, you may pair the wheel with the company’s nail trimming attachment.
The wheel may be difficult to disassemble and reassemble for cleaning, as is common with solid front structures.
Price-wise, it is a bit more expensive than open wheels of a similar size, but if you want a sturdy wheel and don’t mind a little extra work when it comes time to clean, it’s a fantastic option.
Pros
- Buildings that are built to last
- Tail guard
Cons
- Tough to disinfect
- Large
Dr. Barry Buttler
Dr. Barry Buttler, DVM, MS, DACVIM, is an experienced veterinarian who specializes in the care of small animals, specifically dogs. Dr. Barry K. Buttler is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and holds multiple certifications in small animal emergency medicine and geriatric pet health.
Veterinarian (DVM) Dr. Barry Buttler
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