# Too Much Wheel???



## Orpheus (Nov 6, 2014)

My hedgehog appears to love his wheel a little _too_ much and has been running at least 6 hours straight each night. This is the first week he has has been using it (took him a bit to figure it out). Luckily, he hasn't had any bloody feet yet like I have seen from other threads related to this topic. However, he has definitely not been eating very much and I am concerned because I can already tell that he's lost some weight from just this week. He's not even interested in treats...all he wants is his wheel!!! :roll:

So...I'm not sure how much I should let him use it and was interested in how much time you guys let your little marathon runners have with their wheels? I've seen some people say that they alternate days with it in the cage vs others saying they let their hedgie run for a set amount of time each night and I'm not sure which would be best? I feel really bad taking it away at all!! I can tell he really loves it, but I want to make sure he's eating enough too obviously.

I'd appreciate any advice you guys have!!

(FYI-He isn't normally this energetic or hyperactive. All this energy came out of nowhere after he figured out that he could run on it..instead of wear it as a hat...which is what he did at first :lol


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## Soyala_Amaya (Aug 1, 2011)

Don't take his wheel out all. You just have a runner. I would mix a higher fat food into his regular kibble to supplement the energy burnt. Running a lot is natural for them.


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## Charlotte.the.hedgehog (Nov 15, 2015)

What kind of wheel does he have? I believe the bloody feet stories only come from hedgies using the wrong kinds of wheels. If he has a hedgie safe wheel he should be fine.


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## teddythehedgie (Nov 22, 2015)

Definitely let him run his little heart out.  I had a hedgehog just like yours. Madness when it came to the wheel, ran all night for his entire life. He was slim and probably a tiny bit underweight despite tons of higher-fat foods and free-feeding him with a bowl that was always super full. He lived to be 6 years old without a single health condition. Perhaps that is a genetic coincidence, but I feel like his exercise habit greatly contributed to his happy, healthy life.


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## Orpheus (Nov 6, 2014)

He has the saucer wheel, should I switch to a bucket wheel instead?


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## Orpheus (Nov 6, 2014)

teddythehedgie said:


> Definitely let him run his little heart out.  I had a hedgehog just like yours. Madness when it came to the wheel, ran all night for his entire life. He was slim and probably a tiny bit underweight despite tons of higher-fat foods and free-feeding him with a bowl that was always super full. He lived to be 6 years old without a single health condition. Perhaps that is a genetic coincidence, but I feel like his exercise habit greatly contributed to his happy, healthy life.


Wow 6 years!  That's amazing and reassures me, mine is just turning 3 now and I definitely want him to stay healthy as he gets older. Did yours stay really active when he got older?


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## Hedgehog Swag (Feb 19, 2016)

Orpheus said:


> He has the saucer wheel, should I switch to a bucket wheel instead?


Scrizzie refuses to use the wheel once she had a choice between the saucer and the wheel. Maybe she would go back to the wheel if it was the only option but the saucer is by far her preference.


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## Katten (May 10, 2014)

teddythehedgie said:


> Definitely let him run his little heart out.  I had a hedgehog just like yours. Madness when it came to the wheel, ran all night for his entire life. He was slim and probably a tiny bit underweight despite tons of higher-fat foods and free-feeding him with a bowl that was always super full. He lived to be 6 years old without a single health condition. Perhaps that is a genetic coincidence, but I feel like his exercise habit greatly contributed to his happy, healthy life.


Tinkerball was just like this -- always underweight and always running on her wheel. It was hard to get any weight to stick to her. Her wheel actually broke once, and I paid for it with an angry, vicious hedgie until I was able to replace it three days later. :lol:


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## Pongosmom (Nov 9, 2015)

Let him go! Like we say with our Tank, "Hoglet never skips leg day."  He's on his wheel like a fiend all night....


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