# Hedgehog Not Using Wheel



## Meghdearest (Oct 21, 2013)

Okay, so I bought my hedgie about two weeks ago from an owner who was unable to take care of her anymore. We get along really well and she's very happy, has a regular eating habit and uses the bathroom regularly. I know she's warm enough because she has a heatlamp and hasn't once tried to go into hibernation. She's getting plenty of bright light during the day with all the windows open, and no light at night. But she still won't run on her wheel. The previous owner said she ran on it every night like a maniac. I tried repositioning the wheel, putting mealworms on it, putting her on their and gently rotating it... But still nothing. I've marked it and put a tiny bit of flour on it so I know she's absolutely not running. 
Her wheel is the flying saucer one and apparently she used to love it but now won't touch it and I don't know what else to do. I don't want to buy the Carolina storm wheel because shipping is way too expensive. I was thinking of maybe getting her a ball to run around the house in. But I don't know. She's really active when I take her out for a few minutes but usually just ends up snuggling with me. 
I don't know what to do, I don't want her to get sick help? 
She is 6 months old


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Do you also have a light setup, ensuring 12-14 hours light per day? Lighting can also impact hibernation (which is marked by reduced activity in advance of any hibernation attempts).

Is she in total dark at night? Is she alone at night, or in a room with someone/something that might make noise? Some hedgehogs are super-shy and refuse to run if interrupted.

How long has she been home with you?

How long are her toenails? Do they need to be trimmed?

Is the wheel sturdy on the ground? Can you weight or stabilize the base somehow? Some hedgehogs refuse to run if anything is wobbly, and that could easily have changed during cage-setup.

And, unrelated to your current topic, has someone already linked you to the Awesome Free Book of Hedgehog Info?

Welcome to hedgehog ownership! It's marked my a lot of paranoid observing and trying to understand what our little divas are telling us.


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## Meghdearest (Oct 21, 2013)

Annie&Tibbers said:


> Do you also have a light setup, ensuring 12-14 hours light per day? Lighting can also impact hibernation (which is marked by reduced activity in advance of any hibernation attempts).
> 
> Is she in total dark at night? Is she alone at night, or in a room with someone/something that might make noise? Some hedgehogs are super-shy and refuse to run if interrupted.
> 
> ...


She's been home with me for two weeks now. I trimmed her toenails last week, they aren't long at all. I have a lot of light coming in from the windows during the day and I know that her wheel is functioning properly and not wobbly. And she is in the room with me but there
Is no light at night.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Hm. Well, that's me out of easy fast-fixes!

You can try making a bucket-wheel (DIY instructions) or see if someone local makes & resells them to cut down on shipping, or start entering Larry's photo contests to see if you can win a CSW... Running out of time for Halloween (enter fast!), but he historically holds them for the winter holidays, too. You could also try grabbing a Comfort Wheel (the other hedgie-safe storebought wheel) to see if she likes the upright stance better.

If you watch her walk, does it look like her gait is hiding any injuries? Sore hips? Hair tangled around tiny toes?

Can you try draping her cage with a blanket or fabric (without causing a fire hazard with her heating, or totally cutting off ventilation) to give her pitch darkness and see if that helps? Since she's in the room with you, are you keeping a desk light on or something that could be extending her daylight hours beyond the 12-14/day?


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## Meghdearest (Oct 21, 2013)

She's walking fine and doesn't seem to have any injuries. 
Draping a blanket over her cage is out of the question for lack of ventilation... 
She is probably getting more than 14 hours of daylight from my bedroom light at night. So I'll turn that off from now on for sure. 

I was thinking she looks a little big for the flying saucer wheel. So I want to try an upright wheel that is bigger. Probably going to order csbw. 
Until it gets here... Would you suggest getting her a huge ball to run around my room in?


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## Meghdearest (Oct 21, 2013)

And also do you think it has anything to do with her diet? I have her on a low fat science cat diet and I feed her a few mealworms once a day or a chunk of high protein wet cat food.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

I've never tried a ball. A few forum users like them, but I disliked the idea because those tiny slots can catch toes (I'm paranoid; I accept that) and I'd rather pick up mistakes than have my little friend stuck trampling through any poop. You can try supervised playtime for her to run around -- she should be old enough that if you wait for her to pee & poop, you'll have a "safe" time that she won't be making a mess.

I can't really give much advice on food, but that doesn't sound like it'd be problematic for a hedgehog's energy level.


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