Flying Saucer Size,

[AJ303]

I Recently Bought a Metal Flying saucer online from Shelfridges UK. My chinchillas took no intrest in it for the two weeks so I moved it higher up the cage about 10days ago, I also removed a couple of toys to encourage them to investigate it & have actvely been using treats to encourage them to go near it, touch it and hop on to it.

In the last 24hours Poppy has finnaly made some progress; she will hop on to it and move/walk on it correctly-ish (for a treat) however after a few seconds or so her back end goes up behind her and she ends up doing a compleate circuit or two of the saucer instead of staying on the spot running while it spins!

Is this because she is still learning & not got it right yet, is unfit (and so not fast enough) or is it because ths saucer is too small (i've read about the 15" ones) I really really hope its not to small! it haddn't crossed my mind that it could possibly be to small untill she kept doing this a few times as it seems big even when the sit on it.

I had a saucer previously in a cage with two boys & I'm pretty sure it wasn't bigger than this one, but the boys are a wee bit smaller of course. But I may be getting paranoid /anxious anyway because my boys got how to use a saucer within a week & this time 3 weeks down the line only one of my girls has really even tried using it.

So Is a 13.3" inch big enough? & also if anyone has any other tips to encourage chins to use a saucer apart from removing a few distractions &
giving treats, i'd really love to know them.

Thanks very much for any replies!

 

[bthny158]

I have no clue Dolly has had her wheel for about a month now & she still has no interest in it other than peeing on it. Guess some chins just don't want to run on a wheel

 

[seachin]

I swear by the Flying Saucers. The 33cm wheel size is the standard and works for most chins. There is a smaler size for weanlings. And I think the larger ones are pretty much just for heffer chins :laughitup:

The recommendation is that the flat part of the running surface be around 9-10 cm or so off the floor. Depending on what type of wheel chins are raised with, some pick it up naturally, some never get the hang of them. Luckily, my chins come from breeders who all use the Flying Saucers (one of them being the people who actually make them), so I think it realy helps to have the experience from the start, or for the chins to see other chins running on the wheels.

It is rather comical to see them take rotations around the top. Its quite okay as long as they don't get thrown off everytime they go for a run....believe me, if they don't like the weird rotations around the wheel, they will jump right off! Give them time to practice and get comfortable with them. I have heard some chins take a couple months for them to get comfortable running on them....then you won't be able to get them off the wheels :impatient:

 

[CJR]

Are you sure she's not running on it when you're not around? When I'm in the room, Bess is too busy trying to get my attention/watching me to care about running. The moment I turn off the light and go to sleep, she's on her wheel running all. night. long.

 

[SamiJami]

It took my chin, Zipper, several days and several treats to get going on the wheel. All 3 of my guys like running on it full speed and then stopping to let the wheel twirl them about, or throw them off to somewhere. Ezio and Altair picked up the wheel quickly. They found it a nice seat to rock on and then my boyfriend and I would move it around and they'd walk with our spinnings. Your girl might be running on it when you're not around, they are really quiet! ^_^

 

[broderp]

I found this:

http://www.flyingsaucerwheels.com/wheelinformation.html

Looks like a smaller saucer is comparable to a larger wheel. Based on orientation and rotation, it makes sense to me.

 

[seachin]

The standard wheel works for most chins so its probably the right size...just give your chin some time. I knew mine were running on them when I would come down in the middle of the night or in the morning when they would be sitting on them....I love how they always run with their butts towards me....like they think they'ree getting away! :hilarious:

 

[Shooper]

I'm having the same issue right now, but I've only had my saucer for 2 days.
I think I'm just so excited to see Charlie run that I want it to happen now!
Charlie does check it out and put his front paws on it, but that's all. I have learned some good suggestions from this thread, thanks!

 

[Shooper]

I'm very pleased to announce that Charlie took the leap of faith on the 4th day and now loves his saucer! I took some advice from thisthread and it helped. I also took 1/2 a raisin and kinda stuck it in the center of the saucer so he had to get on it to be rewarded! Thanks!