Mounting a wheel?

[LeoMonster]

I don't have the best cage ever, but I really want to get a wheel to put on the wall of my cage for Leo to run on, as I'm afraid he's getting bored in his cage/not enough exercise.

I've seen good thoughts about this grape wheel on other threads and am thinking about getting it for him.

http://www.chinchillas.com/estore/detail.aspx?ID=106

Someone suggested that I mount the wheel to a piece of wood through the cage bars to stabilize it, but I'm also worried about the wall sagging in a bit. I don't have bars that form a square, they're more or less horizontal with a vertical bar every so often.

Are there any suggestions on how I could do this in a way that the wall will be stabilized? Or should I just throw in the towel and scrounge up the money to buy another cage.....I'm looking at a Martin's cage. But that would require dropping about $150 for the cage and all new shelving units/etc. Which means no wheel for a bunch of months as being a college student with a part time job doesn't give me enough money to throw around all at once :tantrum:

Side note: I had a low blood sugar seizure scare with him one day after a too long playtime.....can he run himself into another seizure on a wheel from not knowing when to stop playing on it?



EDIT: Just watched the promo video from that link. My cage is VERY similar, although it has a few less vertical bars.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

What kind of cage do you have right now?

 

[LeoMonster]

Honestly I'm not 100% sure, but I think its a Ware cage
Petsmart has one on its website for rats but its not the right dimensions.....its definitely not 7" in areas.
I put in a link to the rat cage because the picture looks right, I just know the dimensions are wrong.


http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4470992

 

[Airyn]

If the vertical wire spacing is less than 1/2" you'll have issues mounting the Silver Surfer wheel to your cage. There are two pieces that need to fit in between the bars for a proper mount, and those pieces are just a bit larger than 1/2". I had it mounted "sideways" for a while (Critter Nation 162), but Maia realized that if she runs really hard, really fast, she can make it bang against the side and wake up the neighbors. After a few months of headaches, I ended up buying them a Chin Spin instead.

Since you're on a budget, you could always get him a FN141 and then just expand later. They're really sturdy cages and cost a little less than Martin's. Quality Cage Company is the other popular one. Good cages, but they are pricey.

 

[LeoMonster]

I'd like to get him a better cage this coming summer, when I'm home for good. The only problem with the FN that I see right now is that I don't have the space for it in my house at college.

The bars that go horizontally across the cage I have now have a 1/2" space above/below them before the next bar hits. Is this what you meant by vertical space? If I needed to squeeze them in I might be able to bend the bars a little just to get the part through.

 

[Airyn]

Yes, that's what exactly what I mean by vertical space. If your bars are bendable, I'd be concerned about whether or not they'd hold the weight of the wheel with a chin running on it at top speed. Take a look at the hooks on the back of the Silver Surfer in your original link and you'll see what I mean by barely over 1/2". I'll see if I can get an actual measurement for you when I get home tonight.

 

[LeoMonster]

Oh they're just hooks? I thought I saw a hole where I could put a screw through it as well. My plan was to put a board of wood on the outside of the cage, and screw the wheel onto that. Thereby stabilizing the wall.

EDIT: Could I drill a small hole into the metal in which to put a screw through. Like still hook it to the cage, but underneath the hooks have a hole and a screw.

 

[Airyn]

The top two are hooks that are part of the metal and the bottom one has the screw attachment. The board would work perfectly if you can get the hooks through the bars. The hooks won't bend or move at all without a blow torch. )

 

[LeoMonster]

So instead of drilling, I could find a thinner piece of wood and just attach the hooks on the top of the board then....no drilling involved.

 

[Airyn]

Well, the weight of the wheel is primarily on those two hooks while the bottom screw is just the stabilizer. If you can secure the board to the cage enough to hold the weight of the wheel, you should be able to attach the hooks to the top of the board and just drill one hole for the bottom screw.

 

[LeoMonster]

Okay thanks! I'll look into it!