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Reviews - Exotic Nutrition Silent Runner Wheel

7/23/2017

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On my birthday, I asked for another wheel due to the Kaytee Silent Spinners getting worn out by our Girls Sorority.  I can honestly say I am in love with the new wheel. Well two new wheels, if you consider they are different widths. This wheel is called the Silent Runner 12" Wide for the boys and the Silent Runner 12" Regular is for the girls. Both are made and carried by Exotic Nutrition and sell for around the same price as the Kaytee Silent Spinners. There is an optional cage attachment that I highly recommend you get. Ours run wild on them and if they were not attached to the cage, they hit the ground with a bounce in the frames that come with them.
 
The wheel comes completely apart for cleaning and once a month they recommend you oil the bearings so they do not seize. Each size comes in one color. They also have the option to add a sandpaper track that will trim the nails but to be perfectly honest with you, with the way a few of my girls run on them I would be worried they would rub their feet raw on the sandpaper. I imagine this isn't the case, I mean why would a company manufacture something that could do that.... someday I may try to put it in for just one day every few weeks but I still am a bit concerned.  

Overall, a couple of my ratties still enjoy the Kaytee 12" Silent Spinner Wheels (they still have 1 in each cage) But a majority of them actually push and shove for their turn in Silent Runners, which are really quiet. I can only hear the patting of their feet and not any of the bearings. 

 To recap, The Silent Runner has only one color per size, you need to buy an additional cage attachment if you want to have it secured to your cage, optional track can be purchased – (Sandpaper for nails), it easy to clean, QUIET and is a nice 12" size with the option for a wider track.  On average I have found it for around $28 online for the basic wheel. The only complaint is having to oil it monthly but worth it to make it last!


If you are planning on getting a wheel, make sure you invest and get the larger one (at least 12"). They will outgrow the smaller sizes in just a few months and can develop many complications from running on the wheel if not closely monitored. This can include but are not limited to spinal curvature (wheel tail), back injuries, nerve damage and even muscular injury.
 
**** I would rate the Exotic Nutrition Silent Runners -  4 out of 5 stars

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Girls Sorority has the regular track
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Boys Dorm has the wide track
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Reviews - Rat Wheel  - Kaytee 12" Silent Spinner

10/6/2016

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To use a wheel or not?   I have currently have three wheels in our main cages and have used saucers as well. By far the rat's choice is the Kaytee 12" Silent Spinner Wheel. The saucers are great to use if the rats have ALWAYS had them since a baby. Otherwise they do not seem to grasp the hang of them and fly off rather quickly.  Two of my girls still love them however the rest prefer to run & sleep on the Silent Spinner.   Our boys tend to be a bit too lazy/ big for even the 12" wheel. The last time our 2# boy got on it actually fell apart from the cage. This has only happened once, but that was enough to keep him from even venturing to that level in the cage. The connector that holds it to the cage actually came out of the main wheel. I had to accept that some of my boys needed an alternative exercise since they are just too big for the wheels while the younger boys and all the girls seem to enjoy running on it often. 

The Silent Spinner is pretty easy to detach from the cage to clean. If you have a calm rat that likes to run it seems to hold up fairly well. However, one of ours likes to hop/run. This is just too hard on the Silent Spinners attachments. It wobbles and breaks down rather quickly and has to be removed because of the awful wobbly noise it starts to make. 

To recap, the Kaytee Silent Spinner has a variety of colors, it is easy to attach to bars, easy to clean and nice 12" size. On average I have found it for around $22 at local pet shops. The biggest complaint, it wears down quickly with rambunctious runners. 


*** I would rate the Kaytee Silent Spinner with  - 3 out of 5 stars

If you are planning on getting a wheel, make sure you invest and get the larger one (at least 12"). They will outgrow the smaller sizes in just a few months and can develop many complications from running on the wheel if not closely monitored. This can include but are not limited to spinal curvature (wheel tail), back injuries, nerve damage and even muscular injury.

(Links may not be the current cheapest around but will give you an idea of what we are talking about. All of the Amazon Smile links can benefit Best Friends Rodent Rescue. It is simple to set up - follow directions at the top of the Amazon for 'Amazon Smile' then find their non profit charity. Once you set it up, save a bookmark for every time you use Amazon)
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Reviews - Pumice Chew

8/22/2016

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To chew or not to chew? That is the question.

Did you know that the word rodent is from Latin rodere "to gnaw". All rodents are characterized by their nonstop growing incisors. A rats front and lower incisors grow on average almost 3 mm a week. If trimmed they can end up growing a whopping 1 mm a day! I find it amazing that if one is broken, it has been shown to grow faster to play 'catch up'. 

To keep their teeth down to an efficient size they will gnaw on hard items along with bruxing. (Bruxing is when the rat will basically grind their teeth) When they brux they are moving their lower jaw in front of upper jaw, in a back and forth rapid movement.  Another name for this is 'thegosis'  meaning to sharpen teeth. [Greek Thego - sharpen]  


Now that the mini science lesson is over, what do we do to help the ratties in our mischief keep a healthy tooth length? Overall, our ratties do not chew on too many things in the cage. Certain types of plastics seem to be fair game. They also like some of the hard wood products we use in the cage. The one thing we discovered by accident, happens to be another product by Critter Ware - their Lava Star.  We pick one up at the feed store for $1.50, last year, when we were wanting to decorate for the 4th of July.   The girls went crazy for it and now insist we buy them a new one every couple months.  Of course to be fair the boys get one too!   We have bought other blocks, but this particular one seems to be used up completely every 2 months. The others are often just dragged to their litter box and peed on - lol.  

***** Overall, I would rate the Critter Ware - Lava Star - 5 out of 5 stars!    


(Links may not be the current cheapest around but will give you an idea of what we are talking about. All of the Amazon Smile links can benefit Best Friends Rodent Rescue. It is simple to set up - follow directions at the top of the Amazon for 'Amazon Smile' then find their non profit charity. Once you set it up, save a bookmark for every time you use Amazon)

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Book Review - Petey the One-Eyed Rat by Kim Lampson Reiff

4/8/2016

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What a fun book! As I was reading, I often got lost in the moment. The author did such a great job of writing from the rat's perspective. There were moments where I laughed so hard my husband wanted me read him the excerpt. There were other times I cried and had to share what just happened. The characters and their plight compelled me to turn the page to find out what will happen next. In fact, I was so sad when the kindle said I was 94% done with the book, I didn't want the story to end. I really would love to point out some of my favorite parts but then that would required spoiler alerts. Owning rat's myself, made me want to read the book. If you have ever bought a pet at a pet store you will enjoy reading this book. If you have ever rescued a pet, you will enjoy reading this book. If you are a parent, this is a great book to read aloud with your younger children. There is a lot of action, while also teaching great morals of how to treat others. It also has so many facts about rats cleverly inserted within the story. I do not think owning rats is a prerequisite to read this book, but if you do own them, you HAVE to read this!

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