I’ve had lots of experience with different brands of running wheels.

I’ve already done a summary at the bottom of my first pet exercise wheel review, but I’ve created a new summary to include one of the newer wheels.

So, to summarize:

The wheel to get depends primarily on the pet you have, and secondarily on how much you want to spend.

I’ve included some Amazon links below for your convenience. They are affiliate links, which means if you end up buying it, I get some change to help with keeping this website up. If you don’t want to buy it that way, just Google the name of the wheel instead.

If you need a:

Chinchilla Wheel
They must have all-metal wheels since they are huge chewers. Fortunately there are choices out there.

You can go with a traditional upright wheel like the ChillaWheel, Silver Surfer, or ChinSpin (although this one has a wood back) or go with a flying saucer wheel.

There are two metal flying saucer wheels made:
1. The original, sold by Flying Saucer Wheels
The man who invented this, Dr. Hull, makes each one personally. My guess is he’ll retire in the not-too-distant future, so get this while you can if you want it. Since he has a patent on this design, any other flying saucer wheel you see really stole his idea.

2. The Treadmill (14 inch). Similar design to the original. It’s important to note that they had a lot of problems with the bearings, which caused the wheel to wobble after just a few months of use. HOWEVER they’ve redesigned it and say the problem is fixed. The new wheels should be out in June of 2016, so make sure you are buying one with a redesigned bearing.

Suitable:
Silver Surfer
ChillaWheel (but some say too heavy for the bars of a cage)
ChinSpin (but has a wooden back)
Flying Saucer
Treadmill 14 inch (make sure you get the redesigned bearing)

Gerbil Wheel
Definitely NO plastic mesh track; gerbils are enormous chewers and it will not last. Also, do not get the metal wheels from pet stores that have a central axle. Your gerbil’s tail can get caught between the support for the axle and the stand.

When I said in the video that the should never have plastic wheels, that’s only partially true. A lot of people use the Silent Spinner (sold in pet stores or on Amazon) because it is a harder plastic. Go with the 12 inch. It will be big, but the smaller size of 6.5 inches is too small. You can also take a chance with a Wodent Wheel or Silent Runner; they will most likely chew around the openings.

Partially Suitable:
Silent Spinner 12 inch
Wodent Wheel Senior (11-inch)
Silent Runner (12-inch)

Hamster Wheel
Just about any wheel will work for a hamster. Since they have no tails, you don’t have to worry about a tail getting caught with an axle wheel (although if you have more than one, a head could get caught while another hamster starts to spin).

If you have a Syrian hamster, which is larger, you need at least an 11 inch or 12 inch wheel. Smaller is fine for other breeds.

Suitable:
Wodent Junior or Senior
Stealth Junior or regular
Silent Runner
Silent Spinner
Flying Saucer (the plastic one by Ware is fine. But get at least the medium which is 7.25 inches)

Rat Wheel
Either of the three wheels in the video is fine, but I prefer the mesh track of the Stealth because the ‘raisins’ will fall out instead of getting mashed in when the run.
Stealth (regular size)
Silent Runner
Wodent Senior (for females or small males) or Wobust (for males or females)
Silent Spinner (12 inch)

Sugar Glider Wheel
Stealth (regular size)