Banjanin, S., and Mrosovsky, N., 2000, Preferences of mice, Mus musculus, for different types of running wheel, Laboratory Animals, 34: 313–318.

It is a criminal offence to ignore the requirements of The Animal Welfare Act: – to provide a suitable environment and to protect your pet from pain, injury and suffering. When selling unsuitable products retailers are misleading you as a customer to break the law.Cobos, E. J., Ghasemlou, N., Araldi, D., Segal, D., Duong, K., & Woolf, C. J. (2012). Inflammation-induced decrease in voluntary wheel running in mice: a nonreflexive test for evaluating inflammatory pain and analgesia. PAIN®, 153(4), 876-884. Captive animals continue to use wheels even when provided with other types of enrichment. In one experiment, Syrian hamsters that could use tunnels to access five different cages each containing a toy showed no more than a 25% reduction in running-wheel use compared to hamsters housed in a single cage without toys (except for the running wheel). [14] In another study, female Syrian hamsters housed with a nestbox, bedding, hay, paper towels, cardboard tubes, and branches used a wheel regularly and benefitted from it as indicated by showing less stereotypic bar-gnawing and producing larger litters of young compared to females kept under the same conditions but without a wheel. [15] Laboratory mice were prepared to perform more switch presses to enter a cage containing a running wheel compared to several meters of Habitrail tubing or a torus of Habitrail tubing. [16] Kandasamy, R., Calsbeek, J. J., & Morgan, M. M. (2016). Home cage wheel running is an objective and clinically relevant method to assess inflammatory pain in male and female rats. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 263, 115-122. A hamster wheel or running wheel is an exercise device used primarily by hamsters and other rodents, but also by other cursorial animals when given the opportunity. Most of these devices consist of a runged or ridged wheel held on a stand by a single or pair of stub axles. Hamster wheels allow rodents to run even when their space is confined. The earliest dated use of the term "hamster wheel", located by the Oxford English Dictionary, is in a 1949 newspaper advertisement. [1] Preferences [ edit ]

All Wheels below 6.5″ should be banned, this size is only suitable for a Roborovski hamster, anything smaller is not suitable for any size of hamster. Despite seeming like a fairly simple item, hamster wheels come in various designs and styles. Here’s what you need to know before purchasing. Size of Your Hamster https://www.hamsterwelfare.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Tiffany-video-how-a-hamster-should-look-in-a-wheel.mp4

To provide a suitable environment and to protect hamsters from pain and suffering the following changes need to be made so that pet keepers are not breaking the law:

Like other rodents, hamsters are highly motivated to run on wheels; it is not uncommon to record distances of 9km (5.6mi) being run in one night. Other 24-h records include 43km (27mi) for rats, 31km (19mi) for wild mice, 19km (12mi) for lemmings, 16km (9.9mi) for laboratory mice, and 8km (5.0mi) for gerbils. [8] Hypotheses to explain such high levels of running in wheels include a need for activity, substitute for exploration, and stereotypic behaviour. However, free wild mice will run on wheels installed in the field, which speaks against the notion of stereotypic behavior induced by captivity conditions. [9] Alternatively, various experimental results strongly indicate that wheel-running, like play or the endorphin or endocannabinoid [10] release associated with the ' runner's high', is self-rewarding. [8] [11] [12] Wheel use is highly valued by several species as shown in consumer demand studies which require an animal to work for a resource, i.e. bar-press or lift weighted doors. [8] [13] This makes running wheels a popular type of enrichment to the captivity conditions of rodents. To provide a suitable environment and to protect hamsters from pain and suffering the following changes need to be made so that pet keepers are not breaking the law: Wheels which are smaller than 28cm (11″) should not be advertised as being suitable for a Syrian Hamster.

Rhodes, J.S., Gammie, S.C. and Garland, T., Jr., 2005, Neurobiology of mice selected for high voluntary wheel-running activity, Integrative and Comparative Biology, 45: 438-455. Belke, T.W., and Wagner, J.P. 2005. The reinforcing property and the rewarding aftereffect of wheel running in rats: a combination of two paradigms. Behavioral Processes 68: 165-172. Gattermann R., Weinandy R., and Fritzsche P. 2004. Running-wheel activity and body composition in golden hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus). Physiology and Behavior 82: 541-544. A related exercise device, the hamster ball, is a hollow plastic ball into which a pet can be temporarily placed. The ball allows the pet to freely roll around on the floor to explore and exercise while preventing escape.Recent theory suggests that hamster balls are not recommended for exercise outside of the cage. The balls prevent the rodent from using touch (whiskers) and smell to navigate the area. It also restricts airflow and can catch toes/tails in the slits meant for airflow. Hamsters are protected by The Animal Welfare Act, it makes owners and keepers responsible for ensuring that the welfare needs of their animals are met. These include the need: Meredith, Susan (2000). Hamsters. Tulsa, Okla.: EDC Pub. p.30. ISBN 9780794507961 . Retrieved 21 June 2020.

Sherwin, C.M., 1998, The use and perceived importance of three resources which provide caged laboratory mice the opportunity of extended locomotion, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 55: 353-367. Leaflet No. 62 - Pets, accessories contrary to animal welfare" (PDF). TVT (in German). Germany . Retrieved 21 June 2020. a b c Sherwin, C.M., 1998, Voluntary wheel running: A review and novel interpretation, Animal Behaviour, 56: 11–27Reebs, S.G.; Maillet, D. (2003). "Effect of cage enrichment on the daily use of running wheels by Syrian hamsters". Chronobiology International. 20 (1): 9–20. doi: 10.1081/CBI-120018329. PMID 12638687. S2CID 21925891. Choice tests with Syrian hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus) have shown that they prefer larger wheels; the animals chose a wheel diameter of 35cm (14in) over 23cm (9.1in), [2] which itself was preferred over 17.5cm (6.9in). [3]