Hamster wheel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The related term squirrel cage may refer to:

• a squirrel cage rotor
• a squirrel cage fan or blower

Hamster wheels are exercise toys used by hamsters and other rodents. Most of these toys are composed of a runged wheel held on a stand by a pair of stub axles. Hamster wheels allow rodents to run even when their space is confined.

Most wheels are usually constructed of steel or plastic, both with advantages and problems. Solid plastic wheels are safer for some types of pets, such as hamsters, because their feet or legs can get stuck between the rungs of a steel wheel and cause injuries. However, some rodents (such as gerbils) will quickly chew on and destroy plastic wheels, but not more durable steel wheels.

A related toy, the hamster ball is a spherical plastic ball into which a pet can be temporarily locked. The ball allows the pet to freely roll around on the floor to explore and exercise, while preventing escape. Care must be taken to block off stairways, and time in the ball should be limited as more than an hour without access to water could allow a pet to become dehydrated.

[edit] Hamster wheel humour

Hamster wheels have often been proposed as the basis of many speculative methods for power generation, though they are not feasible for large-scale applications; Make Magazine and other similar publications have included directions for rodent-powered nightlights, but such projects are explicitly small-scaled and meant mostly for humor value. They are often said to be the true power behind computer networks, especially slow-moving or unreliable ones. The joke is similarly applied to sub-compact automobiles and other small motor vehicles.

[edit] Human-sized wheels

Large runged wheels have been constructed large enough to allow humans to exercise and/or roll around in them. See also wheel gymnastics. A wheel that is used for power generation is called a treadwheel. A similar wheel was used as the "One-Ton Human Hamster Wheel" on the game show Double Dare