Running bike (small animal)
A running wheel (colloquially often hamster wheel ) is a device that is set up or attached to small mammal cages in pet ownership and is used to satisfy the animals' urge to move (see enrichment ). Hamster enclosures are usually equipped with running wheels, but other small rodents such as color mice , color rats , gerbils , lemmings or degus run in such wheels - although it is not necessary or useful for every species and a running wheel is never a substitute for a cage that is appropriately sized and furnished There should be opportunities to run out.
Form and function
An impeller has the shape of a drum , which is rotatably mounted about its horizontally arranged axis of rotation . The drive takes place exclusively through the muscle power of the animal running in it. The purpose of the impeller is not to achieve locomotion, but rather to provide an (apparently) endless path for the small animal through its stationary and freely rotating suspension despite the limited dimensions of the enclosure , similar to a treadmill . The actual running surface is the inner surface of the circumferential cylinder jacket. The animal can climb into the wheel through the open side and start walking in one direction; the wheel gives way to the weight of the animal and turns. Hamster balls are said to satisfy the urge to move around small animals in a similar way .
Impellers are available in different sizes and made of different materials, wood, plastic or wire constructions are common. The latter are not without controversy and are generally viewed as a violation of animal welfare. Wire mesh impellers can cause serious injury. Bikes , broken bones , tail injuries, ball diseases or even the loss of limbs can occur on bikes with a non-closed running surface consisting only of wire cross rungs and on bikes with an open rear wall on the suspension side . Particularly dangerous are wheels with open entry sides, where the animals can get trapped between the wheel spokes and the suspension of the wheel ("scissors effect").
If the diameter of the wheel is too small in relation to the body length, on which the animal has to walk with a curved back, can cause damage to the spine ( swayback ). Thus, for Goldhamster a minimum diameter of 25 to 30 cm and a dwarf hamster minimum diameter of about 20 centimeters recommended.
It could be observed that wild mice often and gladly use exercise bikes.
Running disks or plates
As an alternative to the usual running wheels, running disks or running plates are also offered under the trade name Flying Saucer . These consist of a disk-shaped running surface with a bulging edge on the outside, similar to a flat bowl, which is rotatably mounted on an axis slightly inclined from the vertical. Here, too, the animal runs steadily "uphill" on the upward sloping sector of the surface on the line of a circular secant and thereby sets the disc rotating with its weight.
Turnspit Wheel
A practical significance had dogs driven wheels before the age of electrification: In the 18th century small UK dogs called were turnspit dog ( Engl. For a spit turning dog ), bred to and trained in small treadmills spits to drive over the stove. These rotisseries were called turnspit , the dog wheel or turnspit wheel . The dog drive was also used in other places.
Proverbial hamster wheel
The hamster wheel is seen as a symbol or metaphor for a human life characterized by routine and recurring processes.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Leaflet No. 62 ( Memento of the original from March 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. "Animal welfare-related accessories in pet keeping" by the Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare, accessed on April 2, 2015
- ↑ Regina Binder, Daniela Lexer: Source of danger impeller: Requirements for an injury-proof impeller . In: VUW Magazin . April 2007 ( PDF file ). PDF file ( Memento of the original dated December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Johanna H. Meijer, Yuri Robbers: Wheel running in the wild , Proc. R. Soc. B , 2014, vol. 281, no.1786, DOI: 10.1098 / rspb.2014.0210
- ↑ Description of various types of wheels. Hamsterhilfe NRW eV website, accessed on April 3, 2015
- ↑ Rotating Art: Two New Yorkers spin the hamster wheel. In: Spiegel Online. March 8, 2014, accessed June 24, 2014 .
