Do Duprasi Love Running In Wheels?

We won’t lie to you – this is a no brainer.

If you have ever looked after a duprasi for more than one night – then you will know the answer to this without a doubt.

You wouldn’t be able to miss that fact that although they appear to sleep their entire life away during the day – at night they are like Usain Bolt.

A wheel is their best friend – and we don’t know what duprasi do to pass the time without one?

Wheels Are Your Doop’s Best Friend:

Seriously do doops love a wheel!  We can’t believe how long they can run in these things without stopping (or getting any slimmer).  Without one, your doop must be so bored – or really frustrated.

The amount of time they spend in them really proves that they love to run on the spot – for whatever reason – they just love it.  And we shouldn’t take that away from them.

Whether it is through boredom; the sheer thrill of it; so they can eat more food (seeing as they are already greedy little things); or just because – well, why not?

We go for a 20cm light-weight plastic wheel as our first choice (Trixie multi-coloured ones) not only for stability and reasonable quietness – but this size doesn’t affect their backs at all and when they run in it, they hardly have any curve on them.  Go the next size up if it will fit in their enclosure too…

Best Wheel For Your Fat-Tailed Gerbil?

Well, the best wheel for your fat-tailed gerbils depends on a few things – some for you and some for them.

Firstly and most importantly – for them.  For their health and safety.

It needs to be light and spacy – so they can run easily and without straining themselves.  Some of the heavier wooden ones are harder to turn and so could over-work their little legs and will be heavier for them to keep moving.

It needs to be smooth-running and easy to use – so they can run freely at any time and in any direction.  If it catches on things or can stop suddenly, they could hurt themselves or hit the sides.

It needs to be stable – some wheels just fall over all the time? You need one that stands well on its own in the substrate, or one that you can attach to the enclosure in some way so it can’t fall over and injure your doop by accident – or even trap them for the night if it falls forwards?

It needs to have no wires on the tread – otherwise there could be serious injuries including broken toes, legs and bruised tails.  No-one – including humans – wants to run on a grill?  We mean who thought that was a good idea?  We’d rather wash out a wheel over and over again than have a doop with a missing toe or broken tail.  Wouldn’t you?

It needs to have no static parts within the entrance/exit area – for the same reason as above – why would you risk having your duprasi skipping in and out of a spinning wheel dodging wire posts?  Why choose that option for your pet when there are loads of safer alternatives with no risk?

It needs to be easy to clean – obvious one really?  Solid plastic ones are easy to clean and dry, with the wire ones needing endless brushing with a toothbrush and have more chance of going rusty when the coating comes off.  We mean, plastic doesn’t rust does it?

It needs to be at least 6 inches (15cm) in diameter for young doops and better if it is 8 inches (20cm) for adults (28cm if you have the enclosure height) – so it doesn’t make them have to bend their back backwards too much to run.  There will always be a bit of a bend for sure otherwise the wheel would be too big for them to turn, but the bigger you can go with them still being able to use it, the better.

Duprasi Wheel Options For You:

For you – it is for personal considerations and there can be many.

It needs to be quiet – if you are sharing your room with your duprasi – you will know what we mean when you hear that first creaking…

It needs to be long-lasting – there is nothing worse than a cheaply-made wheel that stops spinning or starts drooping forwards after a good session.

It ideally will be not ridiculously expensive – and some of them can be.

Ideally too, it is recommended by other duprasi owners (or any similar small animal owners) – noone likes to take the first step.  Why not base your choices on what has worked for hundreds of other people – not just the first thing you find in the store?

Your set-up is big enough for it – the right size wheel won’t fit in every enclosure – no matter how great it looks. We were thinking of a set-up similar to a tortoise table – but they are too low for a good wheel!

Can Duprasi Use Hamster Balls?

If the ball is clear, and large, and they are in there for no longer than 15 minutes and they can’t fall down steps or get accidently kicked or rolled about by children or other pets or people; it isn’t cold on the floor or draughty or too hot; the floor or any other surfaces in the same rooms haven’t recently been washed with strong chemicals and you are watching them the whole time and they actually look like they are enjoying themselves – then yes – duprasi can use hamster balls.

If you can’t meet all these criteria – then no.  But they probably won’t like it anyway.

Exercise balls really aren’t the best place for any small animal we personally don’t think – there are many more suitable places for their free time.

Exercise balls do suit some people’s needs however, and can create a bond for younger people and their pets (in the same way that smaller more accessible enclosures can) so they do serve a purpose for bonding with those people who need a little bit of extra encouragement to spend time with their pets.

The rest of us can use other means of free time exercise and a lot more hands-on handling – and in places where the doop can safely explore their surroundings and stop and sniff things whenever they want – something they can’t do in a hamster ball.

What If My Duprasi Doesn’t Use The Wheel?

If you think your doop is the one-in-a-million doop who doesn’t use the wheel – then we would still leave one in the tank – because unless you sit up all night and watch them – or bait the wheel with gerbil-safe coloured food dye – how would you know they aren’t using it?

Doops looks so inactive during the day that at first, we didn’t think they did anything except just sleep – but initially we had a noisy wheel and knew for sure that they used it ALLLLLLLL night.

Even the pups get straight on in the wheel and pad around and around for hours – sometimes two of them get in and go in different directions – but it doesn’t put them off!

Silly.