Along with a complete and nutrient rich-diet, regular exercise is important to keep your chinchilla healthy and happy. Chinchillas are very active creatures, and, living in a cage, you’ll need to ensure they have access to a wheel to exercise, and plenty of space to run around in. A wheel also keeps them entertained, while also providing essential exercise.
Finding the right wheel for your beloved chinchilla can be a hard task, but we’ve done the hard work for you, and put together this list of in-depth reviews. Hopefully, these reviews will help you narrow down the wide array of options and find the right chinchilla wheel for your furry friend.
The Silent Spinner exercise wheel from Kaytee is our top overall choice for your chinchilla. It will give your chinchilla the exercise it needs without making tons of noise in the cage. Chinchillas are nocturnal, so this is a great feature that will make sure it doesn’t keep you up at night! It uses a smooth ball-bearing design to keep it silent and smooth, and the running surface is made from high-quality plastic that is safe for your chinchilla’s feet. It can be used as a free-standing wheel and can easily attach to the inside of your pet’s cage. The wheel has no holes or protruding parts that can hurt your chinchilla.
The supplied stand is prone to falling over, so it works best when attached to the cage. Some users report the screw stripping easily, and the wheel becomes unattached from the stand, which may injure your chinchilla.
Pros
Silent spinning
Free-standing and easily attaches to cages
Smooth running surface
Cons
Stand falls over easily
Screws strip easily
2. Kaytee Comfort Small Animal Exercise Wheel — Best Value
The Kaytee Comfort Small Animal Wheel is the best chinchilla wheel for the money, according to our tests. It will provide a silent and fun workout for your chinchilla, without breaking the bank. It features a safe running surface that has ridges to help with grip and a unique “tail-safe” design to make sure your chinchilla doesn’t get its tail stuck inside the mechanism. It comes with a heavy-duty wire stand that allows it to be used as a free-standing wheel, or you can easily attach it to the inside of the cage.
Users report that while it is silent at first, it does start to squeak after a few days, and it is difficult to attach to the cage. Its noisy operation keeps it from our top spot.
If you are looking for a quality and long-lasting wheel for your furry friend, this chinchilla wheel from Quality Cage Crafters may be it. It is ultra-heavy duty and built to last a lifetime with its metal and wood construction. It has an open-wheel design that is free from a center bar, which can sometimes hurt your chinchilla’s back. The wheel has a wide and smooth running surface, with a quality wood surface backing, and uses ball bearings for a smooth and squeak-free operation. The running surface is coated with a specialized silver powder that serves as a safe grip for your chinchilla’s feet.
It is a big, 15-inch diameter wheel, so check your cage’s dimensions before purchasing. The wheel has no included stand but mounts easily onto the side of most cages with the supplied hardware.
The Silent Runner wheel from Exotic Nutrition has an axle-free design, which protects your chinchilla’s spine and reduces the risk of tail and feet entanglement. It has a dual ball-bearing design for smooth and silent performance, as opposed to an axle design wheel that will often squeak and wobble. The wheel also completely disassembles for easy cleaning, with no small nooks and crannies for droppings or bedding to get stuck in. The running surface is textured to ensure a safe grip for your chinchilla’s feet, and it has a removable front plate for containment and privacy. It also has a metal stand that allows for a bit of movement, which acts as a shock absorber for comfortable operation.
This wheel is claimed to be silent, though it is anything but. Its shock-absorber design moves around, which causes noise, and it will start squeaking after only a few days of use. Several users also report the wheel screws stripping and the wheel coming off the stand, which can potentially injure your chinchilla.
This metal wheel from Ware Manufacturing has a sturdy, powder-coated metal design. This makes it sanitary and easy to clean and durable and long-lasting. A metal wheel is also a great choice if your chinchilla likes to chew, which most do, as it is completely chew-proof. Its design also keeps its operation fairly silent, and it is safe for feet and tails and won’t put strain on your chinchilla’s back.
The wheel will likely fall off all the time, though, as it is not permanently held in place by a bolt or screw. The wheel slips onto the bar loosely, which is a poor design choice. Users also report the wheel bending easily, and the stand is flimsy and falls over frequently.
This running wheel from Suncoast Sugar Gliders has an 11-inch diameter and a wall-to-wall tail shield that completely covers the axle to keep your pet’s tail safe. It has a metal stand and can be attached simply to the side of the cage. The stand is nice and stable, and the wheel is fairly silent, though only after a bit of regular oiling. It has a smooth-running action and a solid running surface, and the attached enclosure plate keeps your chinchilla safely running inside.
The enclosure cover makes this wheel difficult to clean, as it needs to be completely dissembled to do so. Bedding and dropping will easily get stuck inside, so you’ll need to clean it frequently. Many small parts can easily be misplaced when disassembling, and the running track is flimsy. It is also fairly small, especially with the cover on, and will likely not be big enough for large adult chinchillas.
This all-metal exercise wheel from Exotic Nutrition is heavy-duty and long lasting. It is easy to clean, and your chinchillas won’t be able to chew it up due to its metal construction. It features an extra-wide 6-inch running track, with a pet-safe powdered coating. Its 15-inch, axle-free construction is safe for your chinchilla’s tail and back, and all the edges are hemmed to prevent cuts and scratches. It attaches easily and quickly to the side of most cages and has a quiet, smooth-running operation.
Some users report that this wheel wobbles due to the bearing design and after a short time, becomes extremely noisy, even with oiling. It is also expensive compared with the other wheels listed here.
Pros
All-metal design
Wide running track
Cons
Expensive
Noisy
Wobbles
No stand included
Buyers Guide – Choosing the Best Chinchilla Wheels
Keeping your chinchilla well-exercised is important. Chinchillas are highly active, nocturnal creatures, so simply playing with them during the day will likely not be enough. An exercise wheel in its cage is the best option to keep them well-exercised and entertained. But this should also be supplemented by having them run freely outside or inside a large cage — a wheel alone is not enough. There are a few important things to consider before purchasing a wheel for your furry friend.
Materials
The materials that your wheel is constructed from will make a difference not only to its longevity but also to the safety of your chinchilla. Most wheels on the market are made from either metal or plastic, but sometimes wood is also included.
Metal wheels are highly durable and long-lasting and are also stronger and heavier. They will provide a good amount of support for your chinchilla. Metal wheels are generally easier to clean and will not absorb odors like plastic or wood sometimes can. Your chinchilla will not be able to chew metal either, so it will last much longer than plastic varieties.
Metal wheels are generally more expensive and heavier, which will push up prices on shipping. They are also often noisier, and silent-design metal wheels will cost you even more.
Plastic wheels are affordable and lightweight and easily set up. They are also generally quieter, which is perfect for a nocturnal pet! That said, plastic wheels are easier to break, and your chinchilla can chew through one pretty quickly. Plastic and wood can also absorb and retain odors after long term use.
Safety
A running wheel’s safety has a few factors to consider to keep your chinchilla safe. The wheel should be as large as possible, as a wheel that is too small could cause spinal damage. The running surface should be smooth but grippy, and a solid surface with around a 5-inch width is best. A mesh surface could trap your chinchilla’s feet or tail and potentially rip it off, and a thin design could make your chinchilla fall off and potentially injure itself.
If your wheel has a stand, it must be as solid as possible to prevent the wheel from falling on your chinchilla and causing injury. If possible, it is best attached to the side of your cage. A wheel without an axle will protect your chinchilla’s back and prevent injury to its tail, which can get caught in an axle-based design.
Conclusion
According to our tests, the top choice for a chinchilla wheel is the Kaytee Silent Spinner. It is well constructed and will give your chinchilla the exercise it needs without making tons of noise in the cage. This wheel is a classic among chinchilla owners and is a wheel your chinchillas will love, while not keeping you up at night!
The best chinchilla wheel for the money is the Kaytee Comfort Small Animal Wheel. It will provide a silent and safe workout for your chinchilla, without breaking the bank. It features a unique “tail-safe” design to make sure your chinchilla doesn’t get its tail stuck inside the mechanism.
Choosing a chinchilla wheel that is both safe and durable can be a difficult process. Hopefully, our in-depth reviews have helped narrow down the options, so you can choose the right wheel for your furry friend.
Nicole is the proud mom of 3 rescue fur babies, Baby, a Burmese cat; Rosa, a New Zealand Huntaway; and Mac, a Lab/Mastiff. A Canadian expat, Nicole now lives on a lush forest property with her Kiwi husband and new baby daughter in New Zealand. She has a strong love for all animals of all shapes and sizes (and particularly loves a good interspecies friendship) and wants to share her animal knowledge and other experts' knowledge with pet lovers across the globe....Read more
