Running wheel blues
February 11, 2008 - A while back I've bought
my boys a running wheel (a blue
Super
Pet Giant Comfort Wheel, Ø 30 cm), in hopes that especially
Pancho would use it to get just a little more
exercise. The wheel has been in the cage for more
than two months now, and they've run in it exactly null times. From time to
time I put one of the boys in the wheel, but they don't seem to feel very
comfortable inside it and they usually get out as quickly as possible. I've
tried to lure them into the wheel by gluing small treats on the inside, but
to no avail; they simply removed the treats from outside the wheel by
turning it with their hands.
But tonight when I put Pancho in the wheel again, he
actually took a few steps. He didn't actually run, but I rewarded
him with a treat nevertheless. Who knows, maybe I can bribe Pancho by
rewarding him with a treat each time he takes a few steps in the wheel. In
time he might learn to appreciate the wheel without getting treats. (This
is important, because as long as I keep giving him treats, the extra
exercise will probably be
pointless...) So, I hope to be able
to show you the first video of Pancho running in the wheel real soon. And
then there will be no more
running wheel
blues, at least not for me. ;-)
Pancho's first steps in the wheel
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