This is simply my opinion and experience... I do have exercise wheels in my
gerbils tanks. I have done two things for safety. One I mount the wheel
from the lid of the tank by bending the base to a right angle. I then slip
it through the mesh top and secure it with wire. This keeps it well off of
the floor giving them maximum floor space. My gerbils love their wheel!
I am not able to buy ones solid wheels either. Only the wire ones made for
gerbils. So what I do is get heavy clear shipping tape. I wrap this
tightly around the outside of the wheel. It takes two pieces to cover the
width of the wheel. The tape adheres very well to the metal rungs and
provides a tight fit. The last step is to carefully cover the inside of the
wheel with bedding. This keeps their feet from sticking to the tape. After
the tape is well covered I brush off the excess bedding. After a few days
all that will be left is a fine sawdust.
I have three tanks of gerbils and feel that for me at least this is a safe
and reasonable compromise.
Janet
