How to Make a Hamster Wheel Quiet

Hamster wheel noise is something that you definitely don’t want to hear during the night.

Nonetheless, it’s quite annoying hearing it during the day as well.

For the lovers of these small hamster beauties, there is a solution.

As any other nocturnal animal, hamster uses the night mostly to play and exercise.

hamster wheel too noisy

It’s highly important for your hamster to exercise, as the lack of exercise might put him into unwanted health issue risks.

So, you wouldn’t want to hear him exercising during the night, right?

Actually, there are a few measures that you can take in order to get your day and night a bit more peaceful.

Some of the methods have certain downfalls, and some of them are the perfect solutions.

It depends only on you whether you will want to invest a bit more, or try with some cheaper tactics.

How to Make a Hamster Wheel Quiet

1. Cage location is important

The first line of defense from hamster wheel noise is the proper cage position.

I know that hamsters are like family members, but there should be some boundaries.

Cage Location Is Important

For example, as they are nocturnal animals, they will be highly active during the night.

Keeping your hamster cage in the bedroom might not be the smartest thing to do.

In other words, you can even use several rooms for the hamster.

If you really want to hold it in your bedroom, once you want to go to bed, simply switch the cage’s location to another room.

That way, your hamster will exercise undisturbed, and you will sleep even better.

The perfect spot for your hamster can be a dimply lit room where he can sleep soundly during the day and where his late-night escapades won’t keep you up.

Place it away from the direct sunlight, in the bathroom or in a separate room where he can keep his sleep schedule and exercise schedule natural without disturbing your routine.

2. Choose a proper exercise wheel

Choose A Proper Exercise Wheel

I mean, you can remove the exercise wheel anytime its loud noises bother you.

But that isn’t the point.

As we already mentioned, lack of a hamster’s exercise might lead to unwanted health issues.

Exercise is a very important part of the hamster’s life, his health and emotional state.

This wheel is needed as a way of releasing pent-up energy and having a bit of fun.

Since there are old traditional metal wheels that can be quite loud, some manufacturers realized what every hamster lover needs and made those silent hamster wheels.

These silent hamster wheels are specifically designed to reduce the noise as much as possible.

They have solid running surface without pinch areas.

Along with that, these hamster wheels have non-slip excellent tracks so that your hamster will remain safe and sound.

Choose A Proper Exercise Wheel

Even though innovative, they are at an affordable price, so you won’t need any further investments in your peace.

Therefore, the proper choice of hamster wheel can make things easier for both- you and your hamster as well.

Read our reviews on the best silent hamster wheels on the market.

3. Choose the right kind of hamster cage

I know most of the people will go with traditional cages with metal bars.

Now, there is a small problem with this one.

What will happen if your hamster decides that the metal bars are fun to chew and play with?

Well, that’s where the noise is coming to the stage.

Now, what if I tell you that there is a plastic enclosure for your hamster?

Will you be skeptic about your hamster chewing down the plastic? 

Choose The Right Kind Of Hamster Cage

Well, fear not. There are a lot of plastic enclosure cages. 

I would personally go with this one.

It has a wire net grid for ventilation, a transparent plastic so that you can keep an eye on your hamster and a lot of paths for your hamster to play.

These kinds of cages are easy to clean due to their removable base and will drastically decrease the noise coming from your hamster wheel.

Once you pick a proper hamster cage, you are ready to pick the right exercise wheel that suits that cage.

With both of these, you will have a perfect combination of silent hamster cage/wheel equipment.

how to make a hamster wheel quiet

4. Tire Your Hamster Out

This is a sneaky tactic and the devil’s work.

Sometimes, your hamster has much more energy than you think. Especially if it has a lot of training.

The most problematic noise is that during the night, right?

Well, there is a simple trick to this problem. Just make sure that your hamster is tired before you are going to bed.

Encourage it to go to its exercise wheel might make some things easier for you.

First of all, it will be tired for the most part of your sleeping time.

Exercise wheel will most likely get out of his system every atom of his strength and adjust your sleeping time to its own.

I mean, it’s a vivid creature and it would be unnatural if it doesn’t produce any sound.

Tire Your Hamster Out

So, you need to be prepared to a certain level of noise once you buy it.

The point is to make your hamster tired and to adjust its sleep schedule to yours.

That way, no matter what type of hamster wheel you have- metal or a quiet one, you will be able to enjoy your priceless time undisrupted by this annoying sound.

5. Hamster sleep schedule

Hamster sleep schedule is quite important for his health and yours as well.

Make sure that your hamster has a proper sleep schedule.

Preferably, you would want to make him a bit less active during the night, but that’s quite hard to do since they are nocturnal animals.

The only thing to do in order to reschedule his sleep schedule is to make him tired.

The best way and time to play with your hamster is in the late afternoon or early evening.

girl-with-hamster-in-palms

That will make him less active during the nights that he would actually be.

Therefore, your tactic is to make it less active on his wheel during the night and hence, reduce the incoming noise.

6. Lubricate wheel

Sometimes, the problem is quite easy to solve.

Since the wheels are spinning objects, some parts can occasionally get rust or simply old.

It’s not strange that you hear some extra noise due to the rust of the wheel.

From time to time, you can simply lubricate the spinning part of the wheel.

This way, you will not only reduce the noise of the hamster’s wheel, but help him move easier and exercise smoothly.

7. Remove the wheel as a temporary solution

Making Hamster Wheel Quiet

I already mentioned it briefly in the earlier sections, but this can be a solution that I should elaborate more.

Simply put, once you need your silence, you can remove the hamster wheel from the cage, if you don’t want to move the whole cage.

Now, there is the downside to this one. Keep in mind not to let your hamster for a long time without his wheel. It can affect its health enormously.

Taking it out during the night is not the smartest thing to do. Since they are nocturnal animals, they are most active at night.

Of course, this is just a temporary solution to your problem.

For a more permanent, consider buying some silent plastic wheel or its alternative.

hamster wheel rattling noise

8. Alternative for a plastic wheel

There are a lot of alternatives for a plastic wheel.

One of the best is a wooden wheel.

A wooden hamster wheel is one of the most silent wheels that you can get for your hamster.

 Also, it’s more natural environment for a hamster, as we know they adore wood.

Of course, there is a small downside of this one.

What happens if your hamster decides that this wooden wheel is really interesting to chew?

That can produce some noise, but not even close to the one with metal structure.

Well, when we sum everything, a wooden wheel is still better for silence than the metal one, even if the hamster chews it to sharpen its teeth.

Wooden Hamster Wheel

9. Combine different methods

There is a good chance of decreasing the wheel noise if you combine several methods that I already mentioned.

For example, you can lubricate the wheel if you are not ready to buy a new one and position your cage a bit better.

Place it in some other room where the noise can’t reach you, and make sure that you play with your hamster in order to make him tired.

Final Word on Making Hamster Wheel Quiet

If we take into account everything said, there is not much that you can actually do with the hamster wheel.

I would personally go with the easiest method of buying a new, silent wheel (especially designed for silence), plastic or wooden.

If you are not ready for such investment, which should not be pricier than $40, then you can try to lubricate the wheel or any other method I mentioned earlier.

Hopefully, you will find your piece and a common language with your little friend.

Is your dog making noise in its crate? Read our guide on soundproofing the dog crate.

How to Make a Hamster Wheel Quiet

How to Make a Hamster Wheel Quiet

Is your hamster wheel making a rattling noise? Is it simply too noisy at night? Read our guide on how to make a hamster wheel quiet so you sleep peacefully.

Active Time 40 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Instructions

  1. Change the Hamster Cage Location
  2. Choose A Proper Exercise Wheel
  3. Choose The Right Kind Of Hamster Cage
  4. Tire Your Hamster Out
  5. Ensure a Regular Hamster Sleep Schedule
  6. Lubricate the Wheel
  7. Remove The Wheel As A Temporary Solution
  8. Look for Alternatives To A Plastic Wheel
  9. Combine Different Methods
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