Hamster Wheel

This hairy little lad sitting in the cage tries his hardest everyday to advance his historical record of distance travelled along the circular route of his wheel. An incredible journey that we mere humans can't possibly comprehend. Imagine the miraculous places he goes and spectacular sights he sees as his body stays in one place, but his imagination soars through the endless landscape of hamster heaven. Hamster wheels are exercise toys used by hamsters and other rodents. Most of these toys are composed of a runged wheel held on a stand by a pair of stub axles. Hamster wheels allow rodents to run even when their space is confined. Like other rodents, hamsters are highly motivated to run in wheels; it is not uncommon to record distances of 9 km (6 miles) being run in one night. Other 24-h records include 43 km (26 miles) for rats, 31 km (18.5 miles) for wild mice, 19 km (11.5 miles) for lemmings, 16 km (9.5 miles) for laboratory mice, and 8 km (5 miles) for gerbils. Hypotheses to explain such high levels of running in wheels include a need for activity, substitute for exploration, and stereotypic behaviour, but various experimental results strongly suggest that wheel running, like play or the runner's high, is rewarding in and of itself and highly valued by the animals. This makes running wheels a popular type of enrichment (even an essential one, in the view of some) to the captivity conditions of rodents. The reliability with which hamsters and other rodents will use a running wheel has made wheel-running one of the most widely used markers of activity and wake time in circadian rhythms research. This sound uses the following file from Freesound: http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=122112