omg well firstly, I’m really glad you didn’t get one for your piggy! And not because your cats would chase it around, but because piggy spines curve the wrong way for a wheel or hamster ball, putting strain on their bodies that they’re not designed for or used to and your pet could end up very seriously hurt.
But hamster balls are bad for all animals because they’re scary and dangerous. You’re putting a small, prey animal into a bubble that doesn’t allow for it to scurry around like it normally would, or hide if something spooks it, and once a hamster ball gets going, it doesn’t just stop on a dime. The momentum carries and pushes the animal inside along for the ride, so you’re taking away your pet’s ability to control their own movements, on top of risking bodily harm when they hit a wall or flip over completely and land wrong, or get their toes or tails stuck in the air slots.
Hamster balls are just really scary, really dangerous devices that no animal should be subjected to. If you want to let your pet roam around the floor, you should do it supervised, in a closed off room where you can monitor what’s going on.
Reminder not to leave pets unsupervised! Pets always seem to be able to find ways to get themselves in to trouble. I thought the room I let my degus run around was completely safe but Scott got himself stuck behind the radiator pipe. I was there, noticed immediately and was able to help him out by lifting him above the skirting board where the gap is wider, but because I thought the room was safe I would sometimes leave briefly to get more bedding while I was cleaning out the cage or things like that. Scott could have seriously injured himself as he started to panic if I had taken any longer to notice him. Thankfully he was fine, but it’s important for everyone to remember this, no matter how safe you think they are.
(The degu in the photo is Daniel but they’re the same size and it’s easier to get to Daniel stay put for photos)
My guinea pig just got his neck snapped and died because he stuck his head in the perfectly guinea pig head shaped window of his Timber Tent. I’ve contacted the company, because they shouldn’t manufacture a pet toy that can so easily kill your pet.
Avoid buying Timber Tents for your hamster or gerbil or guinea pig or whatever. The hamster-sized tents have hamster head sized holes as well. Buy houses with only arches instead of windows.
Please be careful what you put in the cage with your rodents and consider whether there could be any threads they can get tangled in as they chew it.
Daniel recently got his paw caught, I didn’t immediately notice and by the time I saw it his paw was swollen to four times it’s usual size. If it had been caught any longer/tighter he could have lost his paw.
Please be really careful with what you give your pets to play with and regularly check toys for damage.
Silly Degu 