# The hamster has been running for SIX HOURS **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 21, 2007, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810 "2007-01-21T07:15:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/21 "2007-01-21T16:46:30Z")
[QUOTE=drewbert] Have anyone ever made a hamster wheel with an odometer? [/QUOTE] [Yes.](http://mindstorms.lego.com/eng/inventions/invention.asp?id=%7B036AFCC7-60FC-DE44-DB47-12E3917852DF%7D&SlotN=1&galleryid=354) ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/22 "2007-01-21T17:06:19Z")
[QUOTE=FRDE] Deep fried hamster in soy, chilli and tamarind anyone ? [/QUOTE] Like [this?](http://www.flickr.com/photos/76442802@N00) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/23 "2007-01-21T17:41:41Z")
That looks more like guinea pig to me. My sister’s hamster easily ran six hours a night. [http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/cuisine/a/cuy.htm](http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/cuisine/a/cuy.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/24 "2007-01-21T17:55:24Z")
[QUOTE=Dr\_Paprika] That looks more like guinea pig to me. My sister’s hamster easily ran six hours a night. [/QUOTE] You continue to be one of my favorite posters. Good eye, that is Cuy I ate on my recent trip to Peru. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/25 "2007-01-21T18:40:51Z")
Well, he’s asleep in his little hamster-hut now. He finally stopped after about eight hours. The noise wasn’t so bad – he’s on the other side of the house. I was mostly just worried about how normal this behavior was. We knew he would run in his wheel … we just weren’t prepared for him to run a marathon. I’ll probably try lubing his wheel with vegetable oil tonight and see what that does. Thanks everyone. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/26 "2007-01-21T18:47:51Z")
[QUOTE=Pochacco] I’ll probably try lubing his wheel with vegetable oil tonight [/QUOTE] That sounds very Richard Gereish. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/27 "2007-01-21T19:00:10Z")
[QUOTE=Pochacco] Well, he’s asleep in his little hamster-hut now. He finally stopped after about eight hours. [/QUOTE] And the Board just noticeably slowed, too. 😃 Is the new server a distributed system? ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/28 "2007-01-21T19:48:07Z")
8 hours seems like a long time to be running. You should probably check on it in a few hours. And I use vegetable oil to stop the wheel from squeaking. It works perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/29 "2007-01-21T20:03:15Z")
why not connect a small generator to the wheel. Then, connect a small light to the generator. Position the light near the cage. The light would serve as a negative feedback to the hamster. The hamster thinks, “oh its dark, now I am going to run.” Then when the light comes on, it will not be dark anymore, so the hamster thinks, “time to stop running.” And so on, and so on, and so on. Fun at parties, fool your friends… ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/30 "2007-01-21T23:59:06Z")
I got my current hamster at a petshop that kept several hamsters in glass tanks with NO wheels or toys. Sad. Anyway, the night I got her home, she ran ELEVEN HOURS on her wheel. No lie. She’s more reasonable now, six or seven hours a night. I put her in a runabout ball several times a week and she runs a marathon all over the house in that thing too. The cats are scared of her. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/31 "2007-01-22T00:05:48Z")
Has anyone thought to just ask the hamster why it runs for hours at a time? I mean, there aren’t any hamster wheels in nature. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/32 "2007-01-22T03:24:27Z")
i take back every mean thing i ever said about the hamsters who power the servers. industrious buggers… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/33 "2007-01-22T04:50:06Z")
[QUOTE=Electronic Chaos] Get the little bugger one of [these](http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441807874&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302047891&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023695&bmUID=1169391767887&itemNo=0&Ntt=silent+spinner&In=All&previousText=silent+spinner&N=2) . [/QUOTE] “Super Pet Silent Spinner” ? Sounds like a Japanese cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/34 "2007-01-22T06:07:12Z")
As noted, vegetable oil probably works to silence the wheel. (Or you could put it on the wheel instead of the axles and have him stop every couple of minutes to clean off his paws.) We use 3-in-1 or sewing machine oil. (On the axles, not the wheel.) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/35 "2007-01-22T06:12:13Z")
As noted, vegetable oil probably works to silence the wheel. (Or you could put it on the wheel instead of the axles and have him stop every couple of minutes to clean off his paws.) We use 3-in-1 or sewing machine oil. (On the axles, not the wheel.) ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/36 "2007-01-22T08:19:30Z")
Hamster 1 Bart 0 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/37 "2007-01-22T17:06:55Z")
For those who are following the drama … Gatchan had a much better night last night. We put him in his plastic ball after dinner and let him roll around banging into chairs and walls. And I oiled his wheel. He still ran a lot, but it wasn’t the marathon of the night before. He took longer breaks and seemed much happier in general. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/38 "2007-01-22T18:19:16Z")
[QUOTE=Pochacco] And I oiled his wheel. [/QUOTE] Is _that_ what the kids are calling it now? ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/39 "2007-01-22T19:06:31Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Or you could get Habitrail, and have hamster tubing all over the house. (When I was a kid, I was fascinated by Habitrail. I wanted to fill it with water and have fish tubing all over the house… [/QUOTE] You mean like [this one here?](http://knuttz.net/hosted_pages/Home-Aquarium-20061031) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810/40 "2007-01-22T19:15:47Z")
[QUOTE=Pochacco] By the way, read “hampster” as “hamster” in my previous post … duh. [/QUOTE] “Hampster” is the trademark for the trash container in back of the vet’s office. :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hamster-has-been-running-for-six-hours/388810.md?page=3)