Degu Saucers Now For Sale!

Hi all,

I've now started selling my flying saucers so if anyone would like to buy one you can email me on louiselovesdegus@gmail.com I accept paypal payments only or visit my ebay listing:

38cm Totally Silent Wooden Flying Saucer £30 + P&P @ £6.05

Welcome to my listing for handmade, extra large, completely silent, flying saucers for small pets. I started making these saucers because I couldn't find any saucers large enough for my pet degus and as degus are very chewy pets I didn't want anything made of plastic. The design of a flying saucer is preferable to wheels as they provide a flat running area which is better for your pet's spine however if a saucer is too small it can cause your pets to be constantly running to the side. This saucer is large enough for degus to run completely straight. The top of the saucer is made from bamboo wood and the base from kiln dried pine, both of which are safe if chewed. The bearing is made from a skate wheel and has been chew-proofed with some metal band. The surface has been roughened using course sandpaper for grip. These saucers are big enough for more than one degu to run on, my three degus love running around on their saucers together. I made two of these saucers in November 2014 and they are used daily by my degus and I have never had any problems with them. The best thing about these saucers though is that they run completely silently, no more annoying rattling wheels you'll just hear the sound of their little feet!

It can take a little while for rodents to master the saucer so if your pets have been used to a wheel then it's best to leave both in the cage until they become accustomed to the saucer.
 

• Totally silently spinning, no more rattling wheels
• Made from bamboo and kiln dried pine so safe if chewed
• Constructed with a skate wheel bearing & designed to last 
• Simple, elegant design that will compliment any cage
• Large enough for more than one degu to run on at the same time

For purchases please email louiselovesdegus@gmail.com and I will request the money via paypal.

Thanks for looking, hope you like them :)

DIY Exercise Wheels & Saucers

These saucers are now available for purchase here: 38cm Silent Flying Saucer

Here is a quick guide to show how I have made my flying saucers and running wheels.

The degus international community forum states: The minimum diameter is 33cm/13" for wheels and 42cm/16.5" for saucers. At the time I made my saucers their minimum recommended diameter was 38cm so that is the size I used.

I had been struggling to find a good flying saucer for my girls for ages and I had seen videos of saucers made from the Ikea snudda lazy susan but firstly, it seems it is always out of stock in the UK and secondly it sounded really loud.

For the main plate I used a large wooden chopping board.

I used a roller blade wheel for the bearing and attached it using nuts and bolts.

 Firstly I had to saw off the handle, I used a coping saw for this so as to get a nice rounded cut.

I then found the centre of the circle using This Technique and drilled a hole for my bolt to go through.

I then made the base for the saucer sit on using some kiln dried pine I had left over from the build. (One of the pieces is a bit chewed already as I used it for the base of my previous saucer)

I then cut a hole out of the piece of wood using a hole saw bit on my drill for the roller blade wheel to sit in. I chose to do this so my wheel would sit into the wood and my girls wouldn't be able to get to it and chew at the rubber. You don't have to do this step you can protect the wheel with some builders band or something similar instead.

I put a longer bolt through the centre of the plate and then sat the wheel on top with 3 bolts ready to fix to the base.

 Then I used a computer vent cover to screw into the base so that I could attached the bolts to it and used more nuts to hold it all in place. These kind of vents can be bought from eBay in packs of 3 for 99p.

Finally the last step was to roughen the surface of the saucer with some sandpaper for grip.

I have also just made some new wheels using the exact same method but made from large 35cm diameter aluminium cake tins purchased from this site: Cake Craft Shop
They are going to go into the new cage and so I haven't had a chance to test them out yet - as soon as I do I will post an update but I am hoping they work well. I've used extra long bolts here as they are going to attach directly to the back of the cage.


I have been using the saucers for 3 months now and I absolutely love them, they spin completely silently and the girls love them too.