The "kavvy Wheel"

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JastroOne1

JastroOne1

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Hi,

I am a member of a team called the Tech HEds, competing in the First Lego League (FLL) international competition. As part of this competition, we need to complete a project about improving interaction between humans and animals, and share it with other people. We have come up with a way to prevent Guinea pigs from getting bored if their owners aren't around or can't spend large amounts of time with them; it also helps prevent overeating and gives them enrichment activity. We have already shared our solution with pet shop managers, but we'd like some help from Guinea pig owners. I'm attaching our project document, if anyone has any suggestions/feedback, we would be pleased to hear them.

Thanks for looking,

John
 

Attachments

I can't read the documents as I don't have Office to view them.
 
I think this product looks really good for keeping the pigs entertained and helps them to forage for food like they would naturally. Can it only be attached to indoor cages? I think to be more useful it would need to be able to be attached to c and c cages and hutches as well. For instance my hutch has very small holes in the wire mesh so sometimes I struggle to attach things to my hutch. Is there a way you can make it attach to all kinds of cages> Or does it already do this.
Only other things is how would you clean it? As I am sure the pigs and the veg will get it dirty from time to time.
Well done on designing this product and you have obviously put a lot of effort into this product.
 
Thanks for your interest!

Yes, we are currently working on producing plans for a free-standing design, that can go in any kind of cage or run. On the issue of cleaning--we recommend wiping the dowels clean whenever they need; it should be high enough that the pigs won't be able to....foul.....it! The free-standing version under development will be made of easy clean materials. We will probably be posting any updates on the project website, (which is itself still being made!) We are planning on producing a set of plans for the wheel, and possibly full Kavvy Wheels, but we will need to see how the project progresses.

John
 
I'm going to come across as a killjoy on this... My concern would be primarily one of safety, I would worry about an over zealous pig getting head trapped between spokes of wheel. There have been reports in the past of fatalities and injuries off hay racks so I am always wary of anything a pig could get possibly trapped in.
 
sport_billy said:
I'm going to come across as a killjoy on this... My concern would be primarily one of safety, I would worry about an over zealous pig getting head trapped between spokes of wheel. There have been reports in the past of fatalities and injuries off hay racks so I am always wary of anything a pig could get possibly trapped in.
Click to expand...

That's what I was also thinking @sport_billy I'm not fan of it as there is other 'wheels' out there that are not good for guinea pigs. There is a question or two I have about this item. Is if you are making a free standing one out of easy clean materials, is it going to be safe if the cavies nibble on it? Why did you pick a wheel instead of something easier for them to simulate foraging for them?
My girls are happy enough with space to run around and tunnels to run through. They are not the most active pet and I don't see the point of this item in all honesty :blink:
 
Hi,

Thanks for your comments, I've tried to answer all your questions to the best of my ability.

So firstly, when I tested the wheel (for 3 weeks), there was no trouble at all with the Guinea pigs, the gaps between the dowels should be small enough to prevent getting heads stuck, and you will notice that only every other one is right the way across the wheel, so if the pig did stick its head in, chances are it would pull it out again quite easily. Very different to cage bars or mangers, where the bars are all the way across.

On the question of 'why didn't we go for something simpler?', there are a couple of answers, chiefly, we wanted to have something unique, this is for a competition, and also there seems no point in slightly altering already existing designs. The Vet Supply Shop owner and Pets at Home manager we talked to had never seen anything of its kind on the market, and they were confident it was safe for use. The other reason is; we have looked at other solutions to the problem we identified, but either they were already on the market, or they would be unsafe for use.

Why is it needed? Well, obviously, some Guinea-pigs are happy with tubes, and tunnels, but mine certainly aren't, as there is not enough cage space for them, their food, the two houses they require (yes, they will never both go in the same one :D) and several tubes, etc. Another aspect is that a Guinea-pig's owner may not be able to spend much time with it. My family's first Guinea pig was given to us by a neighbour's son, as both he and his girlfriend were out at work all day, and the piggy's sister had died. She began to chew at the cage, bowls, wire bars, and house a lot, even when they tried using treats and tunnels.

Although on paper, the wheel seems quite large, it doesn't take up much space, as it is attached to the side of the cage.

The free-standing version is still in the concept-design stage, but we will make sure that the base of it, which will be chewed a lot, is made of safe materials.

Finally, my two Guinea Pigs loved the wheel, and spent a lot of time turning it in the hope of finding some food on it that they might have missed earlier!

John
 
Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions I asked.
Can I suggest looking at this thread to understand about toy's for guinea pigs Potentially Dangerous Cage Accessories And Toys
I'm just going to ask/point out afew more things.
JastroOne1 said:
The Vet Supply Shop owner and Pets at Home manager we talked to had never seen anything of its kind on the market, and they were confident it was safe for use.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't trust P@H since they are not always the best to advise on things. I's suggest asking at a rescue what's best to engage with cavies you'd get better answer's and idea's to brainstorm.
JastroOne1 said:
mine certainly aren't, as there is not enough cage space for them
Click to expand...
If they haven't got space then that does lead to problems. Can I just ask if they have a pile of hay inside their houses or somewhere, as you didn't mention it with everything else in the cage.
JastroOne1 said:
My family's first Guinea pig was given to us by a neighbour's son, as both he and his girlfriend were out at work all day, and the piggy's sister had died. She began to chew at the cage, bowls, wire bars, and house a lot, even when they tried using treats and tunnels.
Click to expand...
That sounds like she was distressed by her companion passing away, not boredom to me.
 
Hi,

Yes, the Guinea-pigs do have plenty of hay, we put 5-10 handfuls in each house, and make sure they always have a full manger full. Thanks for the link to the thread, I will discuss the points you've raised with the team. On the issue of Coco being distressed, I imagine that her sister passing away would have a lot to do with it, but we were given her over a year after this happened, and the issues had only recently started.


John
 
Am I right in seeing that you are 15? Without running the risk of sounding patronising, I'm really impressed with your eloquence, intelligence and thorough methodology - but mostly jealous that I never got to take part in this type of fascinating project when I was your age :)

In terms of feedback to the project itself, there's not much more I can add that doesn't echo what has already been said - I agree with the potential safety concerns (please do look at the link provided - there have been some tragic outcomes from seemingly safe toys), also think it's a fantastic idea to contact a rescue - a) they see many different guinea pig personalities and b) depending on their numbers, their pigs may not get as much 'hands-on' time as would be desirable so could be really helpful in terms of what they do to prevent piggy boredom.

I hope you get feedback that is useful for your project :tu:
 
I think the idea of an innovative new product to keep piggies happy and healthy is an admirable one indeed,
but I have to be honest and say this particular item isn't one I would use for my own guinea pigs.

My main concern would be one piggie sticking their head between the bars to get at a tasty morsel (mine are relentless in their pursuit of food!), and another piggie stepping on or pushing one of the dowels, and turning the wheel, causing entrapment or injury.
Of course this may be a rather far fetched scenario, but at least when mine are chewing on something solid like a wooden house I know it isn't going anywhere!

I would also personally be wary of a staff member from pets at home being seen as a good source of guidance and advice. We are talking about a store that still openly sells harnesses for guinea pigs, metal treat balls, and recommends a cage size of 72cm long as suitable for guinea pigs!. Contacting rescues would offer a far better source of truly experienced information.

Good luck with the project - I hope it goes well.
 
Hi,

Thanks everyone for the comments and feedback, we need both positive and negative to get this working! I will be discussing all of the points made on this thread with my fellow team members, and hopefully we will be able to come up with ways to solve most, if not all, of them.

Although it would probably need to be tested, I imagine that increasing the friction of the main bolt would go a long way to solving the dangers of heads getting stuck; the tension I used made it quite tough for the pigs to turn--this wheel is obviously miles away from a Hamster wheel.

John
 
Thank you for taking the concerns on board. There is a lot of experience her on the forum and various Facebook groups where you will get lots of feedback both positive and negative but all feedback is useful. Welcome to the forum by the way.
 
Thanks!

I've been looking through the Dangerous Accessories and Toys thread---some of the injuries that piggies have got from them are horrible...I'm going to send the link to the team so they can read it over & make sure that our concept isn't like any of those listed.

John
 
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