rat wheel

Question
Hi, I've had my dumbo rat for a total of 2 days and he still hasn't gotten the hang of the running wheel. Now this is my second rat, my first rat jumped on that wheel within the first 10 minutes of being in the cage. Why is this one taking so long to hop on it?

Answer
 In my experience, a lot of rats do not use wheels, even if they are exposed to them at a young age.  Many wheels are a bit too small for rats to run comfortably in, or the motion frightens them.  A lot of them really just don't care for it at all; I've had about 75 rats in my lifetime and only two have used a wheel as adults.  It's very possible that your rat may never use it.  There isn't really a way to 'teach' him or make him learn how to do it.  There really is nothing wrong with that; he will get exercise from moving around in the cage and won't get fat unless he is fed a lot of junk food.