Coconut shells

[queenofthenile]

I was going through the old messages at the Gerbil Mailing List and noticed some previous posts about the danger of coconut shells. This is unfortunate news because my gerbils LOVE the shells. There is only one that chews on them, my female breeding gerbil, Indira. She will actually lie on her back with her swollen pregnant belly showing and chew the coconut shell.


The others (especially young pups) love to sleep under them, they really hold in the heat.
Does anyone have an opinion on coconut shells. The person on the GML mentioned that since coconut fibers are insoluble that they can cause a blockage. Have you heard of this happening? How common is it for gerbils to get blockages from any gnawing material?
It actually doesn't seem that she gets any whole fibers from the shell anyway. It is old and very hard. All she seems to produce is tiny amounts of dust. I think in the past 4 months that she has been able to chew only a cm squared total off the shell and this is in thin lines, rather than chunks.

[Ritzie/Admin]

In my opinion, coconut shells are safe! I've never heard of any blockage, and I think too that they won't swollow a whole fiber if they even eat from it! Most of the times, when gnawing, they just gnaw it into little pieces, without eating someting.

And besides, coconut shells are very common in pet shops! I think if they were truly harmful, that they were not able to sell them. They would get a lot bad publicity if they were, I think.

Were there also other opinions in the GML archieve?

[queenofthenile]

No one really had an opinion except for one person. I don't think the shells themselves are a problem, especially if they have been dried for a long time. I just took from that advice that coconut meat should not be fed to gerbils. Perhaps then the fibers could cause a blockage. I'm not going to worry about the shells themselves. My gerbils have too much fun with them to be concerned about a miniscule risk.

[ecoa]

where do you buy coconut shells?

[reallybes]

petsmart should have them, the ones that are for hermit crabs .. you can search it here www.petsmart.com

Bes

[ecoa]

thank you bes!

[gerbiguy]

would it be good for a pregnant females nest to have her pups in one...or will she even fit into it???...lol ;D

[meganb52]

I would say if you were really that worried about the little fuzzies on the outside of the coconut shell, you could always sand them off with some sandpaper. I doubt they would cause intestinal blockage, they are so hard and a gerbil couldn't chew off pieces large enough to injest and obstruct themselves in my humble opinion. I say if your gerb likes it, let her chew!

-Megan

[doomgerbiluk]

Coconut shells are great for gerbils BUT the husk (hairy stuff) should be removed. I have seen pqllids develop allergies to these hairs and heard of mongolians doing the same. Therefore the husk should be removed fully.
As for coconut meat its great for gerbils BUT you cannot expect a gerbil to eat a whole coconut before the meat goes off. so the best thing is to cut out the meat and give the gerbils a little, then eat the rest yourself
presumably you could dry it out and store it but I don't know the technique.
My tip, once your shell is dry drill a large hole in one side. two small holes at the 'top' and attach a chain. Hang this from the cage roof for a great getaway (my gerbils love them).
you can (if yoru clever) use a dog clip keyring for easy hanging and remocal.
I especially find these useful when you have active pups in the tank, the parents can take a break in the privacy of the coconut!!!
.