xjvd
Member
Posts: 100 
|
Post by xjvd on Mar 20, 2020 19:58:07 GMT -8
Has anyone given their gerbils nuts in their shells as treats/enrichment?
I am thinking of getting a variety of them... but I am not entirely sure which ones the gerbils can get their teeth into.
|
|
|
|
Post by LilyandDaisy on Mar 20, 2020 21:21:59 GMT -8
I've given mine nuts in shells. Peanuts in shells are the easiest for them. I also tried hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds but these have really hard shells and mine couldn't get into them, or they decided it wasn't worth the effort. I've heard that boiling nuts softens the shell, but I haven't tried this myself.
|
|
xjvd
Member
Posts: 100
|
Post by xjvd on Mar 26, 2020 1:18:40 GMT -8
Back with the results! I went a little overboard and bought more than my gerbils could ever finish.
The pine nuts and pumpkin seeds went down well.
You were right about the almonds and the hazelnuts. I think they might eventually get into the almonds, but the hazelnuts are too round for them to bite into. (Very cute 5 mins of rolling the hazelnut around trying to bite into it.)
I might have to give the boiling method a try afterall.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markpd on Aug 9, 2020 15:46:04 GMT -8
Lol, talk about teasing your Gerbils!  . Imagining Gerbils approaching Hazelnut, 'mmm that smells good! Time to tear it open!......wth?? Is this casing for real!? Oi, human, what ya playing at!?' Joking aside, how about cracking the nut just enough so they can get a bite on it? Almonds sound like good chew toys! Thanks for reporting back  PS I want to see a video of them trying to get into a Hazelnut!  |
|
|
|
Post by betty on Aug 10, 2020 5:44:59 GMT -8
My gerbils and doops do eventually get into the hazel nuts - and they also love walnut chewing too.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markpd on Aug 10, 2020 12:38:09 GMT -8
Think I'll have to get some! |
|
|
|
Post by daves on Oct 8, 2020 11:20:22 GMT -8
I just bought raw sunflower & watermelon seeds and raw jumbo peanuts in their shells for mine. So it's ok for me to just drop a peanut shell or 2 into their cage & let them have at it? No harm from that shell? I'm hoping that'll give them some new activity besides chewing up paper towel/toilet paper rolls, their wood house, etc.......... Thx!Thx!
|
|
xjvd
Member
Posts: 100
|
Post by xjvd on Oct 8, 2020 22:36:49 GMT -8
Yes, I have given my gerbils whole peanuts before and they were fine after.
A further update on the hazelnut situation... nearly burned down the kitchen after trying to boil them (I entire forgot about it for a couple of hours). A few panicked hours of getting rid of the smoke and scrubbing a seriously charred pot later, I don't think I'll be trying that again.
|
|
|
|
Post by betty on Oct 9, 2020 1:53:09 GMT -8
Argghh!!!!
Perhaps just buy human grade hazelnuts in shells and keep them for the whole year?
|
|
|
|
Post by Markpd on Oct 10, 2020 4:10:59 GMT -8
xjvd Lol, you should get a smoke alarm, and set a timer next time I just recently bought some almonds from Tesco's, only their shell-less, well that defeats part of the point of getting them, doh! (for some reason I didn't get notified of an update to this thread and others too I think, has anyone else had that recently?) |
|
Pim
Member
Posts: 346
|
Post by Pim on Oct 10, 2020 6:08:30 GMT -8
yeah notifications defiantly changed try fixing your personal settings a bit maybe that will help
|
|
|
|
Post by Markpd on Oct 10, 2020 17:06:54 GMT -8
I can usually work out where to in forums, but this one being a bit weird has me stumped! Where do you change those settings?
|
|
Pim
Member
Posts: 346
|
Post by Pim on Oct 11, 2020 6:19:35 GMT -8
if you go to your profile, press edit then press notifications. then all the options will pop up.
|
|
|
|
Post by Markpd on Oct 11, 2020 6:26:21 GMT -8
Nice one, thanks , I changed thread update from 'smart' to 'instant' (not so smart apparently!). |
|
|
|
Post by stars on Oct 18, 2020 5:01:41 GMT -8
As well as monkey nuts (peanuts), I've offered mine pistachio nuts that are partly open. While they can't break the shell, my two had a great time trying to nibble the kernel through the gap, managing to to eat at least half before the kernel gets too small for them to reach anymore. Kept them entertained for a while.
|
|
.
