DIY Coconut hide

[Scott]

Has anyone made one from a fresh coconut? I prefer DIY--and I like coconut anyway. My thought was to knock through the three eyes and drain the water, then use a Dremel to cut an opening. Or I can use a hole saw. I'd start out small, trying to keep the coconut mostly intact, but how big it winds up will depend on how well I can remove the meat.

With the meat removed, I was debating if anything would need to be done to the shell. Soak it in boiling water, or will that ruin it? Sanitizer +  a good rise? Or just wash it out well?

[LilyandDaisy]

Yes, we made one once. I first pierced the eye and drained the water (then strained it though fine cotton for drinking), then my dad used a jig saw to cut the end off the coconut leaving a dome. I scraped out the coconut meat from both pieces, then he cut a doorway. Then I removed as much of the hair as possible and let it dry out completely.

Coconuts hold up really well in water. You can put them in boiling water or wash them in hot, soapy water to sanitise them.

It is a fairly small hide because you have to cut off part of the coconut, and our coconut wasn't very big. It's a nice size for a pair of younger gerbils or a single gerbil.

The gerbils were 10 weeks old in these photos: