Coconut shells?

[chin_gal]

I have heard about giving toys with coconut shells to chinchillas, but is it really safe? I'm asking because I just gutted a coconut for my bird and I washed and am now baking the shells as we speak. Just want to know before it all goes to him, is it ok for the chins too? (i was thinking of breaking it up into chinchilla sized pieces for them to chew)

 

[3CsMommy]

I haven't heard anything anecdotal or scientific about it being harmful, so I've used it in my guys' cage for as long as I've had them. It's incredibly hard, though, so they don't seem to chew it as much as they chew the softer woods like willow and grapevine. I'll usually hide a soft piece of something (like a bitty bagel) between two pieces of coconut shell on a hanging toy to make it harder to get to and make the toy last longer.

 

[EveningChin]

Alli713 sells really great mushroom shaped toys that use coconut shell as the cap. Petra loves hers.

 

[alli713]

yep, coconut is safe so long as it doesn't have any of the meat left on it )

 

[chin_gal]

Thanks guys! ) The chins loved them the first few minutes, but then they got bored with them, lol.

 

[Sugarmama]

They don't chew on them a whole lot; I think it's because they're so hard, and don't realy damage them. Mine liked to pick the "hair" off the coconut, though, and had a lot of fun with that.

I made some cool looking toys from coconut halves, but they were tough to drill.

 

[EnslavedByNinjas]

My newest, Turbo, came with a half of a coconut food dish that he's had since he was a kit. I'm trying to think of a new use for it, to keep it in his cage, as he really loves to flip it over, wheel it around, etc. He's been here a week and a half, pouring most of his food out, and I'm getting sick of it. :wacko:

I'd hate to take it away from him, though, so I'll be repurposing it. From what I can tell, he's never chewed on it, or at least never done any damage! :thumbsup:

 

[Sugarmama]

They're so hard, they really can't do much damage. If he likes to chew on it, it's fine. But I'm sure it doesn't make a good food dish, since it would tip so easily.