Help! Twinkle Has Eaten A Monkey Shell

[Thin Lizzy]

Earlier on I gave Twinkle her first monkey nut, as she was spinning super fast on her saucer she looked at it and continued spinning.
However, later on I could hear her crunching away. I looked in her cage and couldn't see the empty shell so I had a root around her cage, found the 2 nuts but no shell.
The little diva has eaten the shell. Is it OK to eat it? She seems fine and is back on her spinning saucer.

Archie always leaves the shell. He crunches away it but always leaves it outside his igloo.

Any other hamster lovers experienced this?

[cypher]

lol! Each to their own I guess! Sorry but that just made me laugh, hams are nothing if not unpredictable
I'm sure Twinkle will be fine & a ham will be able to break down the shell.

[Pebbles82]

I don't think I've ever found shells from monkey nuts either! I guess they can grind them down, which is probably good for their teeth. I can't imagine they'd want to swallow anything sharp.

[Skeever]

All things must pass

I've found enough full nuts without shells to figure out sometimes the ripping apart of the shell is its own reward. It's kinda like cooking a great meal, then not being in the mood to eat it alone....kind of an anticlimax? Maybe if you shared the monkey nut eating part with your hammy?

I definitely find bits of shell often, but watching them tear a shell apart? There's not much left after the 'opening' part. They can literally shred the shell on a monkey nut. They do leave pistachio and sunflower shells around though....

In a word? FIBER? LOL

[Thin Lizzy]

Originally Posted by Skeever

All things must pass

I've found enough full nuts without shells to figure out sometimes the ripping apart of the shell is its own reward. It's kinda like cooking a great meal, then not being in the mood to eat it alone....kind of an anticlimax? Maybe if you shared the monkey nut eating part with your hammy?

I definitely find bits of shell often, but watching them tear a shell apart? There's not much left after the 'opening' part. They can literally shred the shell on a monkey nut. They do leave pistachio and sunflower shells around though....

In a word? FIBER? LOL

Hi Skeever,
Checked Twinkle's cage and the 2 nuts are still there lol.
I like what you said about the shell - the ripping apart being the reward.
Archie somehow manages to sometimes get the nuts out without much shell cracking and is a bit of a neat freak leaving the shell at the side of his treat hut.

I will give the sharing the but thing a go.

[Skeever]

Pistachios have a different dynamic. They're open a bit, but the hams can't open them, so they get to play at digging out what they can reach. Kinda like people eating the creme before the Oreo cookie....its a toy and a food...

Then, when you show up and pry it open to give them the full inside nut? they see you as a kind of magical savior figure

[Thin Lizzy]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

I don't think I've ever found shells from monkey nuts either! I guess they can grind them down, which is probably good for their teeth. I can't imagine they'd want to swallow anything sharp.

Hi Serendipity, Phew! Glad to hear your hammies don't leave any shell.
Only Twinkle does it, Archie doesn't - he always leave the shell.

[Thin Lizzy]

Originally Posted by cypher

lol! Each to their own I guess! Sorry but that just made me laugh, hams are nothing if not unpredictable
I'm sure Twinkle will be fine & a ham will be able to break down the shell.

Hi Cypher,
Absolutely right about them being unpredictable - Twinkle certainly is. A bit of a diva!