# peanuts/peanut butter as a treat???



## tony21 (Apr 8, 2014)

My gf has asked me a few times if peanuts or peanut butter is good for hedgehogs, or if they can even have it. So I told her I would ask on here:grin:

She has a bird, he eats mostly nuts. So I'm woundering if peanuts or any nuts are good for them. There a great source of protein.


----------



## Hemlock (Apr 23, 2014)

Sunflower seeds, peanuts, or other seeds and nuts shouldnt be given to hedgehogs do not have a beak, specialized tongue or the use of their front paws to help them crack and eat seeds and nuts also they are serious choking hazards. Numerous hedgehogs have been reported to have peanuts stuck in the roof of their mouth. I'm not sure about peanut butter, but peanuts can be dangerous.

http://hedgehogheadquarters.com/secure/nutrnoverview.htm


----------



## tony21 (Apr 8, 2014)

I wasn't 5 ring to make them sound like birds, I should be more specific. I only thinking that she has access to all sorts of nuts:grin: we will stay away from the nuts then:grin:


----------



## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Smooth peanut butter would probably be best, and use a brand that's more natural (like Adam's instead of Jiff). Just not too much since it's high in fat.


----------



## tony21 (Apr 8, 2014)

Sounds good to me. my gf is allergic to soy, so she uses all natural peanut butter.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm curious, what kind of bird does she have that it eats mostly nuts? I've always read that with parrots, nuts are best as a small part of the main diet or treats only because they're so high in fat, which can lead to liver issues.


----------



## rubydissolution (Feb 24, 2014)

A birds diet should consist of seed, fruits and veggies, meats, nuts and carbs on occassion. Nuts should in no way make up most of his/her diet. Though I am aware that many packaged bird seeds do have seeds in them, but sparingly. I went off topic sorry.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Even seeds should be a smaller portion of the diet from what I've read - pellets are considered a healthier & better balanced option because seeds are also fatty & not a balanced diet. The commercially packaged seeds have vitamins added, but they're on the hull - which the bird doesn't eat. Much of the information I've read is that pellets should be the main diet, along with fresh veggies offered daily (the Chop method is a really easy & cost-effective way to do this, if you google Chop or Parrot Nation, Patricia Sund has done a lot to spread this method around), and beans & fruits offered often as well, with nuts, & other things as treats.

I know all of this is off-topic, but still animal-related anyway!


----------



## rubydissolution (Feb 24, 2014)

I forgot pellets...lol! Most seed mixes actually contain pellets as well. It's very hard to convert a bird from seed to pellets. Least my birds...super stubborn =)


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, I've heard some are bad at it! I had a guest Quaker parrot for a couple weeks who wanted nothing to do with them, the rescue I took her too was planning on using Nutriberries to switch her over. They're mainly seeds, but they're already hulled, then vitamins added after, so they still work better than a regular seed mix for making sure they get all their vitamins, apparently.


----------



## rubydissolution (Feb 24, 2014)

My ****atiels will eat nutriberries.....if I break them up to look like seed in their treat dish lol! So picky! But they love butter and pasta (a rare treat!), weirdos. Love them though.


----------



## tony21 (Apr 8, 2014)

She owns a sun conure. When she first got him all he ate was nuts ( thats all the the old owner feed him ), so we have been struggling to find stuff he likes, he doesn't get a ton of nuts, but he is vary picky so it's tough to find other things he will actually eat and not just through lol. We are working on him hahaha.

I have a lot of critters myself, and do my best to keep them as healthy as possible. On top of making sure the gfs animals stay healthy. I am always open to suggestions and helpful criticism. If anyone can point me to a good bird forum you know of, or tell me a good diet ( or were to look ) It would be greatly appreciated. I have been looking for good books on this.

I will do just about anything for my little critter family, and only want the best. Witch is why I ask so many questions:grin:.


----------



## tony21 (Apr 8, 2014)

rubydissolution said:


> My ****atiels will eat nutriberries.....if I break them up to look like seed in their treat dish lol! So picky! But they love butter and pasta (a rare treat!), weirdos. Love them though.


I've always wanted a ****atiel:grin: but I already have to many critters:roll:


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

The forum I joined briefly was for Quaker parrots. But www.parrotnation.com is a great place to get a bit of information, mainly on veggies. That's Patricia Sund's blog/website and she talks quite a bit about Chop on there and if I remember right, may have suggestions for where else to look for diet suggestions. The Chop thing might help you get some veggies in the picky little guy! The Quaker I took care wasn't much impressed with it, but an Amazon that we had at the wildlife rescue I volunteer at thought it was pretty awesome & ate it right away. You can put (cooked) pasta shells in it so that the little bits of veggies stick to it & when they eat a piece of the pasta, they get some veggies too.

Ruby - that's what the woman who took the Quaker said she was planning to do with the Nutriberries! Crush & crumble them up to look like seed & said it'd make the transition to pellets easier. Have you tried Nutriberries, Tony? Maybe those would work...I'm glad the conure came to you guys at least! Sounds like a MUCH better home than the previous one...eugh. Good luck with trying to get him to expand his horizons!


----------



## tony21 (Apr 8, 2014)

Lilysmommy said:


> The forum I joined briefly was for Quaker parrots. But www.parrotnation.com is a great place to get a bit of information, mainly on veggies. That's Patricia Sund's blog/website and she talks quite a bit about Chop on there and if I remember right, may have suggestions for where else to look for diet suggestions. The Chop thing might help you get some veggies in the picky little guy! The Quaker I took care wasn't much impressed with it, but an Amazon that we had at the wildlife rescue I volunteer at thought it was pretty awesome & ate it right away. You can put (cooked) pasta shells in it so that the little bits of veggies stick to it & when they eat a piece of the pasta, they get some veggies too.
> 
> Ruby - that's what the woman who took the Quaker said she was planning to do with the Nutriberries! Crush & crumble them up to look like seed & said it'd make the transition to pellets easier. Have you tried Nutriberries, Tony? Maybe those would work...I'm glad the conure came to you guys at least! Sounds like a MUCH better home than the previous one...eugh. Good luck with trying to get him to expand his horizons!


Thanks for the link.

I have never heard of nutriberries, he might eat them I'll look em up and see were I can find it or how to make it. His name is mango, my gf named him that because she saw the name on a youtube vid and fell in love with it, and because he loves mango ( about the only thing he likes other then his nuts and seed ).

He will also only eat something if I eat it first ( he won't even listen to the gf if she tries, it's kinda funny ), but as soon as she Finds out that it's not a nut or a banana, it's over lol. He's like trying to get a kid to eat there veggies, except he can leave the table if he doesn't finish:roll:


----------



## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2014)

Would organic almond butter be an option? Just curious. The idea of live insects as a treat sort of freaks me out and I'm just looking for other options and I'd just assume that organic almond butter might be petter than peanut. Thanks!


----------



## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2014)

Sorry I didn't realize there were two pages and now my post doesn't make sense. I was still talking about for hedgehogs, not about birds.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, got a bit off topic for a bit. :lol:

It might be okay for an occasional treat, but it's even higher in fat than peanut butter, apparently, so I wouldn't offer it very often or in very large amounts (and keep in mind how small hedgehogs are - what might not seem like much to us is still a lot for them). I also wouldn't consider it an equal alternative to insects - hedgehogs do eat a lot of insects in the wild & many people feel that it's important to include them in the diet if at all possible & if the hedgehog will eat them, and I agree. There's been a lot of people on here with bug phobias or that are just squeamish about insects and have gotten past it enough to pick mealworms up with plastic tweezers, or chopsticks, etc. to offer to their hedgie, so if you're willing, I think it'd be worth a try.


----------

