Thank you all for being nice. You are kind.
BUT
conkers are horse chestnuts - it's the same thing. People eat them at this time of year. Shortly, there will be some guy with a Ye Olde Barrow selling hot roasted chestnuts to Christmas shoppers. You get a little punnet with pungent steam coming off it, and if you're smart you'll get some mulled wine as well.
So we ARE talking about something that people eat. So for people, conkers are NOT toxic.
But what about hamsters??? Will small fluffy thing keel over and die? Or will he think we're just the bestest family he could possibly know? Surely someone knows this... please...
2006-10-09 09:12:16 · 16 answers · asked by wild_eep 6 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
I missed your previous questions or you would have the answer by now.
Firstly, that old chestnut....
There are sweet chestnuts and horse chestnuts. They grow on different trees, the leaves are different - I know because I eat sweet chestnuts and harvest them myself if possible. The seed cases are different too.
Conkers are shiny and very rounded, sweet chestnuts are more like a fat garlic clove in shape, pointed at one end and flattened slightly either side - this is because they tend to go 2 or 3 to a seed case, unlike horse chestnuts.
I wouldn't think hammy would like conkers. Get him seeds such as sunflower (also easy to grow in this country). He might take some apple perhaps? See also below
***UPDATE*** see the second link below - horse chestnuts are poisonous to hamsters.
2006-10-09 09:24:12 · answer #1 · answered by Tertia 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm afraid you're wrong about conkers not being toxic for people. Ok, they might not kill you but they won't make you feel good either. The chestnuts you eat, after roasting round an open fire, are sweet chestnuts.
I really do not think that feeding them to your hamster is a good idea.
2006-10-09 09:41:43 · answer #2 · answered by ceecee 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People eat chestnuts not horse chestnuts conkers are horse chestnuts, hamsters are small furry animals that look similar to rats and as for mulled wine i think you have had too much
2006-10-09 09:46:36 · answer #3 · answered by taxed till i die,and then some. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In Britain, the nuts are used for the popular children's game Conkers. During the two world wars, horse-chestnuts were used as a source of starch which in turn could be used via the Clostridium acetobutylicum fermentation method devised by Chaim Weizmann to produce acetone. This acetone was then used as a solvent which aided in the process of ballistite extrusion into cordite, which was then used in military armaments.
The nuts are poisonous, containing the alkaloid saponin, but some mammals, notably deer, are able to break down the toxins and eat them safely. They are reputed to be good for horses with wind, but this is unproven and feeding them to horses is not advisable. The saponin aescin, however, has been used for health purposes (such as varicose veins, edema, sprains) and is available in food supplements
2006-10-09 09:21:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sorry,but you are wrong,when I was a kid we used to pick both sorts in different forrests,the horse chestnuts are the ones you use as "conkers"they are dark brown and rounded,chestnuts have a slightly flatter appearance and are lighter brown with faint lines down them
2006-10-09 09:28:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Conkers are not edible!!! Chestnuts are! They are two totally different things. However, squirrels eat conkers so they must be edible to small fluffy things. However again, squirrells have long fluffy tails whereas hampsters have little stumps. If that has anything to do with anything, I have no idea!!
2006-10-09 09:20:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The horse chestnut (conker) is toxic. Deer have adapted so that they can eat them, but I have no information on hamsters.
The SWEET chestnut is edible. I suppose you could play conkers with sweet chestnuts.
2006-10-09 09:26:19 · answer #7 · answered by novangelis 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Conkers are horse chestnuts, but these are not the ones you eat. They aren't edible, don't think they'd be good for hamsters either!
2006-10-09 09:15:25 · answer #8 · answered by scoob 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Conkers are not chestnuts, not edible for humans, and squirrels don't eat them either.
Edible chestnuts are a different thing altogether.
Don't risk it. Try e-mailing Kew gardens and see if they know.
2006-10-09 09:53:55 · answer #9 · answered by sarah c 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
horse chestnuts ARE poisonous.
it's SWEET CHESTNUTS that they roast and eat, so get your facts right before you start claiming things which just aren't true.
and I'm sure they're poisonous to hamsters as well.
2006-10-09 09:36:07 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋