Wood Shelving Query

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Rtempleton

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2016
Messages
7
I've done a lot of searching about wood shelving in chinchilla cages as it is very difficult in the UK to get the right type of pine etc. I know that spruce is very much debated but I've heard that when kiln dried it is perfectly fine to use as shelving. My question is whether this type is acceptable http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Whitewood-PSE-18-x-144-x-3600mm/p/9000036467#tab-reviews_content. The title says whitewood but the description lists it as spruce. It is untreated and kiln dried!

Another question I have is about the hole between the two sections of my Liberta Explorer second edition. The ridge surrounding it is quite deep and I was wondering if this could be a problem for the chinchillas? Also (I'll attempt to attach pictures) but where the ladder would attach are two holes and I'm worried the chinchillas could catch their legs when they jump down the hole. Any thoughts about how I could cover this up?

unnamed%202_zpsk5dtdti4.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

unnamed_zpsumz0ktwa.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

I'm so excited to get them into their new cage but think it's gonna take me ages to get them there! As a side note if anyone in the UK knows of a good place to get cheap fleece please let me know!
 
Hmm... You could also try looking at B&Q. We got a 29mm thick plank and cut it down to make shelves. It’s something like this:

http://www.diy.com/departments/smooth-planed-timber-t29mm-w89mm-l2400mm/249697_BQ.prd

For some reason their website is not great when it comes to telling you what it is made out of. It might be worth a trip to the store, if there is one nearby you. There is usually a description on the label that tells you exactly what it is. I think I asked someone there to ensure that it was kiln dried, but most of their lumber is, I believe!

I also recently picked up one of these:
http://www.diy.com/departments/natural-unfinished-corner-shelf-l300mm-d300mm/207613_BQ.prd
At least these specifically say they are made of pine!

Thanks for posting some pics of the Liberta! It's nice to see how people are working with it. I wouldn't have thought the ridge around the hole would be a problem for chins jumping through. If anything, it'll keep in the poos/hay/etc.

I'm also still on the lookout for a good place to get a wide selection of fleece. Hard to find in the UK. If you're ever by Manchester there is a good fabric store in the Northern Quarter called Abakhan, which has a decent selection in person. But I just checked out their website, and their selection on line is definitely not great :/ ( https://www.abakhan.co.uk/fabric/fleece-fur.html ). I think a lot of people use eBay in the UK to get fleece, but I could be wrong...
 
Last edited:
I have had kiln dried spruce shelving in the cage for years now, they chew it and are fine. If it's like it is over here the whitewood is generally pine/spruce/fir (abbreviated PSF), they all grow together and are pretty much all the same, so long as they are kiln dried they are safe.

As for the holes, I would put some wood pegs in them, or cut a small strip of wood, drill holes where the holes are in the metal and just bolt it to the metal through the holes. I would use a small carriage bolts so you don't have too much hanging out from the bottom. The edging should be no problem for the chins, they can easily jump 5 feet (152 cm), lol. Just make sure you do have a shelve or something for them under the hole for them to jump down to. A fall of more then a foot (30 cm) can seriously hurt or kill a chin. So keep that in mind when designing stuff for the cage, overlapping is needed for safety.
 
Back
Top