Help! Turns out my pine wasn't kiln dried!

[chinchillachris]

Hi guys,
I have a question for you guys. I have fleece bedding and once a week I have to take out all the fleece and wash it. So, when I'm washing all the fleece, I take my chinchillas out of their Critter Nation and put them into a smaller 3X2 ft carrying cage which I fill with pine shavings. Well, today I found out that the pine shaving that I line their carrying cage with (the one they stay in for a few hours while I wash the fleece) isn't kiln dried! I for some reason always thought it was, but when i was looking closely at the back of the bag, I noticed it never said it was Kiln-Dried. Now I'm kind of worried, are my chinchillas going to become ill or were they in anyway hurt by being exposed to those shavings? I've used these particular shavings twice to line their carrying cage when washing the fleece (total exposure is approx. 6 hours), and I used them shavings for 3 weeks as their cage bedding back in December (we were moving to a new house and we were too busy to go and buy Carefresh, so I used these shaving which I thought were kiln dried). I really feel bad about using a shaving that isn't chin safe, I knew I should've checked the bag better. They seem fine and happy right now, and they seemed fine and healthy back in December when I was using it as their primary bedding, but could there be some underlying health problem I can't see? Also, I'm curious, what's the dangers of non kiln dried bedding? Thanks you all!
P.S. Basically to sum it all up, they've been exposed to these shavings for 3 weeks back in December, and for a total of 6 hours during these past two weeks when I was washing their fleece liners.

 

[Cat75]

Most pine shavings are kiln-dried. What brand of shavings were you using?

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Agreed with Cat.

Can you tell us what brand you are using? Where you bought them? Even a picture of the front of the bag (even one from the internet).

If you tell us what you can about the shaving I'm sure someone will be able to tell you they are Kiln Dried and maybe where to find that info on the bag.

 

[chinchillachris]

I bought them at Tractor Supply.
They are called "Tractor Supply Premium Pine Shavings - Flake"
Here's a link to where they sell them on their website: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/sto...g;-flake-premium-pine-shavings-covers-8-cu-ft

 

[Godins Chinchillas]

We use them from time to time. My biggest problem with them is that they are damp. About 75% of the time they are damp. And they don't dry out once they are open.

 

[AZChins]

If they weren't kiln dried, they'd probably be full of pine tar and extremely fragrant. If they seem fluffy, non sticky and have a tolerable scent to them, they're probably kiln dried.

Jessica - I have ended up with shavings that are wet...it makes me so mad!

 

[chinchillachris]

They do smell, but it smells more like a typical "wood smell" than a piney smell. Also, the pine towards the bottom feels a little bit damp/sticky but not very much.

 

[akane]

Damp is a sign that they aren't kiln dried. They still contain a high amount of the oils. Sometimes it works to just dump a bag in a large plastic storage container and leave the lid off for a couple weeks. It's not as ideal as getting kiln dried but many people who only live close to a tiny feedstore have had to do it. Our feed store never gets in the same stuff. They just put on the order form they need more shavings and the company that supplies them sends whatever is on hand. Sometimes it's kiln dried pine, sometimes it's regular pine, and sometimes it's spruce which I much prefer because spruce has a lot less of the harmful oils than pine and even not kiln dried it dries to no smell within days of being opened. Hard to get them though because usually spruce shavings are just labelled softwood shavings which could include pine or anything else.

 

[tunes]

Akane - Damp is a sign that TSC stores their shavings outside, as do a lot of others. I doubt it has anything to do with whether they are kiln dried or not. I won't buy shavings from TSC because of that.

Also, who are the "many" people who buy shavings and have to let them dry out before they can use them? I've never heard of that before. I know I wouldn't waste my time or money. I would rather spend a little gas money to drive to a store and buy proper shavings.

 

[AZChins]

Yeah...wet or damp usually means the shavings were improperly stored and allowed to get rained on. I've stopped buying shavings from places here that have done that. It doesn't rain much here and it can get very warm, so that means moldy shavings.

If you have pine tar or sap in your shavings, no amount of letting them air out is going to make them safe to use for chins. It isn't a good idea to use non-kiln dried shavings with chins, especially if they are right in the shavings.

 

[ticklechin]

I agree with the above posts, damp shavings are not because they are not kiln dried, its because they got wet due to poor storage on the retailers part. You will never "dry" non kiln dried shavings, sap does not dry out.

 

[saphire]

ditto with above post ,,,

TCS shavings often damp to very damp due to being stored outside.
I don't buy from them anymore. Waste