Is pine ok for chins? Certain hard plastics?

[Baron Sciarri]

I keep looking at lists of approved woods but nobody seems to say pine but then i read some of these posts and you link people to sites selling pine ledges and pine homes. Does anyone have an approved woods list or even better a complete approved chin safe and chin happy materials list for my cage creation? Which brings me to another question...do you say no plastic because of the plastic things creating heat? or do you say no plastic because they would chew it and possibly ingest it? and if so then would that open up certain hard plastics as cage building supplies if they can't chew it?

 

[tunes]

http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34

I have used igloos before with my chins. Once they put a tooth mark on them, they were gone. It's actually cheaper and more healthy for them to just have the wood. It keeps them entertained, you don't have to worry about them ingesting it and getting a blockage, and it keeps their teeth in good condition which is very important for a chin. I would skip the plastic and stick with wood for accessorizing your cage.

You can also use fleece hammocks and houses as well.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

When people say Pine, they mean KD Pine. KD Pine is safe for chins.

 

[Chinchilla Villa]

Pine is perfectly fine for chins, when using it for bedding you want to use kiln dried shavings only mainly due to the possibility of respiratory issues in the animals. For ledges, shelfs and houses construction grade pine is OK, in most cases this is dried to less than 15% moisture content. Pine does need to be periodically replaced due to the possibility of bacteria and fungal growth.
Using plastic shelfs and houses is OK also and yes they will chew it but in most cases it does not cause health issues. There is always a possibility of a intestinal blockage but in most cases they only chew on the plastic and don't ingest it.

I use and have for may years pine shelfing material to make houses and PVC pipe for hiding tubes and such.

 

[Cuddlebug]

If the chinchilla is chewing the plastic, any plastic, it needs to be removed from the cage and replaced with wood or something they either can not chew, or something that is ok for them to chew. I am sorry, but taking a chance on whether or not it will cause an impaction is wrong since the impaction could kill the chinchilla.