Wood shelves

[Veepls]

I just re-made my chinchilla's cage's shelves with white raw pine because the old ones were made of plastic, but I read somewhere that pine can be toxic if the chin chew on it
Is this true? :\

 

[Amethyst]

Pine needs to be kiln dried to be chin safe, raw pine contains toxic phenol that are given off as vapor, as well as the pine sap and pitch is poisonous to chins.
However if you meant untreated kiln dried pine, rather then raw pine, then it's safe.

Kiln drying heats the wood slowly to very high temps (above 60C/140F) which kills off any bugs and/or fungi inside, sets the pitch and dries out sap, as well as vents off the majority of the phenol, making the wood safe to use.

 

[corinajanelle]

I just purchased my first shelf from TaylorMadeChinchilla, and I'm impressed- they use kiln dried pine and it is safe and sturdy. If you are open to purchasing rather than building, I would recommend TMC for sure!

 

[Veepls]

Thank you!
It's just that I don't know here how we call the kiln dried wood... I think I bought the untreated kind, but maybe it would be best to cover it with fleece to be sure