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Post by algerbils2 on Nov 28, 2022 19:07:04 GMT -8
We bought this for my daughter's gerbils but she is worried that it is made from pine which she read can be toxic for gerbils to chew on (and these boys chew on everything! Though their favorite is cardboard, wood is harder to destroy, lol). It does not say on the product what kind of wood it is made of, just Metal-Free Wood Hideout. Some Amazon reviews guess that it is pine. We bought it since it does not have staples or nails holding it together. Is this OK for the gerbils to have in their tank, or should we try to return it and get something else?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 28, 2022 19:27:57 GMT -8
It looks okay to me. There's debate over pine in shaving form, but solid pine e.g in a house is fine.
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Post by algerbils2 on Nov 30, 2022 7:30:00 GMT -8
Thank you. I left a question on the Kaytee website and they responded that the hideaways are made of solid natural wood from quality pine timber. Are there chemicals in the pine shavings that make it dangerous, but solid pine (even if chewed on) is OK?
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Nov 30, 2022 8:42:59 GMT -8
Thank you. I left a question on the Kaytee website and they responded that the hideaways are made of solid natural wood from quality pine timber. Are there chemicals in the pine shavings that make it dangerous, but solid pine (even if chewed on) is OK? Pine contains natural oils which when regularly inhaled may cause respiratory and possibly liver problems. Most pine shavings are kiln-dried, which is supposed to remove these oils. Some people question whether kiln-drying really removes the oils and prefer to still avoid pine shavings, whereas others use pine shavings without any apparent issues. The reason shavings are debated and not solid pine objects is because of the much larger surface area which potentially allows more oils to be released than from a solid piece of pine. The pine used in these houses is also very likely to be kiln-dried so they should be quite safe to use. |
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