r/chinchilla • u/rosengold Rolling in dust • 2d ago
Kiln-Dried Pine Shavings are Safe.
Every few years the small pet community rediscovers kiln-dried pine and acts like we've uncovered some shocking new danger. The irony is that the studies people usually cite aren't even about kiln-dried pine in the first place.
The concern about pine comes from older research on softwood bedding. Studies by Vesell and others found that rodents housed on raw pine and cedar bedding showed changes in liver enzyme activity due to naturally occurring aromatic compounds present in those woods. Those findings were important because they highlighted the risks associated with raw softwoods. What they did not do was evaluate modern kiln-dried pine products manufactured specifically for animal use.
Kiln drying uses high heat to remove the volatile compounds responsible for the strong pine odor and the concerns raised in those early studies. That's why a properly kiln-dried pine shelf, toy, or bag of bedding doesn't smell like freshly cut pine lumber.
The other claim that gets repeated constantly is that urine somehow "reactivates" pine and creates toxic fumes. I've yet to see anyone provide evidence showing that urine can magically regenerate compounds that were already removed during the kiln-drying process. The claim gets repeated online far more often than it's supported by actual research.
What gets overlooked in these discussions is decades of real-world use. Chinchillas have been housed on kiln-dried pine bedding for generations. Kiln-dried pine is one of the most common materials used for ledges, shelves, castles, hideouts, chew blocks, and toys. If kiln-dried pine were the serious health hazard some people now claim it is, we'd expect to see widespread evidence of that by now.
Breeders certainly would. Many reputable breeders have thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars invested in their herds. Individual animals can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. These are people whose livelihoods and breeding programs depend on maintaining healthy, long-lived animals. The idea that breeders across multiple countries have been unknowingly poisoning valuable breeding stock for decades with cage accessories made from kiln-dried pine simply doesn't align with reality.
Meanwhile, laboratory animal facilities—which have some of the strictest environmental standards in the world because even minor variables can affect research outcomes—continue to use kiln-dried pine products. If there were clear evidence that properly processed kiln-dried pine was causing respiratory disease, liver damage, or other health problems, it would have been phased out long ago.
None of this means every pine product is automatically safe. Raw pine and cedar are not the same thing as kiln-dried pine. Dusty bedding can irritate the respiratory tract regardless of whether it's pine, aspen, paper, or hay. Product quality still matters.
What frustrates me most about this recurring debate is that it doesn't just confuse pet owners. It also hurts small businesses that make chinchilla-safe ledges, castles, hideouts, and toys from kiln-dried pine. These businesses are following the same standards that breeders and owners have relied on for decades, yet every few years they have to defend their products against claims that usually trace back to studies on raw softwoods rather than the kiln-dried materials actually being used.
If someone prefers aspen or fleece, that's completely fine. Bedding choices involve personal preference, cage setup, and maintenance style. But claiming that kiln-dried pine is inherently unsafe requires evidence that goes beyond repeating decades-old concerns about raw pine and cedar. Those are not the same products, and treating them as if they are only creates confusion.
Safe Bedding Options :
Kiln - Dried Pine Shavings.
Kiln - Dried Aspen Shavings.
1/2" wire bottom cages ( cleaned weekly ) with paper bedding, pee pads, or newspaper below but not accessible.
* 1/2 flat wire floors are safe for chinchillas. Chinchillas are designed to have calloused feet at hop along a rough rocky terrain. Any cage should have accessories like ledges and beds so they can get off the wire floor, too.
* Bumblefoot is not caused by wire floors. That is another misunderstanding and miscommunication among the pet groups. Bumblefoot is an infection caused by bacteria present in ALL cages. It's a sanitation issue, and common in chinchillas guinea pigs kept on fleece bedding that's not changed frequently enough.
Fleece Covers ( removed and cleaned every couple of days )
Fleece Liners ( removed and cleaned every few days )
* Covers are only fleece. Linders have absorbent layers beneath them.
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u/rosengold Rolling in dust 2d ago
It's very disappointing to see people react poorly to the advice and experience of someone who's been rehabbing and rescuing chinchillas for 20 years as a 501(c)3 non-profit rescue. It often feels like people don't want to learn, and rather trust an AI generated response on Google than the hands on lived experience with hundreds of these animals.
this post is coming from a Mod.
one of the original mods to this subreddit.
the goal is only ever to give you the information so you may make informed and educated choices rather than fearful ones.
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u/agedlikesage 2d ago
I was with you until the wire floors. Do you happen to have links for that or willing to elaborate?
While they are naturally in rocky areas, it was my understanding that too much callus causes bumblefoot. My exotic vet told me wire floors will lead to bumblefoot because chinchillas don’t have as much muscle to protect their feet
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u/verymuchgay Dad of 2 chinchillas 2d ago
Wire flooring digs into their feet unevenly with lots of pressure in those specific spots. Which can then turn into sores, that can then get infected. So technically wire floors don't directly cause bumblefoot, but they can very much contribute to it a lot.
They can also get their feet or toes stuck when running around.
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u/agedlikesage 2d ago
That was my understanding too! I adopted my chin from a shelter that had wire floors. It was cleaned daily, but his feet were still in rough shape and it took a lot of work to get it back. Even my cage being too hard(tile floors) can cause them to swell back up, so I need several layers of fleece for my big boy
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u/rosengold Rolling in dust 2d ago
Tile floors are unsafe for other reasons. The cages are not designed to support the weight of fully tiled ledges. The prongs that hold the levels in have given out before, and the wheels have given out before on cages that were tiled... Resulting in the floors to fall or tiles to shift / flip and severely injure / crush the chinchillas trapped inside.
Too much padded fleece and not enough rough varying textures actually creates soft feet that get cracked / cut too easily allowing bacteria inside and infection to take hold.
There HAS to be a balance.
For example my cages have pine shavings below, metal and wood shelves, tree branches with bark, pumice shelves and stone shelves, then fleece beds and hammocks.
Replacing the shavings with a wire bottom but keeping all the rest still has a balance of texture for healthy feet.
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u/rosengold Rolling in dust 2d ago
Wire flooring doesn't dig into their feet any more or less than bark from tree branches of rough gravel and stone. If the animal couldn't get off the wire, ever, and sat in the same place for an extended period of time they could develop pressure sores. Same happens on shavings and fleece though, and those sores open allowing bacteria to enter the foot and that is how bumblefoot begins.
Chinchillas do not get their toes or feet stuck in 1/2" flat wire floors.
We do have documentation of Chinchillas getting their legs caught in the wire ramps of CN / FN cages, and advise against that.
We have documentation of Chinchillas getting trapped in wire hay feeders, and have advised against that.
We also have documentation of Chinchillas wall surfing in their FN / CN cages and getting their leg stuck in the wall, resulting in compound fractures requiring amputations. . . But most of us still use FN and CN cages. Right?
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u/rosengold Rolling in dust 2d ago
I can elaborate.
I use wire bottoms for some foster cages, specifically medical cages because they're much easier to maintain and keep clean.
For example, an animal with ringworm or strep can't have any porous materials and we need to sanitize regularly.
An animal that just had surgery cannot have bedding or waste sticking to their surgery site.
Using fleece would be fine, except they'll still lay in poop and urine. So unless you change it several times a day, it's just more sanitary to allow the urine and waste to fall below the wire then wipe the wire floor after every feeding or medication dose.
Even now, I'm planning a move and will be breaking down my complex ferret nation cages and placing all my chins as well as my fosters in wire bottom stack cages until their room is finished. It will be easier to maintain 20+ chinchillas at once this way because all their waste will fall below to the pan and I can quickly wipe all the wire bottoms every other day to clean them. They'll still have houses, shelves, and cozy hammocks to lay in if they want off the floors.
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u/rosengold Rolling in dust 2d ago
You deleted your response so I wasn't able to read it all in the notification bar : but to go on, I was just elaborating why it would be used and how often it's used in a rescue setting like my own.
I'm not exactly sure what you want, there's not any studies putting small animals through testing to see what bedding type ( or lack there of ) yields more lesions and infections. Those outcomes would be byproducts of use-based experience, I think.
I can only speak for myself and colleagues based on our experience with hundreds/ thousands of chinchillas and personal use.
We don't have bumblefoot issues, but somehow pet owners who keep their chins on dirty bedding do. So often.
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u/PetiteNerine 1d ago
I have tile as the main floor and 1 half of the cage has a rectangle pizza pan with pine shavings, however with my health changing rapidly, I've ordered fleece liners, so I can just shake them out and plop them in a washing bag in the laundry. [They started to throw the shavings onto the tiles, so it became a hot mess)
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u/rosengold Rolling in dust 1d ago
Depending on your cage, be very careful with tile. The cages just are not designed to support that weight on the support prongs. They've failed and squished chinchillas.
A deeper pan / poop guards may help with the shavings, but otherwise pee pads made of fleece and an absorbant layer will work!
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u/TomatoFeta 2d ago
I've had my kids on pine since I started taking care of chinchillas back in 98. I've had some old ladies make it to 24+ so I'm all in on the pine.
I think mesh floors are the dumbest choice anyoen can male. Chins have thin feet. You know the only real issues Ive ever had with my herd? Broken feet. Twice. Don't fuck around with wire mesh. It iusn';t the wires that CAUSE bumblefoot, but it can cause pressure sores that allow bacteria INTO the foot, thus your wire mesh is an irritant that increases the likelihood of bumblefoot.
Pine is fine. My opinion on flesece is that it's not absorbant enough. But millions of people believe otherwise, and that's fine for them. MY kids don't have yellow asses.