B&E Chins
Active member
Hello! Does anyone happen to know if cherry tree wood is safe for chins (if prepared correctly)? thanks!
Cherry Tree
- Thread starter B&E Chins
- Start date
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Checking the list I have of safe and unsafe woods for chinchillas cherry is listed as unsafe.
B&E Chins
Active member
Thanks!
ChinsForLife
Well-known member
Yes, similar to peach, cherry wood (and also the stone) contains cyanide which is basically poison that makes it difficult for chins to breathe. I learned this the hard way, stay away from both.
No cherry is not safe or commonly used in chinchilla habitats (at least not anywhere that actually cares about their health and safety). Cherry trees contain cyanide compounds in the seeds, leaves, bark, and shoots. Toxicity is highest in both new growth and wilted leaves and branches. In case you don't know cyanide is toxic to consume, so if your chin eats it they can die. I don't know of any way to prepare it to remove the cyanide, but the normal cleaning and drying process used for preparing wood for chins does not.
I'm guessing you might think it's not toxic is because the levels in the wood commonly used to make things like furniture and tableware (plates, bowls, etc) for humans are considered too low to pose a risk to humans. In those cases the wood is sealed and since humans don't normally eat their furniture or dishes they are unlikely to eat enough of the wood to cause any issues. They are also normally made of boards from the trunk of the tree (which contain the least amount of the cyanide compounds) not the bark covered branches, sticks, and twigs normally given to chins to chew on.
