Huh that is quite interesting
Like you said its very confusing but good to know! Anyways... so basically softwood shavings are very similar to kiln dried pine bedding. I suppose it's just a bit different but overall it still contains toxic oils.
I mean my boys seem fine right now. I have them in a 3 story critter nation and the bottom is the only one that has the shavings. Aspen is also more expensive than a big bag of the softwood shavings. At least the all living things and the snake bedding are. If I do decide to switch I'd love to know some other inexpensive brands. Thanks!
Since your chin is in a 3 story cage that is likely why they don't have any issues, it's more an issue for animals that live and burrow on into the shavings. Also if you keep the cage clean he likely can just avoid an area until the oil disperses after peeing on it since he doesn't live on the floor of the cage, like a hamster or gerbil does. However if your chin ever gets sick or injured and stays at the bottom of the cage a lot you could end up running into respiratory issues from the oils in the softwood shavings. Looking at the link you give from the company I don't actually see anywhere that it says tulip poplar, it's say "We use 100% kiln dried mixed softwood shavings" which would likely be the pine/spruce/fir mix and "whitewood" which is another name for tulip poplar, but is also used for spruce/pine/fir (those three trees are often harvested and processed together for cheaper "general use" wood. It's cheaper if they don't have to sort them and after processing they look and work pretty much the same for most projects).
Snake bedding is probably the most expensive since it's processed a lot since it needs to have no sharp bits. You aren't going to be able to find aspen for as cheap as softwood, mostly because aspen is a hardwood so it's just a more expensive wood.
Ok so doing a bit of research, apparently what I was told in a different group was not right, or perhaps being over cautious, but it looks like they were assuming douglas fir is a type of fir tree, which again is debatable on safety. It's not though and the phenols (the toxic oils) are found in the outer bark not so much the wood itself, unlike true firs, which is why the bark is not safe. So it looks like douglas fir shavings, assuming it doesn't contain the bark, shouldn't actually contain as much phenols. Here is info I found doing an online search about the shavings, just for info not suggesting buying any specific product.
"This type is typically screened to remove dust and dried in a kiln. Horses tend to favor the aroma of Douglas fir shavings. Soft and comfortable, they also have a low-moisture content. The shavings contain no phenols, which have been known to trigger sneezing and other allergy attacks in horses."
The Best & Worst Types of Wood Shavings for Horse Bedding - GI Shavings LLC
"Since GEM shavings come from Douglas Fir there’s a reduced phenol load (as compared to cedar and pine shavings) to lessen respiratory or contact irritation. Cases of phenol reactions have been reported in a wide variety of animals including horses, goats, chickens, rabbits, pigs, and dogs. It is advised that small animals not be bedded in cedar or pine shavings, so these Douglas Fir shavings are a better choice."
LIVESTOCK BEDDING | Mysite
That being said though, I personally have never seen douglas fir shavings being recommended for use for chinchillas in any group or site online.
