Are these shelves ok??

[ashari]

Ive just bought some wooden corner shelves from wilkinsons and i just wanted to check theyd be ok in hammys cage

Wilkinson Plus - shelves - Corner Shelves

Ive painted them with a non toxic paint (plasti-kote) im going to use a few screws and some large washers to attach to the bars.

[SnickersTheFirst]

I know lots of people say Pine is toxic to hamsters due to the phenols. I'm not sure if they would be removed for furnitue or not?

[ashari]

The shelves themselves dont smell like pine, just natural wood, so do you think theyd be ok?i also read on a forum (allaboutmice) that if you paint the wood with a non toxic paint that it will trap any phenols from escaping from the wood?i really want to check first with you guys just to make sure though

[amyXlovesXhamstersX]

I would say it is ok, as long as it dosent smell like pine and your ham doesn't chew it!

[Lil Miss]

pine is safe if chewed, solid pine is one of the few woods recomended for use in animal cages due to the fact it is none toxic if chewed

aslong as it doesnt smell of pine it is fine, they do tend to loose most of the phenols in the manufacturing process

[racinghamster]

I would`nt be put off plain, untreated pine to be honest. Most small animal accessories are made from this material so I would`nt be too worried about it to be honest Kim. I have placed a flat piece of pine wood from an old shelf under Boris`s wodent wheel to give it something solid to stand on and he has`nt as much as bothered about it. Even if he did, it`s only plain pine and does`nt have any new smells as I`ve had it for a while now. There is a seller on ebay called `Shelfridges` who makes and sells pine shelves for small pets aslo and these are just plain pine.

And hamsters who use pine shavings with no issues should`nt be bothered by pine wood as long as it`s aired well before use.

[ashari]

oh good i did think it would be ok but i wanted to check first.they definitely don't smell of pine just natural pain wood.

racinghamster - i got some of those shelfridges shelves from ebay a couple of years ago and there very good .these shelves actually reminded me of them which is one of the reasons i thought they'd be ok lol.

thanks everyone

[racinghamster]

I bought a small `leap n`ledge` today for Boris`s cage and that is just untreated pine, the same as shelves are that you buy in DIY shops, so there really is`nt any difference. Only the DIY pine shelving is always cheaper because it`s not marketed at pets!

[Mikayla]

Okay, I've got a question then, what if they were kiln dried so that there weren't any chemicals?

[ashari]

MMMTDF - kiln drying is fine racinghamster mentioned shelfridges on ebay which do shelving for small furries and they are kiln dried.i have these also and i can say iv had no problems with them either.

MEDIUM 7" 19cm SHELF For HAMSTER GERBIL MICE CAGE - New | eBay UK