can a guinea pig have treats made out of pine wood shavings?

Question

the ingredients off the box are:
pine wood shavings, cassava starch, alfalfa, liqued mix( water, sodium alginate, potassium sorbate,propionic acid,honey, glycerin, propylene glycol). so after knowing that do u still think its safe for him?

Answer 1

If the ingredients list pine shavings, don't give it to him. Pine shavings contain aromatic oils which are caused by phenols. Phenols increase liver enzymes. It is also speculated to cause liver cancer or other serious liver problems. Because of the fact that guinea pigs can't produce their own vitamin C, I would not take any chances.

Return the item to the place where you purchased it and let them know that it is not safe for ANY small animals to consume. You could even call the company and complain---pine shavings aren't even safe for you to house your guinea pig on, let alone digesting them! If we, as small animal owners, educate ourselves and refuse to buy these unsafe products, then the companies will have no choice but to offer healthy alternatives (or go bankrupt).

Get your pig a bag of hay (timothy, bermuda, orchard, barley, or any other EXCEPT alfalfa) and stuff that into an empty toliet paper roll. It's one of the best and most inexpensive treats you can give your piggy. My fosters loved tossing the roll around and pulling the hay out.

Answer 2

It won't harm her too much to eat a little but she shouldn't eat it, no, its not food but she doesn't know that and being a guinea-pig she'll eat anything that's near her mouth. One guinea-pig I have right now is actually a present for my girlfriend, but I've seen her pluck the fur of my 4 girls she's living with at the moment, and then eats it... lol, I really don't know why but she's healthy enough. All mine I've seen eat pine shavings on occasion when I've put them in a freshly cleaned out cage (I have 10 and have had 4 previously) and also my girlfriend has 6 of her own and they've all tried some as well. It's not as though they're going through a whole bag of it so don't worry. By the way... pine shavings are fine for guinea-pigs so long as you know what to do with it to keep your pig safe. When you buy a new bag of pine bedding, fluff it out into another bag (like a carrier bag or bin liner) and kept in a cool, dry place. Fluffing it out makes it easier for the strong pine smell to disappear because it can breathe and get some air around it. Make sure that her cage/hutch has a lot of air circulation too for the same reason. I have used so many different beddings over the past 13 years + with my guinea-pigs, and when I had rats I had to find an alternative bedding for them as I knew not to use shavings for them, but now I just have a rabbit and 10 guinea-pigs to look after so I've come back to using shavings again and personally wouldn't use anything else for them now. With no offence to these people... please take no notice of others who disagree with this and will say 'you shouldn't use pine, its dangerous for them, you should use fleece!' or some rubbish like that and even if this comment gets 'thumbed down' a million times, I have enough experience, knowledge and common sense to give out information that's not going to put someone's pet at risk. Of course, animals are all different and some can't handle beddings like pine shavings so you must change it, but more often than not, shavings are fine for guinea-pigs.

Answer 3

I would say no. I know that using pine wood shavings as bedding for guinea-pigs is very dangerous and can have a detrimental effect on their breathing. Also, none of these pet shop treats are quite what they think they are. Most of them are full of rubbish. You would be better giving your guinea-pig grass, thistles, carrot, apple, cabbage and cucumber, as well as his day-to-day dreid food.

Answer 4

Yes they can, it won't hurt them as mine used to eat that kind of stuff all the time. They even sell wood blocks made out of a special wood for them to chew on, it keeps thier teeth filed down so you dont have 2 do it. It good for thier digestion, and contains lots of minerals that they cant get anyplace else. Dont worry, your guinea pig will be fine! I named mine "Fuzzy Butt" cuz every time i saw him he had his head buried in the corner and all i could see was his "fuzzy butt!" Good Luck

Answer 5

What? You are not even supposed to use that stuff as bedding material...and you want to give it as a treat?

Answer 6

yes