Wood
I've made a few lists of all the safe and unsafe woods to introduce to your degus. Some woods contain toxins that can be harmful and maybe even fatal for you degus, but with this list you should hopefully be able to easily tell apart the good woods from the bad.
- You might wanna put the branches in the freezer or heat them in the oven if you think there might be mites or other stuff on them. I can't recommend using soap to clean branches at all, which I have read some people do, since there always will be a bit of soap left on the branches and I wouldn't wanna serve that for my degus.
- Some woods are only safe if kiln-dried, because some trees contain raisin that contains toxins (for degus).
- Both the wood and the leaves of the species on the "safe" list are safe for your degus.
- And if you are in doubt wether or not it's safe - better safe than sorry.
- You might wanna put the branches in the freezer or heat them in the oven if you think there might be mites or other stuff on them. I can't recommend using soap to clean branches at all, which I have read some people do, since there always will be a bit of soap left on the branches and I wouldn't wanna serve that for my degus.
- Some woods are only safe if kiln-dried, because some trees contain raisin that contains toxins (for degus).
- Both the wood and the leaves of the species on the "safe" list are safe for your degus.
- And if you are in doubt wether or not it's safe - better safe than sorry.
Safe Woods
- Alder - Almond - Apple - Apricot - Ash - Aspen - Bamboo Cane - Beech - Birch - Cherry - Coconut Shell - Cottonwood - Damson - Elm - Filbert - Grapevine - Hawthorn |
- Hornbeam - Hazel - Linden - Maple - Mirabelle - Nectarine - Oak - Peach - Pear - Plane - Plum - Poplar - Prune - Quince - Rowan - Willow |
Safe if Kiln-dried
- Pine - Spruce - Chinese Fur - Rubberwood |
Unsafe Woods
- Azalea - Box - Cypress - Elder - Eucalyptus - Fig - Horse Chestnut - Juniper - Laburnum - Locust - Privets - Rhododendron - Thuja - Walnut - Yew |
There are obviously lots of tree sorts missing from these lists, so feel free to send me a mail if I'm missing something that ought to be added.