My fuzzies like to crawl around on the rough wood paneling in our basement. The last couple of nights, Lilo has been trying to chew on it and I am wondering how I would ever know what kind of wood it is? The house is 25yrs old and the paneling was up when we bought it 5 yrs ago. I have looked at all the building stores and can not find any wood like it. Any ideas? She is getting mad at me for giving her the "pssst" sound and making her stop chewing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
It looks like it may be Knotty Pine- but KarenE is right, no matter what kind of wood, it's been treated with chemicals and It's just not a good idea to let them chew on anything you aren't sure about. If they always climb on the walls in that area, you could try putting up a large climbing blanket for them. Good luck!
Tbull, I truly don't care WHAT kind of paneling it is---the bottom line is that it's been STAINED and that is TROUBLE with a capital T!!!!! I'll give you the abridged version about an angel suggie named Wendy Darling: I considered her a "rescue" because her previous owner had put those STAINED reptile branches in her cage to climb on. Because she was given a totally incorrect diet, she started chewing on these branches & had MAJOR RENAL problems which were eventually her demise. I blame the renal problem on the STAINED WOOD as well as the diet issue (and mis-diagnosis from an emergency vet who supposedly "knew" about suggies).
Obviously your suggie wants something to nibble on....two suggestions I have to distract her from the toxic paneling are sugar cane sticks (PetsMart carries them in the bird/parrot area) or REAL branches. I have several maple & (unsprayed) apple tree branches for mine to enjoy, as well as an occasional sugar cane treat.
Minkasmom (Papillon Kisses) Slave to: 25 gliders,4 cats, and ONE husband (can't handle two, lol!) Remembering all my lost loves
Re: Is wood paneling toxic?
[Re: ]
#74422 12/26/0512:44 AM12/26/0512:44 AM
I tried posting before but it must have not worked right. Thank you all for your info. I can not believe how stupid I was to not think of the chemicals. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crying.gif" alt="" /> I am glad that I stopped her from chewing right away. We now only play in the upstairs guest room where I have more control. I did have a large branch from a safe tree in their cage that Lilo loved to chew on, but I took it out because I was told it would harbor bacteria. I will maybe get a few small safe branches to put back in for her chewing tendences, ones I can bake or throw out every few days. Do you think that would be safe? They are on Darcy's Ensure diet and all seem very healthy so it must be that she just likes to chew.
[:"blue"] Please, please do not think of yourself as stupid for not thinking about the wood being treated with chemicals. There have been many things over the years that I have not thought of and I'm sure other people have had the same experiences. That is exactly why GliderCentral is here ... for all of us to learn. Jut when we start to feel comfortable with these little ones, they will throw us a curve so it's great we have GC.
It's also wonderful that you have an alternative room to play in.
As for tree branches, my gliders also love apple branches. You should see our poor apple tree that my son (now 24) and I planted in the backyard together when he was just a toddler <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif" alt="" /> Every Spring it seems to take on a new interesting shape <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nixweiss.gif" alt="" />
Just remember we're always here when you have a question. [/]