Can Guinea Pigs Chew On Wood?

Guinea pigs need to chew.

Their teeth are always growing and always need trimming down by chewing on stuff.

Often this can just mean having lots of hay to chew on which will suffice for them in this instance.

But sometimes it is beneficial for them to have something else for them to chew on for variety.

There are many things you can get for a guinea pig to chew on such as chew toys, but there are other things too.

So can guinea pigs chew on wood?

Yes they can and it will help them to grind their teeth down.

It can be extremely beneficial for piggies to use to keep their teeth ground down.

However, there are some woods that should not be touched by piggies.

Woods that have been treated should never be given to them as they are treated with toxic substances which are poisonous for piggies.

Any soft, resinous or aromatic woods, like redwood, eucalyptus, cedar, and air-dried pine are not good for them.

Wood that is given to guinea pigs to chew on should be untreated.

Wood from fruit trees that have a stone in the centre such as plum, peach, apricot, nectarines, and cherry are also not good for them and should be avoided.

I have also found that they are not keen on wood from evergreen trees and so avoid feeding them to piggies.

Woods that are good for piggies are fine for them include;

Lumber such as basswood, linden, aspen, poplar, and kiln-dried white pine

Fruitwoods from fruit trees such as hazelnut, apple, pear and crab apple are also good for them. They will love chewing on the twigs and branches. But again, do be aware of branches that have been sprayed with pesticides.

They will enjoy willow twigs such as weeping willow and pussy willow. However, do avoid using white willow twigs and branches.

This is because white willow contains salicylic acid which is the main component of asprin.

So do take care what woods you give to your guinea pig to chew on.

They will enjoy some woods such as fruit woods but other woods they may not be so keen on unless there is nothing else for them to chew on and they just need to grind their teeth on something.

Anything that has been treated, any branches from stone fruit trees, cedar or pine, plus soft, resinous or aromatic woods, like redwood, eucalyptus, cedar, and air-dried pine are not good for them and should be avoided.

One thought on “Can Guinea Pigs Chew On Wood?

  1. Hello. Thank you for your post. It was very helpful. I do have one question. I was considering purchasing some of the unfinished birch wood items at my craft store for my guinea pigs to chew on, but I have been having trouble finding out if they are safe for guinea pigs to chew. They have really cute shapes that I thought would be fun to have in their cage for them to chew. Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you!

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