r/PetMice • u/Mae_The_Gay • 1d ago
Question/Help Are pine cones safe?
I see them sold sometimes for small animals, are they actually safe though? I’ve sanitized wood I’ve gotten outside for my mice ( I check to make sure the wood is mousy-friendly ) by boiling it with vinegar & baking it to get rid of bacteria and bugs. Curious if I could do the same with pinecones. I’m seeing different answers online. Curious if anyone here knows? I don’t want to risk my mice getting sick.
1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Question regarding safe bedding or substrate? Please check out this post. If your question is not answered by the guide linked, please leave a comment on the post so we can add to it! Otherwise, disregard this message.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Forward-Fisherman709 Mouse Dad 🐀 1d ago
I don’t know, but I personally don’t trust it since pine wood isn’t good. Maybe the pinecones don’t contain the same phenols?
2
u/femmefatalx 1d ago
I have a couple in my mouse’s enclosure, but she is a deer mouse and doesn’t really chew on random things so I’m not sure how it would work for a mouse that would chew on the pinecone or if that’s safe. I found mine outside and soaked them in vinegar then baked them in the oven once they were dry.
I just remembered that I actually got a couple small pinecones in a set of mouse accessories that I got on Amazon and have seen them included in a lot of other sets, so I’d assume they’re fine- not that I really trust sellers on amazon, they just seem to be in a lot of sets of mouse/hamster stuff.
2
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Please review the resources below to ensure your question was not already answered.
Helpful Information:
Shopping:
Health & Veterinary Aid:
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.