Is Poplar Safe or Unsafe?

Baby.Angel021 asks…

My husband was wondering if Chinchillas can have shelves made out of poplar wood? I'm not sure if he said it was untreated. I'm just the momma and being very protective of my new baby.

Chinchilla Planet answers…

Poplar of which aspen is related is safe from what we've read. We once tried using aspen shelves, but I bought ones that were too thin. My chinchillas chewed through them in no time.

We now use pine shelves. They get chewed on along the edges, but remain sturdy even after a year or two. In fact, they need to be replaced from becoming dirty long before they become unsafe.