pine toy

Question
I have had house bunnies for several years.  I know not to let them use cedar or pine shavings for litter.  A couple of weeks ago the local pet store owner offer me a small pine condo for a playhouse for my bunnies.  Is this unsafe?  I turned it down, but I still wonder.

Thank you,
Judy

Answer
Hi Judy,

I think the jury is still out on the pine.  We have seen cedar cause some significant issues especially respiratory.  There are still some questions regarding the pine.  It seems to be how the wood has been treated and how much resin is left in the wood.  We do use wood shavings in some limited situations mostly with special needs rabbits.  I have used the pine "hidey houses" quite a bit.  In the wild, rabbits will eat pine bark.  And many of the "chew" toys are made with pine.  We do use pine in some cases and have not had any negative effects that we can trace directly back to the pine.  Until we see more information on this subject....I would suggest going with your gut feeing.