Collected wood should also be soaked in hot water, then dried. You can also purchase chew sticks commercially, such as these apple sticks from Cats and Rabbits and More.
The following lists of safe and toxic woods have been compiled from several chinchilla reference sites, to which I have provided links after the lists. The lists here are not comprehensive -- for more detail and wood types, see the references listed below.
Safe woods:
- apple
- arbutus
- ash
- aspen
- bamboo
- blackberrry
- blackcurrant
- cholla
- cottonwood
- crabapple
- dogwood
- elm
- grapevine
- hawthorn
- hazelnut
- kiwi
- magnolia
- manzanita
- mulberry
- pear
- pecan
- pine - kiln-dried white
- poplar
- quince
- rose hip
- sycamore
- willow (but not white willow)
Toxic Woods
- almond
- apricot
- beech
- birch
- black locust
- black lotus
- blackwood
- box elder
- buckthorn
- cashew
- cedar
- cherry
- chesnut
- china berry Chinese snake tree chokeberry
- citrus woods - orange, lemon, grapefruit, etc.
- cypress
- ebony
- elderberry
- eucalyptus
- fir
- ginkgo
- hemlock
- holly
- honey locust
- hydrangea
- juniper
- kumquat
- laurel
- mahogany
- mango
- manufactured/glued woods like plywood or fiberboard
- maple
- mesquite
- myrtle
- nectarine
- oak
- oleander
- peach
- pine - fresh, pressure treated, red -- kiln dried is thought to be safe
- pinecones
- pistachio
- plum
- redwood
- sandalwood
- sequoia
- spruce
- teak
- walnut
- weeping fig
- white willow
- yew
References