newspaper as bedding?

[phantom76]

I have asked a few people this question and I seem to get a few different answers so I thought I would post here since I got great help on my deforming questions.. What is the thought of using torn news paper in the rabbit's cage? Since my town has a daily and a weekly there is no shortage around and rather then just throwing it out after I have read it I'd like to make better use of it.. I can't imagine that it would be harmful other then perhaps the ink but I'm wondering what your thoughts are?

 

[terrellflyer]

I've used it for years in the nestboxes and love it,I just put it in the shreadder and that's it.

 

[maherwoman]

Any newspaper you see in my buns' cages in pictures was from playing. We like to hand them half of a phone book or a section or two of newspaper, and they love to go to town shredding it!

We don't use it in their litterboxes, though...just as a toy. They LOVE making messes!

A good picture of Princess Maisie's mess:

 

[TinysMom]

Some rabbits love newspaper...and not just as bedding..

 

[tonyshuman]

It's not very good at controlling odor, but it's safe. It will stain the feet of your bunny to grey. I usually put a layer down in the boxes and then top with wood stove pellets, then a plastic screen (because I save the poo pellets for compost). The paper makes dumping out the wet disintegrated pellets easier.

 

[Saudade]

Some newspaper print is toxic to bunnies! Most newspapers use Soya based inks, however some of them have still yet to switch over. It's always a good idea to give a call to your local newspaper company and find out if they use soya based inks.

*note* This is only if the rabbit ingests the newspaper, if you use a screen over the top then your rabbit will be fine either way.

 

[ra7751]

We have used it for many years with no problems. We do not use the "shiny" pages....only the newsprint. We put it in flat...no shredding. We have some buns that do prefer shredded paper and this way, they can customize their bedding as they desire.

Randy

 

[anneq]

TinysMom wrote:

Some rabbits love newspaper...and not just as bedding..

LoL Peg - cute pic!

 

[crystal]

tonyshuman wrote:

It's not very good at controlling odor, but it's safe. It will stain the feet of your bunny to grey. I usually put a layer down in the boxes and then top with wood stove pellets, then a plastic screen (because I save the poo pellets for compost). The paper makes dumping out the wet disintegrated pellets easier.

Newspaper does stink... well the urine that soaks into it does. is there anything else that is better at controlling odor? or any way to make newspaper less smell? (is that what the wood stove pellets are for, controlling odor?

and what are these plastic screens that people are talking about?

 

[tonyshuman]

I think the wood stove pellets control odor better.

The plastic screens are made for doing needlepoint or something. They're white plastic made into a grid of small squares. The pee can go through but the poos can't. It's called plastic canvas: http://crafts.benfranklin.com/ARTIST-PLASTIC-CANVAS-7-COUNT-1358X2158CLEAR/M/B001DEGBIW.htm

 

[JadeIcing]

I also used lighting grids... They chewed the knitting ones.

 

[KimberlilyKC]

I tried phone book paper topped with hay, and that worked alright, but what I've found to be even better is paper towel topped with hay. It's much more absorbent and then during clean up it peels off nicely. Not as cheap, but works for us.

Kiwi & Coco are big fans of shredding paper as well. Is phone book paper generally non-toxic, does anyone know? Kiwi likes to snack on it, too, occasionally.

 

[tonyshuman]

I think phone books are printed in the same way as newspaper, so, generally yes they are nontoxic.

 

[KimberlilyKC]

Thanks for the quick reply. If any of the paper our rabbits were getting to were toxic, are we talking toxic in the sense of harmful right away and noticeable, or is it the kind of thing that gradually accumulates in their systems and is harmful longterm? Can I assume it's non-toxic since my Kiwi has eaten some and not experienced any noticeable problems?

 

[tonyshuman]

I honestly wouldn't worry about the newspaper of phonebooks unless I was in a 3rd world country. Almost everybody uses soy based ink these days, and it might even say somewhere in the phone book. It probably would be a gradual accumulation of toxicity due to the ink if it were bad. But very few places use toxic ink anymore.

 

[Boz]

I use newspaper to line the bottom of my litter boxes. Works great! I can use less litter at one time.

 

[crystal]

Thanks Claire and Ali for the info... I think I am going to look out for something like this! thanks for the photos too.

 

[Saudade]

Thanks Claire! I forgot to write that. It's always good to check though!