Eating Newspaper

[Liz Roberts]

I'm not sure if this should go under behaviour and bonding or Food!

I have 2 males who are 7 wheeks old now. They seem to enjoy eating newspaper although they always have pellets and hay available and I feed them fresh vegetables twice a day! Is this normal behaviour and could it be harmful? I also have two females and they don't do this.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Wiebke]

Eating newspaper is is not at all unusual; it is rough fibre after all. You can try and distract them by offering hay filled toilet or kitchen roll inners, brown cardboard boxes that you cut doors into or brown paper bags with any handles cut through for safety.

 

[Liz Roberts]

Thanks for that advice. I've just given them a big pile of hay to dive into so I think they've stopped now. My girls have toilet rolls suspended which my husband made for me with string, an elastic band and picture hooks to clip in to the cage so it doesn't sag in the middle. He wasn't impressed by my efforts. Lol! I'm just waiting for him to make one for my little fellas!