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Eating paper!

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rainbow

rainbow

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Hiya I'm new to the board and have a question! My gp has just started eating the newspaper that lines his (indoor) cage. is this ok? and is it normal? he's never done it in the past (only this last week or so) at first I thought he was just chewing it, but I'm pretty sure he's actually swallowing it! Any thoughts or advice greatly received, thanks in advance x
 
i see people are reading but no replying, is that cos no one knows?! just worried what its doing to his tummy x
 
Hey there...just seen your post. I line my indoor cage with newspaper and though mine don't eat it, I've heard of piggies who do. Peter Gurney (Guinea Pig Guru) says "As I have stated many times, the fact that guinea pigs can often been seen chewing on newspapers is not a problem, for the printing ink is either not toxic or they do not ingest enough to make it so. So long as they do not read the garbage that is written therein, they should be fine!"

Have a look at his website if you've any other concerns:

http://www.petergurney.com/

Rachel xx

P.S. I try to cover the newspaper completely with hay and tuck the edges under so they can't nibble at it!
 
thanks rachel, thats great, i wont worry bout it then! I do cover it fullt, but its as though he's digging to find it! earlier on i poked a piece of paper through the railings (to test him i guess!) and he went mad for it! weirdo lol! x
 
Mine will shred the occasional bit of newspaper as well... A lot of the time they dont really eat it but just shred most and eat a tiny bit :)
 
haaa, the old newspaper trick. All of mine have always done it especially to say Mummy, it's time to change the litter.... :)>>> I have told them repeatedly that piggies can't read but they still do it!:)):))

Just make sure that there are no staples that they can chew on as they could perforate their insides.
 
Don't worry. Some people's pigs do, and others don't.
I have one guinea pig in particular who will do anything to get at newspaper - it really bugs me because I clean them out and pile on the shavings and she'll just kick and dig her way to the newspaper and start shredding which makes it look such a mess! It won't do yours any harm so don't worry :)
 
Mine sometimes rip it up and have a little chew but it's never done them any harm. They go through phases - one week it's the nibble stick and the parsely bell and the next it's apple sticks and newspaper! x
 
A case of read, eat and inwardly digest......hope it is a quality newspaper!
 
Eating Newspaper

Hi and welcome! The issue of eating NP has been well covered by previous posters!

Our piggies can't resist it even when surrounded by food!

The only thing to beware of is the centres of toilet rolls, some of them are treated with an anti-fungicide and so it is best to avoid them. Our piggies get the centres of kitchen rolls, I assume that they are fungicide free in view of their use in the kitchen! (or at least I hope they are fungicide free!)
 
My sow was forever doing it and she would even push the hay out of the way so she could get to the newspaper. Sometimes she would even run underneath it and throw everything around inside the cage :))
 
wow - thanks all. its nice to know he's not alone in his habit. yup he does it as soon as he's been cleaned out so i know its not that he wants the cage cleaning out. nope, dont use toilet rolls anyway thanks (although wouldn't have thought about them being treated) i buy tubes that have an edible covering on them (see my avator) so he eats and plays with that! no staples and no quality, local rag! x
 
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