Shredded Paper

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spitcher88

Hello everyone,

Just got a question. I unfortunately get a ridiculous amount of junk mail come through my letter box. I was thinking, if I were to shred this could I use it as bedding for my rats and piggies? Would it be harmful to them? I would still use hay of course but I'm just thinking of actually giving it a use before putting it in recycling. ?
 
the ink for pigs might not be so good but I bet it would be fine for rats, but I'm no expert ?
 
Hmm yeah I don't know how toxic paper ink is now-a-days. I know it's changed alot, just thought it might be a good way of getting free bedding I suppose.
 
i use shredded paper from work, has caused no problems so far! and you are doing your bit by 'recycling'! ;)
 
I personally don't think its worth the risk. I have considered using it in the past, but if I poisned my rats or the pigs for the sake of saving a few pennies I'd never forgive myself.

Start a compost heap, shredded paper is excellent for that. ;)
 
I would have thought that junk mail type paper and the ink used would be not much different to that used for newspaper, which the pigs tend to eat (well mine seem to!) so far I have 8 healthy happy piggies, that have been kept on shredded paper and newspaper for about 18 months and no probs...

It may be worth checking things like whether the toner that is used by certain companies/printers is safe for animals... and also that there are no staples! that would be the biggest problem...

I do find that shredded paper doesn't make the piggies sneeze as much as there is not the same amount of dust as found in say woodshavings etc... each to their own though!

Also, if you give them enough hay and other things to chew they are less likely to eat the shredded paper...

If in doubt, then just use newspaper and hay and leave out the shredding altogether, but you may find that it will need cleaning out a lot more often! :)
 
jayneblonde said:
i use shredded paper from work, has caused no problems so far! and you are doing your bit by 'recycling'! ;)
Click to expand...

I think inks are pretty safe these days but I think I read somewhere that the chemicals used to bleach the paper can be unsafe.
 
To be honest I think paper is pretty much safe. Loads of people use it to line cages as well for small animals.
The only small animal that it can be toxic/harmful to is a hamster - purely because they store everything in there cheeks and then they would be constantly digesting the ink.

I don't know what is right or wrong but I can't see how it would be harmful to the piggies :)
 
Thanks for your replies.

I guess if I just use non-coated paper, it should be ok. I mean, I work for a newspaper, and get covered in toner on a daily basis and I don't get ill at all. It has changed quite a lot from what it used to be like. Maybe i'll just give it to the rats as their digestion is a lot more robust than a piggies. Plus, they'll probably just make a nest out of it instead of eating it. All they like to do is burrow ;D
 
Hi, i thought id reply as ive used shredded paper as a bedding for about a year and a half and have had absolutely no problems with it and the piggies enjoy playing in it. I would recommend this bedding as a cost effective, junk effective method.
 
Thanks for your reply BubbleSqueak, I think I might sort through what I can and can't use and give it a go with the rats. It's them i'd use it for mainly as piggies have hay for bedding. Thanks again :)
 
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