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Views on cardboard, paper and newspaper eating needed

O

oscarbunny

Warren Veteran
On a lot of websites, and rabbit/guinea pig books etc it says that they can have cardboard tubes, empty toilet rolls etc. Thing is when i give my guinea pigs or buns an empty toilet tube they eat the whole thing, the same with newspaper, they rip it up and eat it, so i dont put them in anymore. Is excessive paper eating and cardboard eating bad for the gp's and buns, will it cause them to get a blockage or something. I would love them to be able to chew the cardboard without it causing any damage, but know little about it to make the right decision.

I dont want to decrease their life expectancy by letting them eat newspaper and toiler rolls so they do with out.

Can anyone answer the above questions?
 
Ar eyou sure they are eating it? Sometimes I think my lit are but they are really just chewing it and spitting it out.

If they are eating it, I'm sure if it is only a little and they are eating plenty of hay too, it won't cause too much of a problem. I'm not really sure what to suggest, hopefully some other, more experienced people will give some advice!
 
It really wont do them any harm, mine are munching through the yellow pages at the moment.

You can buy tubes made from plant matter if it would help you feel better about it but to use one example someone on here recently cleared a blockage from their rabbit which was in stasis by feeding him cardboard dipped in parrafin!
 
it wont do them any harm, you can buy tubes for rabbits/chinchillas that are made from cardboard. mine love cardboard boxes and you will often find them sat in one in their run.
 
Paper in general is come out of wood, in which rabbit do chew wood to cut down their teeth.

However, if the paper has chemical on it, i.e., magazine, newspaper, etc., long term exposure to those chemical can cause cancer, I suspect that's how my last bunny got cancer.

IF the paper is Un-Treated, such as your brown lunch bag paper, that should be fine. However, at the end of the day, the best thing to do is to give chew wood (natural) for the front teeth, and hay for the rear teeth. And no paper at all.
 
Mine eat loads of paper, cardboard, etc, and I have the same concerns. I reckon that plain paper and cardboard is fine, but I try not to let them get hold of highly coloured paper
 
Thumper loves hay stuffed loo roll tubes :lol: and has recently started chewing up the phone book :? but i tend to keep her away from any newspaper; i have heard this is not good for them especially heavily printed (ie; large black ink covered prints)? Rabbits also love cardboard boxes with holes cut into them for hopping in and out of or we make large warrens out of tubes and boxes so I think these are fine.
 
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