Is magazine paper bad for rats?

Question

my sister left bits of magazine paper lying round the rat room and one of my rats always takes pieces back to her cage, it is a lot of effort for her as it is nearly 3 times bigger than she is and i always feel mean when i have to take it out of the cage when she is not looking cause i've heard that paper with print on is bad for rats, is this true?

Answer 1

i used shredded old magazines instead of sawdust sometimes and my rats are absoulutely fine

as someone before said wild rats live in sewers etc a bit of paper would be find

Answer 2

nah.. c'mon.. given their freedom, rats live in sewers and rubbish..

Answer 3

no..try newspaper

Answer 4

Yes, avoid any "shiney" paper like that of a magazine. It is treated with a number of chemicals which are mildly toxic and indigestible. Any ink is toxic in this way, unless it is soy-based ink. So the only possible safe paper is something from a black and white newspaper that you know for sure uses soy ink.

Kitchen tissue is not ideal either. Most tissues that are white have been treated with bleach. Most soy newspapers are yellowish, and bleach free.

If you would like to give her something to shred, give her some of your old clothes, or blankets. Cloth is very fun for them to tear up and sleep in. Just make sure that the material is smooth, and does not have loops to snag her feet in (like towels).

And keep the magazines out of reach! Eating the paper will not hurt her just like that, but you should not allow her get at it.

Answer 5

Yes 1 they will freak out about shiny things and if they eat the paper they can get ink posining!

Answer 6

no it is not.

Answer 7

the ink is bad for them, but in small amounts it shouldn't be toxic. try taking the paper away but replacing it with a treat. because then she will keep trying to take the paper but instead she gets a treat and gradually wean her off the treats and dont let her take anymore paper.

Answer 8

try the newspaper.