newspaper as bedding??

[tfinn546]

is this a safe substrate for my adult beardie? i have a bedding in there right now that i bought from petco and it is called desert snow. it pretty much is a bunch of shreds of with paper. would newspaper be a good alternative to that?

 

[Elora]

yeah newspaper is great but dont shred it. No need to risk your beardies trying to eat it!

 

[tfinn546]

so i should just lay it down in a few layers? he likes to dig, but is the shredded paper bad for him like calci-sand?

 

[Elora]

Not really sure. Id say dont shred it becuase it will be harder to make sure you cleaned up all the poop if its buried in the shredded paper. and of course he may get bored one day and try to eat it. I dont really like the looks of newspaper. Have you thought about tile? or non adhesive shelf liner? You can get the shelf liner at walmart. a big roll of it for 5 dollars. Just make sure you get the kind that dosnt have holes. I use the shelf liner and its non absorbant so the poop wipes right off. Its fun beucaes there is a huge selection of colors and patterns!

 

[zeusa]

Newspaper is what Zeus uses. I line her cage with large pieces of newspaper, then cut additional newspaper in half to lay on top. That way, when she poops, I don't have to move a ton of cage furniture to clean it up but just a smaller piece of newspaper. She's done great with it. (She gets accused of finishing the crossword puzzle because my husband always works the puzzle before he lets me have the paper for her!)

 

[NegativeCreep]

Newspaper is a good substrate. It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it is certainly functional.
Stay away from colored ink (especially RED!), as the ink can contain different ingredients/chemicals. The black ink is typically soy based, so it shouldn't pose a risk. (I've worked in the newspaper biz for a number of years now..)

I would be more concerned about that desert snow stuff. I'm not sure what it is, but it appears to be absorbent. That stuff sounds like an impaction nightmare waiting to happen. (I must say that I have only seen pictures, I have never felt it)

 

[vickson420]

Moved to Enclosures

 

[Minnie72]

Hi,

I was gonna use newspaper but, was not sure bout the ink. I managed to get a role of 100% re-cycled wrapping paper to use. I recently had my baby on paper towels but crickets kept hiding underneath. So that it does not happen anymore, have put masking tape round the edges, is this gonna be okay for my BD ??

Minnie

 

[tfinn546]

hi...i am currently using newspaper and it seems to be working pretty well. i came across the same problem with the crickets so i think that the tape is a great idea.

 

[herpfreak]

The masking tape should be fine. I use newspapers under my tiles, just in case some feces seep through the cracks. The print won't hurt them.

 

[rottnbull02]

We currently use newspaper. It makes their feet black. :mrgreen: But doesn't hurt them.

I am going to go to Home Depot this weekend though and get a big piece of linoleium. I can just wipe out the poop daily. No need to throw out the newspaper. Makes clean up easier IMO.

 

[herpfreak]

We currently use newspaper. It makes their feet black. :mrgreen: But doesn't hurt them.

I am going to go to Home Depot this weekend though and get a big piece of linoleium. I can just wipe out the poop daily. No need to throw out the newspaper. Makes clean up easier IMO.

I agree. With snakes, I use newspaper because they hardly ever poo. But with Budo, who poops several times a day (usually on me, lol), its a lot easier to wipe it up.

 

[rottnbull02]

I use newspaper for my snakes too. The only problem is they like to burrow and that doesn't give them much of a chance to do it. Do you shred the paper or just lay flat?

Stephanie

 

[herpfreak]

I use newspaper for my snakes too. The only problem is they like to burrow and that doesn't give them much of a chance to do it. Do you shred the paper or just lay flat?

Stephanie

I don't shred it. My ball python has never tried to burrow. I used to use aspen, which I really really really liked... it's just takes a tad bit longer to clean than newspaper, and newspaper is cheaper. But if your snakes like to burrow, I really reccommend aspen.