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Old 01-16-2017, 03:59 PM   #1
Almi
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Default Safety of Materials

I try to recycle and reuse everything, which includes burning paper and cardboard products. In the winter, I don't typically make fires, so these things pile up at this time of year. I have been thinking of making my own rodent bedding lately, possibly out of newspaper. Apparently, it's enough that I woke up dreaming about it today.

I decided to give in to my brain's desires and think, write, and research about it. One of my main concerns was safety. I decided to come here first, to see what you guys had to say about it, and if anyone has done this before. I found a thread on using newspaper. It seemed that no one knew for sure how safe it was, so I went to Google instead.

"Is newspaper ink toxic?" I found an array of links, from ones that seemed to err on the side of it being just fine because of soy-based inks, to ones that said newspapers were just as toxic as any other chemical product.

This one stood out to me, and it also talks about plastic.

On the other hand, this study showed newspaper ink to be relatively harmless, with only mild skin irritation in mice. The application was so much that the animals took on a gray, greasy appearance.


I don't know what to think anymore. It would be very economical to be able to make my own bedding out of newspaper or cardboard, and to be able to use plastic items, but I don't want to put the creatures at risk. What do you guys think?
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Old 01-16-2017, 06:04 PM   #2
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

Newspaper would be a definite no.There's just no way of knowing what the inks are so that is not worth the risk,while it would be very nice to recycle things into substrate.Cardboard could be an option,but I wouldn't rely on it being a good main substrate as it just wouldn't perform well for burrowing and would get quite smelly and possibly fall apart once urinated on which really defeats the purpose.

If you're going to do anything,use a safe substrate as your main substrate and then add in a bit of cardboard,but definitely don't use the newspaper

Plastic items are very controversial considering the fact that they cannot be digested properly and would not be good for respiratory health since they trap moisture and such.Breathable materials would be a lot better,such as wood and grass hideouts,which would also be digestible and completely safe as long as you make sure the materials are hamster safe ones for example hamster safe woods
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Old 01-16-2017, 07:38 PM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

Agree with Amityville. Newspaper is a no no. I think the only thing you could safely recycle for hamster bedding would be plain paper. Even then shredded paper from a shredder isn't good because it has sharp edges and can cause paper cuts.

People have made their own substrate out of toilet paper but it's quite time consuming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNz6fwEvrjs

Or you can buy 10kg of Fitch for £16.99 which is made from recycled food grade paper and is nice and soft for hamsters (or 20kg for £20 ish). I think this works out economical and is safe for hammies. And although you're not recycling it yourself, someone else has recycled it

https://www.fitchrecycling.co.uk/ani...-delivery.html

Finacard also do cardboard bedding which is quite soft, so maybe been through a softening process, and presumably been through a quality control to make sure there are no staples and so on. his can also be bought in large bales so works out economical

FinaCARD Animal Bedding : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Plastic can also have sharp edges - especially if chewed, and contain chemicals that are bad for hamsters. I think they have to use a certain type of plastic for animal cages.

You might be able to do something with cardboard but realistically I think it takes a machine plant to produce things to a safe standard.

You could maybe have a bonfire party in the summer Or some other kind of recycling that isn't for hammies. I'm no expert on recycling though. But I'd stick to safe, tried and tested substrates for hamsters.
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Old 01-16-2017, 07:45 PM   #4
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

Fitch wouldn't apply to the US though Kaytee Clean and Cozy is wonderful though for the US,and is at least partially recycled!It's almost entirely dust free,only a tiny bit in the bottom of the bag when you get it.That can easily be aired out a little if you're paranoid about the tiniest bit of dust,but it is nowhere near the dust level of Carefresh so it isn't an issue at all.It also happens to be cheaper than Carefresh,and it does still come in some colors but you need to be careful and make sure you don't get any of the scented varieties which are all unsafe.
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Old 01-16-2017, 08:14 PM   #5
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

Oops sorry. Yes those are Uk substrates. I think Boxo is the cardboard/paper one in the US that you can get in bulk
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Old 01-17-2017, 02:12 PM   #6
Almi
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

Amityville, I'm wondering why you think newspaper is a definite no. I read an article stating how poisonous and toxic ink and plastic can be, but then I read a study showing that using even a ridiculous amount of it directly applied to the skin had no effect on systematic health - only dryness/irritation at the spot where it was applied every day. Did you get a chance to read them?

My dream involves shredding whatever material I plan to use for substrate, wetting it, mixing it, and then baking it. Basically, how they make Carefresh. Which I am not willing to pay for, and therefore I tend to go for wood shavings. However, I feel like the shavings are just too dry and dusty; we need less dust and more humidity! Recycled paper pulp seems to be able to carry more moisture to me. Plus, if I could recycle things, it would be helpful for saving money and space.

I was thinking of mixing whatever I make with wood shavings. I think more humidity will help make the shavings less dusty. Or...what about adding a tiny amount of oil to wood shavings (and mixing it in)? Like coconut oil? I wonder if that would help make it less dry and dusty.

Lol, of course we will be burning things via bonfire in the summer! We do every year. We burned an old couch last summer. I have definitely noticed interesting things while burning things that had ink in them. Besides burning things, we do city recycling. When it comes to cardboard, the only type they don't want to collect are the waxed containers.

Thank you for the thoughts and the links, guys. I think I might have to research this a little more. I'll let you know if I come up with anything else. Still interested, if anyone has any comments on the links I posted.
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Old 01-17-2017, 02:22 PM   #7
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

I agree that newspaper is a no no as well Hamsters have very sensitive respiratory tracts and breathing something, or the scent of something, affects them much more than us. Ink is chemicals I guess.

Having said that, I have read here and there that US newspaper ink isn't always as bad (as say Uk ink) and even that some is made from soy. But I still wouldn't take the risk. There are enough chemicals go into paper production as it is.
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Old 01-17-2017, 04:33 PM   #8
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

You tube has some tutorials on making hamster substrate. I haven't tried them. So don't know how good or bad they are.
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Old 01-17-2017, 04:49 PM   #9
Almi
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

Here's an interesting website I found.

"The newspapers of yesteryear used inks manufactured from petroleum products that contained heavy metals toxic to hamsters and people alike. Soy ink came into common use in the 1990s and contains no volatile organic compounds to harm your pet. Black and white newsprint is safe for use as animal bedding, according to studies by the Ohio State University. Comics, magazine and ad inserts or other colored portions of the paper are not recommended for use, as they contain additional pigments and chemicals to produce brilliant colors and shiny paper."

It lists a few resources on this page... The first one, which appears to be a study, doesn't display the page anymore. The last one seems to be the same deal. The third one seems pointless because it only talks about general bare minimum care requirements for hamsters. The second one works and talks about the content of newspaper ink and its safety for mulching purposes.

Thoughts? I was planning on using only the sections of newspaper that are black and white, and have few photos. Next, I'm going to see if I can find some good methods to remove most of the ink. I think I might be able to utilize some of my recyclables for the creatures. I'm probably at least going to try and do something with cardboard. We will see; I will keep researching.

EDIT: Everywhere I look, sounds like cardboard is a yes on safe bedding. Yay! I found out you can just use plain dish soap to actually wash the ink out of newspaper. It doesn't do it 100% obviously, but you just wash the paper strips like you would laundry, until the soap is rinsed away as well. I'm starting to think this might be an option, especially if I'm using a mixture of wood shavings, cardboard, and newspaper. I think the next step would be trial and error? I'll have to see if it's worth the time and effort.

Last edited by Almi; 01-17-2017 at 05:04 PM.
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Old 01-17-2017, 05:51 PM   #10
AmityvilleHams
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Default Re: Safety of Materials

If you used wood shavings there would still be a risk of an allergic reaction,which doesn't matter what type of wood or how dusty it is.

Newspaper,even if the ink were verified to be safe,would not likely end up as appropriate for burrowing as some other substrates.In fact,the hardest part of substrate is making sure it is appropriate for burrowing.This goes a lot further than whether something is toxic or non-toxic,since it has to be soft enough but also stay together nicely and not be rough or capable of injury and/or harsh poking(mostly an issue with wood).

You'd also probably end up spending way more time trying to make the substrate than it would be worth if that's all you used.It would take so much time to actually make even just cardboard into an appropriate substrate for burrowing with a suitable depth for anything but maybe robos or Chinese if you're lucky.

Starting with a base substrate as mentioned would be a lot more risk free and you'd at least know it would be incapable of causing an allergic reaction and would not be capable of hurting a hamster if you used something completely safe such as Kaytee Clean and Cozy.Instead of using the newspaper which wouldn't really do much,you could just use a combination of Kaytee Clean and Cozy,cardboard,toilet paper,and a safe substrate topper such as a mix of a hamster-safe forage and Carefresh Crinkles or similar paper crinkles from a pet store.

If you used newspaper and soap you'd be infusing the paper with more chemicals which isn't good.Unless you found a completely safe and chemical free soap(Dawn dish soap for example would even be too risky),it wouldn't be anything but questionable and certainly not guaranteed safe.
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