Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I'm researching hamsters before I get one, as one of my friends had a hamster give birth and is offering one to me. I've heard that newspaper is toxic to hamsters from just one person, but some people on here use it, so now I'm not sure who to believe. I have 13 rats in 2 huge cages and they have been using newspaper for quite a while with no problems at all. I don't use pine or cedar, and carefresh is used up too quickly by my rats, so newspaper is the cheapest and best thing for them right now. What is so toxic about newspaper (the kind I get is always soy based ink), and is it that bad for hamsters?

I've been trying to research the use of newspaper as bedding for hamsters and you're right, the info is conflicting.

I found an interesting study on how safe newspaper is for cow bedding...and a few on it being safe for hamsters as long as you do not use the color or glossy inserts. Evidently the newspaper industry has made great strides in the use of safer inks (except color). I'm not sure about what chemicals are used in the processing of the paper the ink is printed on, however.

I use both carefresh and plain white tissues. I currently have a hamster with a mysterious skin condition, so I personally, wouldn't use anything iffy. If the previous owner of the hamster sucessfully kept the hamster in the daily paper and he/she is free of irritation, I would say go for it, just keep an eye on the critter for reactions.

You could aways just try it for a few days to see how the hamster responds. I use cedar because that's what the pet store where I got her from used so I thought it'd be best to keep her comfortable with what's she use to and it'll help ease her into her new souroudings. =)