Safety of newspaper and paper towels

Mikoh4792 · 11-02-13, 10:36 AM

I know these substrates have been used for decades in the reptile hobby but are they even the slightest bit toxic for our animals?

exwizard · 11-02-13, 10:50 AM

No they are not, at all. The ink that is used is composed of non-toxic ingredients and are entirely safe for snakes. Some of the advantages of newspaper and paper towels is that when they soil their enclosure, you know it right away and as a result, its gets cleaned earlier. Newspaper is also much cheaper than other substrates and when you have a larger collection, it's much easier to do a thorough job completely cleaning out everything. I use newspaper almost exclusively for my snakes, other than Black Betty and Medusa, who get puppy pads as well as Rita and Ramón, my Brazilians, who get Eco-Earth to better hold the humidity they need.

Donnie · 11-02-13, 10:51 AM

Do you mean the ink or something in the paper itself or both? I believe the newspaper ink is vegetable based (mainly soya I think) so I wouldn't imagine it is harmful. I think a good number of years ago they had to make it kid safe so went for vegetable based inks.

Mikoh4792 · 11-02-13, 10:54 AM

Glad to hear. I was just reading a few articles which said that some newspapers still use a toxic form of ink mixed with soy ink.

Not sure how reliable this source is but it's one of them. just do (ctrl f) and type in dioxin
Is newspaper toxic for my organic garden?

**Aaron_S** · 11-02-13, 10:55 AM

As mentioned newspaper and paper towel are good options for the concerns you bring up.

As time goes on they become even more environmentally safe and better made.

However, I do want to say that many, many years ago the inks in newspaper used to run more and so unprinted newspaper stock was preferred.

Zoo Nanny · 11-02-13, 10:59 AM

They are used with birds also with no ill effect. Birds respiratory systems are super sensitive and many chemicals can kill them within minutes. I have one cockatiel that comes to my home that has had paper towels in his cage for over 25 years. Most newspaper today is made with soy based ink so again no big issues. There are other items in our homes that emit chemicals freely into the air that are much more likely to cause reptiles health issues. Teflon is one of them and is found all over your home in many appliances. Many of the heat lamps and light bulbs in the enclosures are coated in teflon.

exwizard · 11-02-13, 10:59 AM

I read the article and all I can say is that based on my own experience, I have not seen any ill effects from using newspaper as substrate and I've done it for several years. I also know people who exclusively use newspaper and they have done it much longer than I have and they don't have any ill effects either.

Zoo Nanny · 11-02-13, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

Glad to hear. I was just reading a few articles which said that some newspapers still use a toxic form of ink mixed with soy ink.

Not sure how reliable this source is but it's one of them. just do (ctrl f) and type in dioxin
Is newspaper toxic for my organic garden?

Shiny newspaper ink is not soy based so not as safe.

exwizard · 11-02-13, 11:09 AM

I can see that. I always sift through and throw away the slicks. They're not very absorbent either.

Mikoh4792 · 11-02-13, 11:14 AM

What do you mean by shiny newspaper? could you show an example of this?

Zoo Nanny · 11-02-13, 11:16 AM

The color and sheen on most flyers for store sales that are sent with newspapers. Stores like JCPenny, Lowes, Macy's etc...

SSSSnakes · 11-02-13, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

What do you mean by shiny newspaper? could you show an example of this?

Shiny newspaper is used mostly in separate ad inserts, it is like a magazine page.

Quote:

Originally Posted by exwizard

I read the article and all I can say is that based on my own experience, I have not seen any ill effects from using newspaper as substrate and I've done it for several years. I also know people who exclusively use newspaper and they have done it much longer than I have and they don't have any ill effects either.

I have used news paper for many years and have had no ill effect. Some times though it stains my white bellied snakes to have red bellies. But it goes away with the next shed.

exwizard · 11-02-13, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoo Nanny

The color and sheen on most flyers for store sales that are sent with newspapers. Stores like JCPenny, Lowes, Macy's etc...

Exactly. Those are the slicks that I sort through and remove before using the newsprint.

Mikoh4792 · 11-02-13, 11:24 AM

Ah I see. Just went through my stack of newspaper. If I'm correct they are usually a bit "grippier" from the kind of ink they use? Feels like a film of plastic

exwizard · 11-02-13, 11:52 AM

I used to deliver newspapers to supplement my income when I was younger. Sometime, we had to insert them ourselves and we commonly referred to the heavier, shinier, less absorbent, more slippery ones as "slicks". Idk what they use in those ads for ink but I do know, that they don't do any good at all when it comes to absorbing urine. I never used them for my snakes and I have always sifted through any newspaper I got and threw these slicks away. Lately, I haven't had to do that because I would go to the gas stations and supermarkets to get stacks of the free papers called "The Exchange" which are awesome when it comes to lining 74 qt. tubs and 15 qt. tubs nicely. I also get "Hawkeye Traders" in the same way and they fit the 41qt. tubs just as nicely and these free papers contain no slicks at all which makes things much easier for me.