Cardboard/toilet paper rolls?

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BlovesRoss

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2013
Messages
15
Location
Selah, Washington
Can chins have toilet paper rolls to chew on I saw them selling at Petsmart but fancy colored ones and I thought what a waiste of money ill use my tp rolls, plu I saw somewhere another chinner using them. But I noticed he is eating the rolls so is that okay?????
 
I avoid giving my chin actual toilet paper rolls because of the chance of bacteria transfer and also I don't know that the little bit of glue that they use to hold the end of the roll to the tube (which absorbs into the cardboard) is safe. I go with a better safe than sorry approach. There are cardboard tubes that are safe for chins, normally the big ones are used to make fleece tubes because otherwise they are an expensive shredding toy! A lot of the online stores featured on this website (and ones not featured on the website) sell smaller, inexpensive, little cardboard shred-ables called 'bagels' that are great to give to make chin toys will (hanging and toss toys).
 
If he's actually ingesting the card board, then I wouldn't give them to him. Cardboard can cause impaction, I believe someone on the forum just lost a chin to cardboard. My boys love the bagel bites that are cardboard, but they leave a nice shredded pile for me.
 
As long as he's eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping, and not lethargic or acting really strange, he should be fine.
 
My chins all do fine with carboard toys. I don't use tp rolls, and most of the carboard is food grade, like cereal, pasta, jello boxes. All other cardboard is inspected for tape, glue, staples, plastic laminate, foil, wax, ink, or anything else that's suspect. They also enjoy shipping tubes, wax free dixie cups, oatmeal boxes (!), raisin boxes (!!!). I often use cardboard boxes and tubes as hay holders in the cages. The chins enjoy playing with them. My chins never get egg boxes since I'm concerned about salmonella.
 
I like to use organic produce boxes (the short ones, non-waxed) for the chins. Usually I cut them in half for smaller cages and a whole box fits in a ferret nation sized cage. Sometimes I'll cut "doors"or "windows" in the boxes to get them started.

I don't use cereal type boxes because of all the chemical dyes and such on them.
 
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