Is Paper Bedding Safe For Chinchillas? [Clear Your Confusion]

Chinchillas are a common pet to have nowadays, and they’re a type of crepuscular rodent. Picking the right bedding material is important since some of them aren’t safe. There are many options with paper-based bedding being one of the most common ones.

Is paper bedding safe for chinchillas? Yes! Paper itself is a relatively safe bedding material as long as they don’t eat it. To prevent them from eating, there are special paper pellets available to be safely used for your chinchilla’s bedding. Besides, these specially-formulated pet paper beddings are free of harmful chemicals, additives, and dust. Remember, inked, printed, or scented paper beddings are not safe for your chinchillas.

Today, we’ll be going over everything you need to know about different paper bedding, the best bedding materials, the alternatives, and more. Without further ado, let’s get straight into it.

Is Paper Bedding Safe For Chinchillas?

As mentioned above, paper bedding is safe for chinchillas unless they’re made from pure unbleached paper. Also, they should be unscented, unprinted, and free of any additives.

Besides, you’ve to make sure your paper bedding serves the purpose you’re using it for, like it’s stopping pee from pooling up, preventing your chinchilla’s feet from hurting, and reducing any bad odor from building up.

Unfortunately, regular papers don’t serve these purposes and they are also associated with some risk factors. Let’s check out a few reasons why regular paper bedding isn’t safe or recommended for chinchillas.

Your chinchilla might eat it, resulting in a blockage in the gut
Paper holds onto heat, which could be uncomfortable for chinchillas as they easily overheat
Paper will get wet and mushy, making your chinchilla uncomfortable
Doesn’t absorb water or odor significantly
Ink, dust, or added chemicals in the regular paper could be toxic for chinchillas

Although regular paper or newspaper isn’t safe for chinchillas, there’s alternative paper-based bedding material available, known as paper pellets. They’re specially manufactured for pets, including chinchillas.

Is Paper Pellets or Pelleted Paper Bedding a Safe Alternative for Chinchillas?

Because regular paper can cause problems, you should consider getting pelleted paper, manufactured specifically for pets. These beddings are made by using paper and turning them into small soft pellets, but hard enough so chinchillas can’t consume them.

These can easily absorb liquids that might be, in the chinchilla case, such as urine. it’s factory-made to absorb odors from the cage. Since paper pellets are soft, your chinchillas will generally enjoy sitting or lying down on them. Besides, they also include the following features:

Made from pure unbleached, natural paper
Dust-free
Doesn’t include chemicals or additives
Strong and absorbent
Superior odor control

What Bedding Material Is The Safest For Chinchillas?

Aspen is the safest and most popular bedding option for chinchillas. Chinchillas typically enjoy them as much as paper pellet bedding. Both of them are safe for chinchillas with very few disadvantages.

Aspen is a type of wood shaving. Unlike most other wood shaving beddings, it doesn’t contain many harmful chemicals for your chinchilla and comes with great liquid and odor absorption. This can also help prevent diseases.

What Bedding Material Is The Safest For Chinchillas

Most importantly, aspen isn’t dusty like most other wood shavings and won’t cause any problems with your chinchilla’s upper respiratory tract and health. Overall, it’s a solid option to pick for most people, and it’s not that expensive, either.

Some chinchillas may not like the feel of aspen. You can check if they don’t find it comfortable when your chinchilla tries to dig down to the cage or moves around constantly and doesn’t want to sit. If they don’t like it or have allergies, you should just stick to the pelleted paper.

Other Safe Bedding Materials to Consider for Chinchillas

Aside from pelleted paper and aspen, there are three other safe beddings you can consider for your chinchilla. Check them out.

Spruce Wood Shavings

Spruce wood shavings are similar to aspen wood shavings, and their properties and characteristics, including odor and liquid absorption, are similar. Most people prefer the smell of aspen, but if your chinchilla is allergic to aspen, this can be a great option after pelleted paper.

Finely Shredded Cardboard

Smooth shredded cardboard works very similarly to paper and is a safe option. However, its liquid and odor absorption is slightly less than paper, aspen, and spruce. Overall, cardboard is safe enough and can be comfortable and suitable for your chinchilla.

Kiln Dried Pine Wood

Pinewood by itself isn’t safe, but kiln-dried pine wood is one of the safest options. It doesn’t use as many chemicals as regular pine and smells nice, but it might not be very comfortable. So you should generally stay away from it, as it’s safe but not comfortable.

If you want more information about pine shavings, you can check out the article Toxicity of Pine and Cedar.

Now That We’re Here

Hopefully, now your question of “is paper bedding safe for chinchillas” is answered. You should avoid using regular paper as your chinchilla’s bedding. Instead, consider specially manufactured paper pellets for their bedding. They’re safer and more comfortable for your dear friend. Pelleted paper bedding has a better odor and liquid absorption than regular paper. The texture is hard enough that your chinchilla can’t eat it. But your pet will stay comfortable standing or laying on it. However, as aspen bedding is generally considered the safest option, you can still consider paper pellets as your chinchilla’s bedding due to their well-thought manufacturing.