Pet rats like to play with a lot of things within the house.
If you have some cardboard at home and you see some traces of bites on them when you have pet rats around.
You might be wondering if rats can actually eat the cardboard.
In this post, you are going to discover if rats can eat cardboard. You will also learn if cardboard is safe for the rats.
Can rats eat cardboard? Rats cannot eat cardboard. They can only chew cardboard and shred it into pieces. The same thing goes for the newspaper, notebooks, paper towel etc.
Table of Contents
Is cardboard safe for rats?
At first, cardboard is safe for the rat provided the cardboard is not dirty when the rats are chewing it.
You should only be concerned when the cardboard chewed by your pet rat is dirty or stained.
It is very important to watch the rat closely. Try to know if they actually eat the cardboard.
You should pack up everything if you notice that they eat the cardboard. it can lead to bloating in rats if they actually eat the cardboard to some extent.
Most times you might not notice that your pet rats are eating strange things within the home.
You can only realize this when you come across the things which the pet rats have shredded into pieces.
The rats over here in my house are obnoxious. They don’t wait to receive a Go-Ahead signal from me before they try things out on their own.
There was a time the rat shredded the post office envelope which was used to deliver a product for me.
But over time the rats don’t show any sign of sickness. This shows that it is safe for them to munch a little amount of paper or anything similar.
Is cardboard OK for rats?
Cardboard is junk for the pet rat. You should never allow the pet rats to always try out the cardboard you have at home.
Another thing you should be concerned of is the ink on the paper which they are shredding.
You should never be too worried if the ink is made of organic material.
The reason is that it does not provide the pet rats with any nutritional value.
Besides that, it can cause a serious problem in their digestive system if they manage to eat some of the cardboard.
Can rats eat paper?
Rats cannot eat paper. But they are very good at turning the paper into pieces and rendering them useless.
Rats that eat ferociously are capable of doing justice for anything which their teeth can gnaw.
The pet rats over here are notorious for trying out anything including the plastic.
As a result of this, I am very quick at keeping the necessary things which I believe they can shred into pieces.
Can pet rats have newspapers?
Rats cannot eat newspaper but they are capable of damaging it. They are going to chew on the newspaper and render it useless to satisfy their chewing instinct.
With this, I have made it a rule for myself never to place something edible for the rat closer to important documents I have at home.
Can rats play in shredded paper?
One thing you should know is that the pet rats also get bored over time when they have nothing to do.
When this happens, their gnawing instinct kicks in and they start turning any paper material within the home into pieces.
They are doing this mainly to play with the shredded papers.
It is very important to keep toys for your pet rat if you don’t want them to shred paper materials regularly within the home.
Healthy Treat for pets rats
The following are some of the treats you can serve the pet rat instead of allowing them to eat paper.
Peanuts
Peanuts are one of the treats you can serve the pet rat. Peanuts are a good source of protein and fiber for the rats. Peanuts are best served cooked for the pest rats.
Kiwi
You can also serve kiwi for the pet rats if you have some at your disposal. Kiwi provides the pet rat with fiber and essential vitamins. you need to take off the skin and cut the kiwis into smaller pieces for the rat.
Cooked pasta
Cooked pasta is safe for pet rats. The rats over here like to eat pasta with sauce. If you have some leftovers of cooked pasta, you can simply serve them to the pet rat as a treat.
Bread
Bread is one of the treats you can serve the pet rats. Bread is a good source of carbohydrates for the rats and it also provides them with energy. You need to cut the bread into small pieces before you serve it to the rat.
Cabbage
Cabbage is one of the healthy vegetables which you can serve the pet rats as a treat. You can mix the cabbage together with other vegetables for the pet rat. Sometimes, I put the cabbage in the water they are drinking.
Treats that are poisonous treats for the rats
These are some of the traits you should never serve the pet rats. They contain poisonous substances that can harm the rats.
Candy
Candy is one of the treats you should never serve the purple rats. Candy has a lot of sugar in them. Their body systems don’t know how to process the sugar very well and this is very dangerous for their well-being.
Avocados
Avocados should not be among the things you serve for the pet rats. All parts of the avocados contain toxic substances that can affect the wellness of the rats.
Conclusion
Rats don’t usually eat the cardboard but only shred them into pieces. Rats can do the same thing to notebooks, newspapers and lunch bags.
Rats shred paper materials out of boredom. Take away the necessary document from the ridge of the rat so that they will not destroy it and render it useless.
