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Colored Newsprint
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by kacz on April 15, 2006
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On a number of occassions I have heard that colored newsprint should be avoided in snake cages. However, no one has been able to tell me why. Is there some real hazard, or is this an urban legend?
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RE: Colored Newsprint
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by Cro on April 16, 2006
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Paul: Colored newsprint inks contain Lead, which is most dangerous when burned and the smoke is inhaled.
However, Lead from the colored inks can be absorbed directly through the skin, and cause heavy metal accumilation. These can cause reproductive and neurological problems in your pets.
A reptile who spends hours in contact with colored newsprint has more opportunity to absorb lead from the ink. This is even more true if water is spilled in the cage, as the inks are somewhat water soluable.
The black newsprint inks do not contain lead, so are less of a problem, although they do contain solvents that outgass as the ink drys, which could be absorbed by your pets also. For this reason, it is good to age news papers for a couple of weeks before you use them in cages.
It is well known that people who work in the printing industry have a greater incidence of certain cancers due to exposure to the solvents in inks.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Colored Newsprint
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by LarryDFishel on April 16, 2006
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I was about to say this should probably be in a top 10 pet myths list somewhere, but I see it's on at least on and it's #4 on a livstock bedding list...
Just imagine the law suits if publishing companies were still selling newspapers with lead-based inks for people to take home and let their rug rats chew on. I'm having trouble finding the actual regulation (the EPA's web site sucks) but see references to it being banned as early as 1985.
Most newspapers these days are using organic pigments for the color pages and using soy instead of petrolium solvents. Call your local paper and ask if you're concerned. Supposedly there are still some unpleasant chemicals in the glossy, color photo pages of some papers, but I can't verify that.
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RE: Colored Newsprint
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by LarryDFishel on April 16, 2006
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Oops, forgot to mention two things...
1) If the paper gets wet you can end up with a stained snake. (Just looks bad and will be gone after next shed).
2) Personally I buy big rolls of brown paper from Home Depot to avoid #1. (looks better in the cage too)
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RE: Colored Newsprint
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by kacz on April 16, 2006
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Gentlemen, thank you! Even though your answers are contradictory they provided enough information for further research. I found some articles in the National Institute of Health (NIH) concerned with lead levels in livestock feed that was augmented with "old" newsprint. However these were written in 1976. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has required that all products be tested by the manufacturers for "safe" limits since 1997. Also, while some dyes are based on lead oxides, the current four color process dyes (black, cyan, magenta & yellow) are readily available lead free.
Now comes the part relegated to faith! The lack of a current outcry leads (as in leeds) me to believe that while there may have been a problem, it no longer exists. Why would we bother to recycle toxins for a second go-around? Absorbtion through the skin from newspapers isn't mowing us down in numbers. I would think it would be even less of a problem through the non-permeable skin of a snake.
If lead is the reason, my quick internet search found no current corroborating literature (cited, peer reviewed treatises). I also failed to find any current literature on other heavy metals and toxins in newsprint. Perhaps this is an urban legend.
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RE: Colored Newsprint
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by LarryDFishel on April 17, 2006
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I would say that our answers are not so much contradictory as noncontemporaneous. :)
John's answer would have been perfectly correct 20 years ago and perhaps mostly correct 10 years ago...
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RE: Colored Newsprint
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by Cro on April 17, 2006
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Could be my answer is somewhat out of date concerning lead in colored newsprint. I know in the past it was a problem, and hopefully, new regulations have put an end to its use in printing inks.
I did a quick internet search, and found that there are still other heavy metals such as copper and zinc still present in colored news printing inks, and also found that although many newspapers are going to soy based inks, there still is some volitale organic solvents used even in these inks, although it is a much lesser amount than in the past.
How much of these are absorbable by your pets, I have no idea. But to be safe, using plain kraft paper as Larry suggested would probably be the safest idea.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Colored Newsprint
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by Cro on April 17, 2006
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All this talk about newsprint reminded me of something that might still be of use. Some of the newspapers use huge rolls of paper in their presses that are about 3 or 4 feet wide, and many thousands of feet long. These are wound on a sturdy cardboard tube. When the roll gets almost empty, it is replaced. This leaves several hundred feet of blank newspaper still rolled on the tube. They used to give these away just for the asking. A lot of Elementary and Kindergarden School Teachers used to get them for the kids to paint murals on. You might want to ask your local newspapers about these to see if they are still available. Tell them it is for the school kids, LOL ! That way you could get white newspaper without any ink on it, probably for free or at little cost, and just cut it to size.
Hope this helps. JohnZ
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