Eating Newspaper

Question
I am a relatively new guinea pig owner.  I bought two girls recently at the pet store and, low and behold, one of them is pregnant.  I have seperated them but the younger one that is not pregnant seems to be really down.  Their cages are right next to each other, but I have noticed that the younger guinea that is not pregnant is now eating newspaper constantly.  I lined the bottom of the cage with newspaper (just the black and white print, no glossy toxic stuff) and then covered with kiln dried pine.  Is it safe for her to be eating newspaper or should I be concerned and take all of it out of the cage?
Thanks,
Melanie

Answer
Melanie -

Well, eating newspaper isn't really bad for her, but you have to wonder why she's doing it.  Is she bored?  Does she have anything to chew on?  Maybe her teeth are bothering her, so she's trying to wear them down.  I would try giving her something to chew on, like a nice cardbaoard box or a tunnel.

Another question - did you separate them early for a reason, or is it that late in the pregnancy?  If its still pretty early, you can put them back in together and see if it stops.  That'll give you another hint about why its going on.

Finally, it may be that she is just a chewer.  I had a guinea pig once that I used for presentations (like at churches and schools) who could eat an entire piece of paper in under a minute for no apparent reason besides liking paper.  You could never leave any form of paper near him, or he would start chewing.  Perhaps you've just bought one of those.

I hope this is helpful.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me again.  Good luck!

Lorena