thats what we used for bedding. but my son had them out alot. i think they were out more than in the cage. the newspaper worked okay, you just have to change it more often than the wood shavings
i used to have gerbils and i used to keep them on sawdust and from a tidyness point of view i hated it ..it would be kicked out the cage every where although it is more absorbent. I would use shredded new paper
I had heard not long ago that the wood shavings that they sell can cause some sort of illness in rats. News paper is supposed to be sterile right, that may be better for them.
