Rat bedding

Question
I've got a rat and I just recently changed her bedding to  ''Forti- Diet Pine small pet bedding & litter" from the ''Kaytee clean & cozy". I had to switch because that is all the store near me had. But  I noticed that when I first placed her in the change she began chewing on the bedding, I can't tell if she is actually eating it or not though. Will she be okay? Do you think that she'll actually ingest it?

Answer
Oh no, pine is a terrible bedding for rats!  All rats have very sensitive respiratory systems and pine will surely cause respiratory infections!  You just use something else....almost anything is better.

If you must use a pet store wood shavings bedding, check the snake section for Aspen bedding and make sure it is pure aspen, and not mixed with other woods.  Aspen is safe.

Personally, I hate all pet store type bedding, even Aspen, because they are all dusty!   I line my rats cage with fleece.  I love fleece because it is soft and actually much more cost effective than shavings, because I can wash it and re use over and over until it falls apart or they chew it up.  Other good choices are just plain white paper towels, or old white tee shirts.  Of course, if you use fleece or paper towels or tee shirts, they need to be changed every few days because they will smell faster, but that is ok.  

I'm not certain your rat is actually eating the pine...she may be just chewing on it.  What she may have injested til now won't hurt her, but get rid of that bedding now...as soon as you read this reply, and put in white paper towels which I'm sure you must have on hand, until to decide if you want to go with fleece or check stores for aspen.