possible blindness

Question
Okay, I've got a two year old albino rat.  I got him from a large pet store (Petland in St. Catharines)
He was seemingly healthy until a few months ago, and i realized his eye's have been turning white (they were red)
There's still kind of a red outline, but it looks like he may have cataracts, it's just a really pale pink.  I used Aspen litter, but have also used hemp bedding.  Are either of those knows to have any bad effects? I heard that cedar and pine wasn't good for them, so i've stayed away from that.  He's been in a good sized cage most of his life, it's like a three level thing.  He always goes to his food when he hears the bag, but I can't tell if it's out of habit.  I've moved the dish, and he just kind of sniffs around until he finds it.  Any tips on how i can figure out what it is would be helpful.

Answer
Sounds like cataracts and this is common among elderly rats. There is no treatment available on rats other than making his life easy to adjust to his surroundings.  He should be kept i n a single story cage so he cannot geet hurt from a fall.   Dont move his dish around or water bottle around so this way he can memorize their location . Rats have bad vision already so they can adjust to a life of blindness. He will see shadows and light.  Rats normally see with about 20/600 vision and 20/800 vision anyhow which if they were human it would be considered legally blind.                                                                                                                                                  

If you want a definite diagnosis, you will have to take him to see a good exotic vet for that.

As for bedding, hemp is my favorite but I cant find it lately, so I use aspen, like you, and both are fine to use. Cedar and pine contain phenol oils that are known to cause respiratory problems and liver damage later in life.  As for other litters like cat litter (some people use it which is such a bad bad idea!!) or corncob, these litters, if eaten can clog the intestines. Corncob also has been known to grow mildew and a toxic mold when left damp too long.  Care fresh, yesterdays news, hemp,, aspen, they are all good to use. I would remove him from the big care or else remove the ramps so he cannot climb up and possibly fall down and get hurt.

hope this helps!