Blindness, possibly eye infection ?

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,, and congradulations on your baby girl =)

Answer
Sounds like cataracts to me! It's fairly common in white rats and especially of that age. Your bedding is fine. The fun thing about rats is that even if they are completely stone blind; they function just fine. Rats can smell basically in 3-d; each nostril can smell a multitude of things in different directions - which is why it probably doesn't seem like he's having such a hard time navigating. He's okay; just keep an eye on him to be sure he continues to do so well.

Good luck with him! (And thank you :))