Hi rat people,

One of my rats had a vet appointment yesterday because he's been sneezy. One thing the vet "suggested" I do is replace the hemp bedding with Carefresh paper bedding. "Suggested" is in quotes because she said it more as a command than a suggestion. She seemed convinced that the hemp bedding was contributing to the rat's sneeziness, though I think they have been sneezing since we brought them home from the pet store about a month ago.

I am wondering if this is actually sound advice. She said she was familiar with the bedding, but she called it "wood" which hemp is not. The bedding is known to be as dust free as Carefresh, I believe. She also mentioned and gave us a handout about the danger of phenols, but I've found a few sources saying that hemp bedding does not contain phenols. So I'm wondering if she was confused and unfamiliar with hemp as a bedding.

Despite all that, I'm more than willing to try something different if it might help the ratties, but when I went to order Carefresh on Chewy, it had a bunch of recent bad reviews saying that the product has gone down in quality of late, with dirt and other debris and more dust in it. The reviews were also really mixed with some glowing comments about how absorbent it is, and others saying it was hard and uncomfortable for the rats. In comparison the hemp stuff I bought has fantastic reviews including from a number of rat owners specifically.

What do you all think? Is hemp actually a potential contributor to respiratory irritation, or was the vet overconfidently assuming this was a different product? Have you had bad experiences with Carefresh lately? Any other soft paper beddings you recommend?

PS On another topic, Francis is now on antibiotics and seems really unlike his usual self - much less energy, very reserved. Is that normal when a rat is on meds, or after a vet visit?