Hemp bedding

[ava]

I'm thinking of getting some since the bag of Pets At Home woodshavings I bought is starting to seem dusty - keep sneezing when I'm using it... I know that some people use hemp bedding for degus but I was just wondering is it safe for them if they eat it? I've spotted Pikachu eating woodshavings so he might try to eat that too, so thought I'd better check

[Deleted]

I'm using hemp bedding and it's really nice - no dust at all.
My degus have probably tried eating it, but I've never actually seen them do so.
But at least they are both healthy, so if they have eaten some hemp it has not hurt them

[davx]

I used hemp bedding for several years, perhaps six years or more.
It is a good choice, but mine wasn't dustfree. It is bigger and lighter, thus it has a different behaviour and feeling. For cleaning I think it is better, as long as you don't have carpet at the floor (but carpet is IMHO in general a bad choice).

In general it is safe for them to eat, because hemp isn't harmful at all. Problematic THC is especially in the (female) flowers and in smaller parts also in the leaves. But first there is industrial hemp with low THC used for commercial application and second for bedding the stem is used. Stems usually are rich in complex carbohydrates, lignin and other poor digestible matter. They are important for the plant stability and for most animals they are bad food. Thus it isn't necessary for the plants protecting their stems with additional secondary compounds (like THC is).
But there is in fact a problematic issue: we don't know how the hemp is grown. Is pesticide used? It might be the case, but I think it is a minor risk. Degus eat the bedding only in small quantities. Mine tasted usually when I cleaned the cage and used new bedding.