QUESTION: My rat has dark smudges on his nose, and sometimes it looks like he is bleeding from his nose. What is wrong and what can I do?
ANSWER: Actually the Porphyrin stains is also called red tears and is a normal response when the rat has an infection in the eyes. The colour of the red tears looks alot like fresh blood so many rat owner's think their rat is bleeding...
Rats may get red tears also from stress so a rat does not actually have to be sick if it has red tears.
Rats have two big glands (called harderian glands) near the eyes and and the secretion from these glands (which are in fact bigger than the eyes) lubricates the eyes so there is where the red tears come from. Since the rat is always washing himself he will smear the colour all over, especially on his nose, his neck and his front paws.
What can you do about it?
You can take your rat to the vet if he shows any signs of
general illness, and otherwise you can see if you can find if
there is some stressful cause. Maybe you should move the cage
to a more protected place in the room to avoid draughts.
Copyright Eva Johansson.
Last update: 11th of August 2006.